Archaeological reminders of World War II
Archaeology isn’t just about artefacts from eons ago and if you look closely there are plenty of signs of our more recent past, especially from the Second World War.
World War II trench pillbox on cliff top at Stoup Brow.
The relative remoteness of the National Park made it an ideal site for military training. Jugger Howe on Fylingdales Moor was one of the principle static firing ranges of World War II and unexploded shells are still found on the site today. Shell craters pock-mark the landscape and aerial photographs show the surface criss-crossed with tank-tracks. The devastating wildfire that swept across Fylingdales Moor in September 2003 revealed a number of practice slit trenches that would have been used by troops during training.
Pillboxes, concrete bunkers with look-outs and small slits for machine guns or rifles, sprang up almost overnight with some 18,000 built in the days after Dunkirk. Many still remain, particularly along the coast of the North York Moors, though some are more visible than others. The high cliffs between Runswick Bay and Robin Hood’s Bay have some good surviving examples.
Ammunition and explosive stores are also still a relatively common sight. Usually made of brick with a flat roof and simple wooden door, the small stores were used extensively by the Home Guard for keeping explosives, wires, fuel and grenades.
Perhaps one of the largest structures connected to the Second World War was RAF Danby Beacon which occupied its moor-top site from 1937 until its closure in 1957. One of a number of early communications and radar sites, it provided long-range early warning for raids approaching the north midlands and the industrial cities of the north of England. Its most famous hour came in February 1940 when it guided Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend who intercepted and shot down the first enemy aircraft since World War One to fall on English soil.
Today the site has mainly reverted back to moorland but you can read about life at the RAF station from those who served there in a special file at the Moors National Park Centre, Danby. ◼
Graham Lee, archaeologist, North York Moors National Park (published in May 2011 issue, Valley News)
▶ If you are interested in finding out more the North Yorkshire and Cleveland 20th Century Defence Study Group has produced a publication in their local ‘Defence of the UK’ series focusing on Whitby and neighbouring parishes. It documents a wide variety of sites used in the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War. The book is available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 431213) or online via www.defenceofbritain.co.uk.
Pillboxes, concrete bunkers with look-outs and small slits for machine guns or rifles, sprang up almost overnight with some 18,000 built in the days after Dunkirk. Many still remain, particularly along the coast of the North York Moors, though some are more visible than others. The high cliffs between Runswick Bay and Robin Hood’s Bay have some good surviving examples.
Ammunition and explosive stores are also still a relatively common sight. Usually made of brick with a flat roof and simple wooden door, the small stores were used extensively by the Home Guard for keeping explosives, wires, fuel and grenades.
Perhaps one of the largest structures connected to the Second World War was RAF Danby Beacon which occupied its moor-top site from 1937 until its closure in 1957. One of a number of early communications and radar sites, it provided long-range early warning for raids approaching the north midlands and the industrial cities of the north of England. Its most famous hour came in February 1940 when it guided Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend who intercepted and shot down the first enemy aircraft since World War One to fall on English soil.
Today the site has mainly reverted back to moorland but you can read about life at the RAF station from those who served there in a special file at the Moors National Park Centre, Danby. ◼
Graham Lee, archaeologist, North York Moors National Park (published in May 2011 issue, Valley News)
▶ If you are interested in finding out more the North Yorkshire and Cleveland 20th Century Defence Study Group has produced a publication in their local ‘Defence of the UK’ series focusing on Whitby and neighbouring parishes. It documents a wide variety of sites used in the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War. The book is available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 431213) or online via www.defenceofbritain.co.uk.
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RAF Danby Beacon: 1. ‘A’ Site; 2. Police Barrack Room; 3. RAF Danby Beacon Dance Band 1944–5, Bill Roberts, Bert Greemhalgh, Ron Stringer, Freddie Smith; 4. Unknown Radar Mechanic; 5. View of Freddie Smith’s ‘ODEON’ cinema 1944–5.
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