Yet More Rattray Stop Line Muppetry

[Seahorse]

Absolutely gorgeous weather this morning. So despite a toe with lumps of bone chipped off of it, I decided it was time to go gather some more pillbox data from the Rattray Stop Line.

First stop... the car park near St. Fergus. Whilst this pillbox isn't strictly part of the Rattray defences, I thought it best to get it logged anyhow. Coords are: 57°33'36.74"N, 001°48'45.45"W (Roughly, give or take a few meters.)

Whadeyemean, you can't see a pillbox??? Trust me, it's under there right enough. Although I haven't seen it in about 17 years, I must admit.

OK,heading north on to the next one. This is the southernmost pillbox, located close to Annachie Bridge
Coords: 57°34'3.88"N, 001°49'30.03"W

Initials incscribed into the MG table when the concrete was wet? Or a bored Home Guard bod?

MG table

The aforementioned Annachie Bridge. With St. Fergus gas terminal in the background. Beware of armed chappies in black, driving 4x4's.

Annachie Burn. Natural defence supplementing an extensive array of anti tank ditches in the locale.

Next up is this one, situated inside the perimeter fence. Impossible to get closer without risking several thousand volts up yer jacksey. But you can see that 2 embrasures have been filled, whether recently or not, I have no idea.
Coords: 57°34'33.28"N, 001°49'52.59"W

Onwards and upwards. I rather like the first shot. The object in front is a picket for supporting the barbed wire which filled much of the surrounding area.
Coords: 57°34'52.75"N, 001°50'1.62"W

Rawlbolt type holes, suggesting an erection (ooer, missus!!!) of some kind was bolted to the exterior.

MG tables seem to have been the Must Have fashion accessory for pillboxes in this part of the country.

And on we go again. I did wonder about the infilled embrasures on this one. But a closer examination of the ground in the immediate area suggests one answer: to the left and right, i.e. in direct line of fire were the embrasures NOT blocked, are what appear to be trenches. Could it be that that the Home Guard were not to be trusted not to engage in "friendly fire"?
Coords: 57°35'24.27"N, 001°50'7.41"W

In the ground at the bottom left of the above photo, there are still some of these little beauties; galvanised steel staples, for pinning the bottom of cam net/hessian to the ground. Yes, I DID pull this out for the photo, but yes I DID put it back again.

No loopholes in the back of this one for some reason. Another thing I discovered was, the doorways are REALLY low. I had thought looking at other pillboxes that were infilled with sand, that the height was low because of the build up of sand. Wrong. Either guys were very short in those days, or any enemy trying to get in would have had to stoop, leaving himself vulnerable as he did so.

ANOTHER MG table. I wonder if they had enough guns to actually equip each pillbox??? Note the concrete floor is visible, confirming the low head height of the doorway.

And the last one of the day. Time beat me unfortunately. Plus the park was full of coos, that were getting inquisitive. Maybe they were Mod Plods in disguise?
Note the unusual arrangement in the embrasures? What's that all about?
Coords: 57°35'29.54"N, 001°50'16.05"W

I'm beginning to think they ate their dinner off these things.

And so to bed. Or summat.

 

[jonney]

Some nice pillboxes there Seahorse, the embrasures in the last box are very strange indeed I've never seen them like that before

 

[fluffy5518]

Many thanks for that Seahorse 'tis always interesting to see how defences differ in other patrs of the country.PS Never knew of staples before !!

 

[night crawler]

Wonderfull stuff and a great selection of MG posts, it is good to see so many are still in one piece unlike some I have come across.

 

[WinchItIn]

Nice collection of pics. Like the low entrances,they're a new one on me. Another great report.

 

[Foxylady]

Really interesting to see the variations. I'm wondering if the unusual embrasures in the last one was due to lack of time or materials? Maybe they just bunged in the last bits of richochet jobbies they had left over and didn't have the time or inclination to make more or cement them in. Just a stray thought!
Good stuff, Seahorse. Love the spigot mortar in your other thread, btw.

 

[cptpies]

Lovely stuff Seahorse. That first one isn't recorded so I've added it to the GE overlay. The wide embrasures and gun tables in these ones suggest they were designed to take HMGs rather than the usual LMGs. I suspect that due to shortages of these weapons they were later modified with those anti ricochet thingummyjiggies to narrow the embrasures for LMGs and rifles.

 

[Seahorse]

Lovely stuff Seahorse. That first one isn't recorded so I've added it to the GE overlay. The wide embrasures and gun tables in these ones suggest they were designed to take HMGs rather than the usual LMGs. I suspect that due to shortages of these weapons they were later modified with those anti ricochet thingummyjiggies to narrow the embrasures for LMGs and rifles.

Bear in mind that the first one is based on my recollections, which in turn is based on how I remember it in relation to the path through the dunes. If any of those things have moved in the past 17 or so years, then the coords could be out by 10's of meters. The path itself is now fairly full of sand to a height of 10 feet or so, making the location a best guess.

I suspect you are correct regarding the type of weapons the tables were designed for, since an LMG would need to have been raised higher than that allowed for by a standard bipod. In fact, you'd struggle to get a comfortable firing position with a rifle at all.

 

[Foxylady]

...I suspect that due to shortages of these weapons they were later modified with those anti ricochet thingummyjiggies to narrow the embrasures for LMGs and rifles.

Ah, that makes sense. Although, I'd much prefer to think of them scratching their heads and wondering what to do with the left-over pieces, and one of them saying...
'Will ye no' get a move on Jamie? The pub will be open shortly!'

 

[cptpies]

I'd much prefer to think of them scratching their heads and wondering what to do with the left-over pieces, and one of them saying...
'Will ye no' get a move on Jamie? The pub will be open shortly!'

I prefer your theory, it's infinitely more likely considering the lure of a pint of 80 Shilling outweighs all other temptations bar one in the eyes of a Scot.