Reighton Sands

Dirus_Strictus said:

What better way to hide a secret location, than by putting it on the map amongst the holiday camp. It is common knowledge that the importance our Radar stations was not realised. You could not disguise these stations with their mast arrays. However if they were on the map - in plain public view so to speak, who would give them a second thought? Nothing secret anyhow!

Click to expand...

Haha...I like that! They do say the best way to hide something is in plain view! Great idea.

Dirus_Strictus said:

Could be. I have been unable to find any info on the weight bridge - I assume that there was actually one there, not Chinese whispers passed down through the ages? On looking at some pictures of the rail track on the beach, it is clear that these are standard gauge section, but the lack of rail chairs and sleeper remains, makes me wonder if they were not just being used as reinforcement? I am sure the public line did not run near the coast at this point.

I have had a rethink on my comments about the buildings shown on the 1938 map. What better way to hide a secret location, than by putting it on the map amongst the holiday camp. It is common knowledge that the importance our Radar stations was not realised. You could not disguise these stations with their mast arrays. However if they were on the map - in plain public view so to speak, who would give them a second thought? Nothing secret anyhow!

Click to expand...

Looking at the pictures I have of the rails and debris that has fallen onto the beach, the configuration and the rails set into the concrete prove they can not have been a railway. No way a train could have run on these tracks. As to the weigh bridge, the only mention I have seen was in a previous post about the sands. The area that is described as the weigh bridge, I have seen labelled as a gun platform here. Could the rails have been used to rotate and aim a large gun? Could the rails have been used to supply posts with ammo? It would be interesting to see the 1938 map, where did you get it from?

Remains of a concrete platform


Looking north at the rest of the platform, mixed in with the tank traps, rails and pillboxes


Looking south


The Rails set in the concrete and if you look closely, some concrete covers part of the curved rail. Dirus, it seems like you are right about the reinforcement.

Thanks for the extra photos. The site below gives you a whole range of old maps. Note:- They are expensive to buy, however the smaller scale maps 1:10,*** (I forget the exact scale) can be zoomed on line, and as such are quite ledgible. (Well they are on my MAC setup)

http://www.old-maps.co.uk/index.htm

Also Cassinimaps.co.uk sell a couple of series of old maps based on the modern Landranger Series 1:50,000. The old maps are rescaled and use the Landranger sheet designation, ie 104 for Leeds & Bradford. At the moment you can get the 1805/1874, 1896/1904 1 inch maps, and the pre war Popular 1919/1926 1 inch maps (these are 1925 on all the ones I have purchased, but could vary due to original publication dates, the site gives exact details of each individual map). These cost £6.99 and make interesting viewing - well I like old maps!

I think the old-map site is part of the official Ordnance Survey organisation. As I said they cost around £24.00 for the basic map, the nice thing is that you get the print centered on the exact location you want. I got a couple showing the development around the row of weavers cottages we now live in. for general use though, they are a bit pricey. Fortunately our local library has a good selection centered on Rawdon.

I'm not sure how relevant this is because I don't have time to do research on reighton but many beach installations that I've seen had small gauge rails to wheel ammo loaded gurneys along to get ammo to different parts of the installation.

More pictures added to http://www.neolithicsea.co.uk/reightonsands.html

I have never even heard of an eared pillbox. Looks eerie the way its just abandoned like that on the beach. Very interesting.

That's funny, I returned to Reighton and Hunmanby yesterday. This time I really checked out the rails and they are part of a roof structure to a large building which is now broken on the sands. No real idea what it was except it could have been for a large gun or ammo storage.

Found what Kaputnik thinks is a search light and another ruck type pill box.

Here are some more pictures,



Ruck wall



Large thick wall



Rails



Ruck





Heavy mount



Beach search light



Lozenge type







The extra hole would have been a wood support to hold the mould together

More updated images at http://www.neolithicsea.co.uk/reightonsands.html

that one in the 3rd and 4th pics up from the bottom, Neosea, i read somewhere is a beach-light house, which would have housed a search light to illuminate invading landing craft. when i saw it i thought it might be a machine gun post, with it having vents in the roof, for cordite smoke to be chimneyed out, but apparently not.

Kaputnik said:

that one in the 3rd and 4th pics up from the bottom, Neosea, i read somewhere is a beach-light house, which would have housed a search light to illuminate invading landing craft. when i saw it i thought it might be a machine gun post, with it having vents in the roof, for cordite smoke to be chimneyed out, but apparently not.

Click to expand...

Thanks Kap, that's useful info. I thought it was strange to have vents like that.

in this pic i took of it, it looks like something is missing from the left hand side of the now filled in door. wonder if the 'L' shaped piece of concrete in the foreground in one of your pics was once attached here, as protection for the entrance?

Yes it was, and the Lozenge box behind it was exactly the same. It seems like both have had the door covers ripped off. Funny how they ended up the wrong side of the box, they must have twisted as they came down ripping it off.

did you see this poor Ruck clinging on to the ever shifting bank? cant imagine it can hold out for too much longer.

Pictures 1 & 4, also lots of pictures here I have seen picture where the back wall is still attached to the box. It's a shame it can not be rescued, I would imagine the logistics would be a nightmare to even attempt it.

Doh, apologies, didn't realise it was that same one.
they seem a much modified/customised thing, the Ruck types, prob because they were a modular bolt together pillbox, the Sandiacre one near me has square loop-holes cast into the section, although i read they were sometimes cut in, these ones def look to have been made when the halves were cast. and they seem to have been used as entrance tunnels to other pillboxes in some places too.

Don't worry, I didn't make it too clear. Let me know when you are free, I would like to see that box. I did wonder about the square holes. Your book has a lot of good info in it.

the butlins camp just down the coast was a raf training base during ww2- there was also a airfield on the site of Primrose Valley - the sand came from the other side of airy hill there was a quarry there but it was filled in from the rubble from the butlins camp a few years ago

cheers

Excellent updates, guys. I really like the Ruck walls around the gun mount...that one looks a bit precarious too, right on the edge. It'll be a shame to see these go.

Foxylady said:

Excellent updates, guys. I really like the Ruck walls around the gun mount...that one looks a bit precarious too, right on the edge. It'll be a shame to see these go.

Click to expand...

Thanks Foxy.

That ruck has even more soil erosion at the base from when Kaputnik and I last visited. It is not going to be long before it is on the beach.

woody65 said:

the butlins camp just down the coast was a raf training base during ww2- there was also a airfield on the site of Primrose Valley - the sand came from the other side of airy hill there was a quarry there but it was filled in from the rubble from the butlins camp a few years ago

cheers

Click to expand...

what's Primrose valley, Woody? is it a holiday camp

Kaputnik said:

what's Primrose valley, Woody? is it a holiday camp

Click to expand...

yes just down the road from reighton

cheers