Cotswolds pillboxes, Winchcombe area. Dec 2011

[Munchh]

............................................Oh and Munchh, the pillboxes in this report faced as follows:
PB1 facing south west down into the valley and the road that runs along it (although it's a good mile distant).
PB2 facing westerly with it's entrance towards Winchcombe
PB3 not a PB apparently!
PB4 facing north, again with it's entrance towards Winchcombe.
Looking at these facings on a map it would seem that they are defending some of the approaches to Winchcombe, certainly from the north and south/southwest anyway.

Well done Jim, now you're hooked!

The other thing you can do is to compare maps of the time to GE. If you know Rich then he can help you with that although there are links for old maps etc posted in the reference material section here if you want to find them yourself. Particularly useful for spotting features which were there in 1940 and now long gone. I've found answers to the 'what the hell were they defending?' question several times in this way.

If there's anything you particularly want to know, PM me if you think I can help. I'm sure the other guys on here will also be as willing to assist.

Good luck with your explorations, I look forward to seeing more from you.

 

[Jimthething]

Thanks Munchh. As a matter of fact my girlfriend just bought me a set of three reproduced OS maps of East Yorkshire from 1824, 1903 and 1924 respectively. Really fascinating to compare to modern day versions ( I have a 1980s one and a current one) - can really see how coastal erosion has altered the landscape around here! They're a bit early for WW2 defences and I notice that some of the WW1 installations, although they are marked on the 1924 map, aren't labelled. I imagine they wouldn't want to advertise where they'd located all their defences as the Great War was not long finished. Really interesting stuff!

 

[Grey_Man]

Nice photos, had 'ticked off' the 2 at Winchcombe but wasn't aware of the one at Greet (dammit) ..... will take a bimble over to this one and the 'water tank' soonish.

If you want a good list of Gloucestershire pillboxes (covers most of the ones in the county) take a look at the Flickr group for the Pillbox Study Group and also the Forum of the Pillbox Study Group too, may need to join the forum in order to access all of it.

 

[Jimthething]

Thanks Grey Man. I was just down in that part of the country for a few days with a new camera so couldn't resist tracking a few down!

 

[dannylaing]

Some cool pics Jim,may have to take a trip myself? Nice one

 

[Foxylady]

Enjoyed seeing these, especially with the local stone. Always interesting to see how pillboxes vary according to their locality and availability of building materials. Nice work, Jim.