Site of Second World War HAA Gun Site C13, Broomfield (EHER 20130)

Site of Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery at Broomfield, which formed part of the defences of Chelmsford. It was manned by 373 battery of the 118th Royal Artillery Regiment in 1943.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. NGR's: Gun Emplacements TL 7028 1058 Accommodation Site TL 7038 1052 Documented in contemporary records as "C13 Broomfield", a WWII Heavy Anti-Aircraft gun site N of Chelmsford. Manning at the site, in Dec 1943, is documented as manned by 373 battery of the 118th Royal Artillery Regiment in 1943: Manning Date Guns Radar Regt Bty 9 Dec 1943 118 373 An aerial photograph taken in October 1946 shows eight emplacements in a horseshoe formation in a field to the NW of St. Mary's Church. The horseshoe faces NE; all the emplacements are square although the two most southerly, on the arm towards Broomfield, are slightly larger with more structural features, conforming to a type shown diagrammatically as "probably to DFW 55483" (Dobinson, 1996, Vol 1.1, p122). In the centre is the concrete command post. All the structures are banked up to the height of the walls with earth and the extraction pit which probably provided this can be seen at the edge of the field to the N of the emplacements. The aerial photograph shows a number of buildings around Broomfield Hall and by the track to the church. In the SE corner of the field, approximately 100 yards from the emplacements, the remains/foundations of several, perhaps five or six, huts can be seen. Site visit July 1998: The site of the gun emplacements and the hutting foundations has been completely cleared and is now an arable field. One photograph taken of site. <1>-<3> Other refs <4> - <5>