Isle Of Wight Oddz n Sodz

[fluffy5518]

Hi all;
Another few piccies from the IOW (A visit here is highly recommended)
First off is Culver and here is an Admiralty Marker stone.

Half of whats left of the battery.

Close up of a spigot mortar on the coastal cliffs.

Some kind of secure store above the battery.

A Massive erection on Culver Down.

and a rare surviving Alan Williams Turrett on a mound above the Fort at Bembridge (one of two here-but,alas,no entry to us lot !!)

A well cared for Type 23 pillbox just down the road at Marshcombe Shute Brading.

A quick dash up to the Needles to the old Rocket Testing site (Now open to the public during the summer months)
Original Signage

The Control and Pump rooms.

The testing area at No 1 Gangtry.

Variant type Pillbox on top of the former Sandown Fort(now Sandown Zoo) at least they've removed the bleedin'tiger from atop it !!

....and lastly a WWII barbred wire retaining post found at RAF Ventnor (were these called Picket Posts or am i losing it !!!? )

A BLOODY GOOD WEEK !!
PS If you need any gen on these or any other sites on the IOW check out Urban Mole's posts !!

 

[night crawler]

Great stuff Fluffy now open a Flickr account and post more there

 

[jonney]

Nice one fluffy got to get myself over there one of these days

 

[Hilts]

Nice one Fluffy. Heres a tale about the IOW if someone can confirm this or not ?
The Military rd that runs between Totland and Chale, I heard it was built by Germans and originally it had a metal fence running alongside it. Its the fence I`m interested in as when the Germans built it they incorporated in the design an outline of the German steel helmet. Most of the fence was later removed , but does anyone know if any still stands ?

 

[mcl]

The fence in question no longer exists - or I have not found any bits of it yet. There is evidence of military fencing but it is wwII pattern barbed wire type.

I feel that this could be another urban myth.

 

[cptpies]

Variant type Pillbox on top of the former Sandown Fort(now Sandown Zoo) at least they've removed the bleedin'tiger from atop it !!

It's still there on GE, I wondered what the orange splodge was.

 

[and7barton]

That Alan Williams Turret prompts me to ask - What is the smaller version of that turret called ?
I've seen one or two of them around - They are only just big enough for one person to squeeze into, tall and narrow with a domed top.

 

[jonney]

That Alan Williams Turret prompts me to ask - What is the smaller version of that turret called ?
I've seen one or two of them around - They are only just big enough for one person to squeeze into, tall and narrow with a domed top.

I think that would be a Tett Turret mate

 

[Black Shuck]

I got some more Pillbox Porn for you very soon Jonney mate! Yum!

 

[jonney]

I got some more Pillbox Porn for you very soon Jonney mate! Yum!

Your spoiling me now mate

 

[T-bar]

should of come to see us and we could of shown you INSIDE most of the places you looked at never mind

 

[Urban Mole]

Good photos Nigel, good to see you had a nice time over here, and non of your photos look wet either, so Im assuming it was quite a dry visit.
Most of the pillboxes over here are cared for by some 'island pillbox society', the one you have pictured above was uncovered a couple of yrs ago, but you wouldnt have known it was there it was so overgrown.
The mission lion will be back, during a cancer awareness week or something, it was painted bight pink, and I was told its been taken away to be painted back to normal, but its been gone a while now.
I too have heard the story of german POWs making these helmet tops, but I have yet to see any, I have also been told that the same fencing was used along some of our railways on the island, but again, Ive yet to see proof of this.

Good Job

 

[Jimbo]

Good photos Nigel, good to see you had a nice time over here, and non of your photos look wet either, so Im assuming it was quite a dry visit.
Most of the pillboxes over here are cared for by some 'island pillbox society', the one you have pictured above was uncovered a couple of yrs ago, but you wouldnt have known it was there it was so overgrown.
The mission lion will be back, during a cancer awareness week or something, it was painted bight pink, and I was told its been taken away to be painted back to normal, but its been gone a while now.
I too have heard the story of german POWs making these helmet tops, but I have yet to see any, I have also been told that the same fencing was used along some of our railways on the island, but again, Ive yet to see proof of this.

Good Job

I visited IOW around 1970 or 1971 and went on a coach trip around the island. The coach stopped and we were shown the fence with the little German helmets. Yes the story was that they were made by the German POWs. He said a lot of them had disappeared for souvenirs