After the HAA Battery at Blyth the other day I decided to have a look at Lizard Farm HAA Battery, Whitburn, South Sheilds (Tyne S). Having looked at it on GE the layout is pretty similar although there are a couple of differences. It was one of 3 HAA Batteries in the area but alas it is the only one still surviving the other 2 being Cleadon Tyne O and Fellgate Tyne D. Cleadon is now Sunderland football clubs training ground (another reason to hate them as I'm a Newcastle supporter lol) and Fellgate is now an quarry (Fellgate used to be the most intact battery in the area until they demolished it for mineral extraction). I have a plan for Cleadon and a 1940's aerial photo of Fellgate but nothing for this site so my map is made up of information from the land owner and what I already know of the site
Bit of info...
Whitburn, Lizard Lane, Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery Tyne S (HER1795)
This Heavy Anti-Aircraft site was established some time during World War Two. It was armed with four 3.7 inch static guns, which were the standard HAA weapon of the time, and remained in use until the late 1950s. Such weapons could fire to a maximum height of 32,000ft, and were designed to shoot down high flying bombers. The site also had two Bofors guns (quick firing weapons, used against faster aircraft flying below 5,000 feet), and two rocket batteries. The Home Guard operated this battery from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945. It still exists on private land
I must thank the landowner, again a really nice bloke, for granting me permission to photograph the site and for the bits of info he gave me. Again there were horses in the fields and I was asked not to disturb them and make sure all gates were closed after me which I did. He also told me that his bungalow used to be the officers quarters and when he moved into it 20 years ago it was timber clad, which he had removed and replaced with brick. I agreed not to publish any photo's of it for obvious reasons. Anyway on with the pics...
The site map
The ammo store
The building to the right of the green doors is a new addition and nothing to do with the site
The magazines. No.1 again building on the right is new
Some original features remain
No.2
again more original features
The generator building
Accommodation block bases
All of the gun emplacements and the ops building have been back filled but some of the features can still be seen. I am told that all features still remain intact under the back fill
Again I got followed round the site, must be my aftershave lol
The ops building
The radar set house
The storage shelters
Post for holding up the GL radar wire mesh mat
The GL radar set ramp and plinth
There were no signs of the bofors guns or the rocket batteries locations so I'm guessing they were mobile and had no fixed position either that or they have been removed/buried
And finally for this site we have what I'm going to call a pillbox but I've never seen anything like this before. I would be grateful if anyone has any more information about it
the one on the left was the entrance
internals through the embrasures
now this is where it gets interesting...the roof it was open to the middle about 2.5 meters across
notice the metal work
well again thats it for this concrete overload
Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed
Cheers Jon
Bit of info...
Whitburn, Lizard Lane, Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery Tyne S (HER1795)
This Heavy Anti-Aircraft site was established some time during World War Two. It was armed with four 3.7 inch static guns, which were the standard HAA weapon of the time, and remained in use until the late 1950s. Such weapons could fire to a maximum height of 32,000ft, and were designed to shoot down high flying bombers. The site also had two Bofors guns (quick firing weapons, used against faster aircraft flying below 5,000 feet), and two rocket batteries. The Home Guard operated this battery from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945. It still exists on private land
I must thank the landowner, again a really nice bloke, for granting me permission to photograph the site and for the bits of info he gave me. Again there were horses in the fields and I was asked not to disturb them and make sure all gates were closed after me which I did. He also told me that his bungalow used to be the officers quarters and when he moved into it 20 years ago it was timber clad, which he had removed and replaced with brick. I agreed not to publish any photo's of it for obvious reasons. Anyway on with the pics...
The site map
The ammo store
The building to the right of the green doors is a new addition and nothing to do with the site
The magazines. No.1 again building on the right is new
Some original features remain
No.2
again more original features
The generator building
Accommodation block bases
All of the gun emplacements and the ops building have been back filled but some of the features can still be seen. I am told that all features still remain intact under the back fill
Again I got followed round the site, must be my aftershave lol
The ops building
The radar set house
The storage shelters
Post for holding up the GL radar wire mesh mat
The GL radar set ramp and plinth
There were no signs of the bofors guns or the rocket batteries locations so I'm guessing they were mobile and had no fixed position either that or they have been removed/buried
And finally for this site we have what I'm going to call a pillbox but I've never seen anything like this before. I would be grateful if anyone has any more information about it
the one on the left was the entrance
internals through the embrasures
now this is where it gets interesting...the roof it was open to the middle about 2.5 meters across
notice the metal work
well again thats it for this concrete overload
Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed
Cheers Jon
love it
