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Worms Heath Anti-Aircraft Battery, Warlingham
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<blockquote data-quote="godzilla73" data-source="post: 95142" data-attributes="member: 5663"><p>I've banged on at some length about the historical and tactical importance of the Tatsfield/Warlingham area (BBC Monitoring Station, USAAF Botley Hill, The Aerial Lighthouse etc etc), and I suppose I should have figured that, what with it being the highest point on the North Downs and right outside London, there would be a fairly hefty AkAk facility somewhere. I chanced upon this one though, entirely by accident, while I was looking for the Surrey Police communications facility on Google Earth.(Its actually at Gravelly Hill, some miles away but thats a different story). Its right next door to the NATS facility at Worms Heath, and you can see those masts in the aerial picture as well.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35251[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Anyhoo, I went for a bit of a walk up there a while back and these are the pics. It seems to me to be a fairly standard Heavy artillery arrangement - I'm no expert, but the four emplacements are definitely too big to have carried Bofors guns. Perhaps one of the AA boffins could confirm this? Looking at the OS maps, there don't seem to be any public footpaths directly up to it, but there was certainly a well trodden path leading across the heath (and it is a heath, rather than just a field) with plenty of boot prints and horseshoe prints all over it. It is well fenced off from the NATS facility next to it, which needless to say has some fairly heavy barbed wires and cctv type protection.</p><p></p><p>There are four emplacements - unfortunately, these photos don't give you a sense of the fact that the site is quite big.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35252[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35253[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Each of the emplacements has the grooves in the floor where presumably, the gun was mounted, and then a small shelter type structure next to them. Again, not being an AkAk expert, I'm not sure what these were for but someone could probably shed light on them.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35254[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35255[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Also, at the back of each amplacement is another bunker. These have metal doors that have apparently been welded shut. I suspect that these are engine/equipment rooms, but again I am only speculating. </p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35256[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>There is still some of the original electrical/mechanical wiring equipment present, as you can see from these two pics</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35257[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]35258[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>If anyone knows anything else about this site, I'd be really interested to hear about it. Its marked on the Surrey historical survey, so they know its there, but there doesn't seem to be anything else out there about it. Anyway, enjoy the pics</p><p></p><p>GDZ <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="godzilla73, post: 95142, member: 5663"] I've banged on at some length about the historical and tactical importance of the Tatsfield/Warlingham area (BBC Monitoring Station, USAAF Botley Hill, The Aerial Lighthouse etc etc), and I suppose I should have figured that, what with it being the highest point on the North Downs and right outside London, there would be a fairly hefty AkAk facility somewhere. I chanced upon this one though, entirely by accident, while I was looking for the Surrey Police communications facility on Google Earth.(Its actually at Gravelly Hill, some miles away but thats a different story). Its right next door to the NATS facility at Worms Heath, and you can see those masts in the aerial picture as well. [ATTACH=full]35251[/ATTACH] Anyhoo, I went for a bit of a walk up there a while back and these are the pics. It seems to me to be a fairly standard Heavy artillery arrangement - I'm no expert, but the four emplacements are definitely too big to have carried Bofors guns. Perhaps one of the AA boffins could confirm this? Looking at the OS maps, there don't seem to be any public footpaths directly up to it, but there was certainly a well trodden path leading across the heath (and it is a heath, rather than just a field) with plenty of boot prints and horseshoe prints all over it. It is well fenced off from the NATS facility next to it, which needless to say has some fairly heavy barbed wires and cctv type protection. There are four emplacements - unfortunately, these photos don't give you a sense of the fact that the site is quite big. [ATTACH=full]35252[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]35253[/ATTACH] Each of the emplacements has the grooves in the floor where presumably, the gun was mounted, and then a small shelter type structure next to them. Again, not being an AkAk expert, I'm not sure what these were for but someone could probably shed light on them. [ATTACH=full]35254[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]35255[/ATTACH] Also, at the back of each amplacement is another bunker. These have metal doors that have apparently been welded shut. I suspect that these are engine/equipment rooms, but again I am only speculating. [ATTACH=full]35256[/ATTACH] There is still some of the original electrical/mechanical wiring equipment present, as you can see from these two pics [ATTACH=full]35257[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]35258[/ATTACH] If anyone knows anything else about this site, I'd be really interested to hear about it. Its marked on the Surrey historical survey, so they know its there, but there doesn't seem to be anything else out there about it. Anyway, enjoy the pics GDZ :) [/QUOTE]
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Worms Heath Anti-Aircraft Battery, Warlingham
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