Earith, Cambs - Spigot mortar and Allan Williams turret

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HypoBoy

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Location
Cambridgeshire
Earith would have been an important defensive point in the Cambridgeshire fens, sitting on the point where 3 roads and 3 waterways converge. Earith Bridge is one of very few bridges crossing the river in the area so an invading German advance party would have been very keen to secure it to allow passage inland and towards the local RAF bases so they could be disabled. These points were clearly understood at the time and the ironing board flat fenland at the site has been heavily reworked to provide a series of banks and trenches which can clearly be seen on Flashearth.

It's not much of a site to make a report from but it's an immensely evocative place. Walking the area on my own on a quiet evening, I could easily imagine the carnage which would have taken place if an invasion had ever been attempted. Clearly, the men who would have defended the site would have known fully well that they were there until the death and I can see that they'd have put up one hell of a fight in the process. Everyone seems to comment on how poorly defended Allan-Williams turrets were but, if you look at one up close, you can see that the design and radius of the turret would probably result in small calibre rounds simply bouncing off. The men inside would probably have gone deaf in a matter of minutes, but it'd take a direct hit from a tank or mortar round to actually destroy it. As some turrets were equipped with Boys anti-tank rifles, there's a good chance they'd be a huge nightmare for approaching tanks into the bargain. Sited where it is, painted in camouflage and surrounded by barbed wire, a few Home Guard men would have given approaching forces a seriously nasty surprise here at Earith. No doubt they'd have blown the bridge, leaving the enemy stuck across the river with no defensive cover and unable to disable the turret and spigot mortar.

Unbelievably, I've been driving within 150 yards of the site day in, day out for the last few years without knowing it was there. It's only as result of information I've found from this and similar forums that I discovered its existence :)

1. Earth bank and trenches surround the site.
earthworks.jpg


2. To one side of the site is the spigot mortar base.
spigot2.jpg


3. The base is in pretty much perfect condition.
spigot.jpg


4. Allan-Williams turret.
turret.jpg


5. Machine gun mount.
turret2.jpg


6. Handles to turn turret and wheels still in place.
turret5.jpg


7. Not sure what these are. Observation?
turret4.jpg


8. Gunner's eye view.
turret6.jpg
 
I'm surprised that the turret is still just there in the open. Did you find that she still rotated or was she rusted in place?
 
It didn't move easily. I'd suspect it would but I think that the wheels have probably seized. Didn't want to try too hard for fear of damaging it as one of the handles is already starting to become detached.

It'd be nice to see it recovered somewhere and cared for, but Duxford Air Museum already have an identical one, so I'd suspect it'll just be left quietly rusting until it's too late to save. If it was in the states, it'd probably be pristine and cared for, but sadly WW2 artefacts seem to get completely ignored by most people in the UK :(
 
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