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Summary

Probable WWII military establishment. Six buildings surviving in 1999.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017974: Two bowl barrows 690m and 760m south west of Leworthy

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• MILITARY CAMP (XX - 1901 AD to 2000 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946 - 1949, Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV342938.

Apparent military establishment of at least 33 buildings shown.

GetMapping, 1999 - 2000, Millennium Map 1999-2000 Getmapping (Aerial Photograph). SDV321648.

The southernmost six buildings appear to be extant.

Bluesky, 2006 - 2007, Bluesky aerial photographs 2006 - 2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341189.

Visible only as building platforms.

Knight, S., 2011, Site Visit to Affaland Sillick and Claw Moors (Personal Comment). SDV348013.

Brick built end wall of one Nissen hut at approx 231499,100673 survives, with one window frame and bitumen-like substance melted onto the sill of the other. Window and telecommunications fittings present. Concrete platform and brick base of other three walls survive. At 231529,100741 the concrete frame of another building, possibly a mess hall, survive (secured along the ridgeline by iron tie) - one of a pair of conjoined structures visible on the RAF aerial photographs as N-S aligned rather than E-W. Structural stability uncertain. Concrete remains at one end of a possible platform at 232043,100099 (next to an irregular enclosure shown on 19th century maps) are very similar in material and form and may have been relocated here. Within the camp, many concrete platforms are extant, some showing evidence of shuttered construction using corrugated iron, representing buildings of different types and sizes, although tree growth threatens their survival. Numerous square brick chambers may be the remains of wells and/or sewer infrastructure - some still contain pipes. Lots of flytipped waste near the road at 231572,100803.

Unknown, 2011, Spotlight on Mr. John Bowden, 22 (Article in Serial). SDV347461.

According to an article in The Buzz, the Bridgerule newsletter, there was a camp on Affaland Moor set up by Black American soldiers. Their job was to build secret Nissen huts around the local villages for storing ammunition. When the ammunition was required it was sent off via the nearest railway station. The soldiers used bicycles to get around the villages and when the war ended and they returned to America, they gave the bikes to young people in the village.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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