Nick,
 
Pillboxes are in varied locations away from defensive 'stoplines' for
precisely the reasons you indicated, they are probably connected with
individual installations that required protection. Thus, whilst the
facing-direction of a pillbox may appear 'mad' to us now, in view of the
local terrain, site entrances, the likely landing ground for parachuted
commando units, etc. then the whole thing probably made great sense at the
time.
 
As far as further information goes you should try to look at Henry Wills'
1985 volume Pillboxes - A Study of U.K. Defences 1940 published by Leo
Cooper/Secker and Warburg. Also, Colin Dobinson's CBA produced volume on
Anti-Invasion Defences (produced as one of the many volumes in his Twentieth
Century Fortifications in England series - other volumes of which also
contain site plans re. pillboxes around AA sites, etc.) may throw further
light on the subject for you.
 
In addition to the above then personal contacts will be useful to you. I
have listed some contacts below, but I would particulalrly reccomend that
you contact William Foot or Neil Redfern at the Defence of Britain project.
They are a mine of information on all things anti-invasion.
 
 
 
William Foot/Neil Redfern
Defence of Britain Project
Imperial War Museum
Duxford Airfield
Cambridge
CB2 4QR
 
01223 834074
 
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Mr Philip Carlisle
Data Standards Unit
English Heritage
NMRC
Kemble Drive
Swindon
SN2 2GZ
 
01793 414824
 
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
 
 
 
The Pillbox Study Group
Mr John Hellis
3 Chelwood Drive
Sherford Park
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 4JA
 
 
 
UK Fortifications Club
Peter Cobb
4 Mablethorpe Road
Portsmouth
PO6 3LJ
 
 
 
I hope that this information may prove of use to you.
 
All the best
 
Mike

Mike Anderton AIFA 
Project Officer (military) 
Aerial Survey 
English Heritage 
NMRC 
Kemble Drive 
SWINDON SN2 2GZ 

01793  414855

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-----Original Message-----
From: garibaldino [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 31 August 1999 18:16
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Pillboxes


Hello ther,
 
Guess its up to me to start the ball rolling with something that occured to
me this weekend just gone.
 
Travelling about the countryside, I seem to spot pillboxes in what appear to
be odd locations. For example, there is a pill box a few hundred metres away
from Dunstanburgh Castle on the Northumbria cost, with the slits facing
inland. Does anyone know of any work on the siting of Pillboxes? I know the
CBA have the defense of Britain Project, but I dunno if thats been published
anywhere, anyone know more about this?
 
I am curious because other sites (eg the pill box in the lake district in
the valley by the Lion and the Lamb) seem a bit daft, if the Germans had
reacched the Lake district I think it was all over bar the shouting. Also,
some of the Pillboxes around the Hartlepool area, which i can understand
wanting to be defended, are placed in places where their field of vision is
limited (even taking into account the growth of tree and housing estates) by
ground sloping up away fairly quickly (as memory serves, anyway) ie the
pillbox is overlooked by hiogher ground.
 
This makes me wonder how much some of the construction of these things was
of the being seen to be doing things variety. ALso, I realise that looking
at them in isolation is false, t he network of them would make more sense,
and isolated ones may have been near aa gun sites, or radar.
 
ANyone any thoughts on the above, sources of info? All aprecaited.
thanks
 
Nick Boldrini



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