Site of Second World War N Series (Naval) Bombing Decoy, No. HA1, Walton-on-the-Naze (EHER 20311)

A Second World War bombing decoy located at Walton on Naze. It was constructed as part of the 'N-series' of naval decoys to deflect enemy bombing from the port at Harwich. The site functioned as both a 'Permanent Starfish' and 'QL' decoy. The 'Permanent Starfish' decoy operated by setting alight a series of controlled fires during an air raid to replicate a military or urban area targeted by bombs. The 'QL' decoy featured a grid of muted lights set out around man-made ponds to resemble the glow of lights reflecting off water that would be present at a port during a blackout. The site is referenced as being in use between 1941 and 1942, though it could have continued to be active throughout the war. By 1980 the site had been given over to agricultural use and no features of the decoy survive. A further bombing decoy for Harwich port was located at Kirby le Soken.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Documented in contemporary records, "HA1 Walton-on-the-Naze" was a World War Two N series (Naval) decoy controlled from Harwich. This class of decoy was designed specifically for the protection of naval installations in this case, inferred from the code lettering and its geographical position, Harwich dockyard itself. Dobinson, 1996, records that the site was an SF/QL type a site which not only attempted to replicate the night-time lights of the dockyard (QL) but also provided the large fires expected from a successful raid (SF or Starfish). Both the complex lighting arrays and the electrical ignition for the fires were controlled from an earth-covered shelter which housed the generator and switchgear. This would have been located some distance away from the decoy area. <1> <2> Aerial photography shows that by 1980 the site had been given over to agricultural use or scrub land and no features of the decoy survive. <3> Site visit by F. Nash, September 1999 for the WWII Bombing Decoy Sites in Essex survey: The contemporary Military Grid Reference of the site, 98/712427, is at the end of the Naze at Walton. An aerial photograph taken in July 1946 shows a field at this point with a number of indecipherable marks and ground disturbance probably the remains of the fires and the fire break trenches between the displays. <4> This field has now been halved by the re-routing of the sea wall since the war. The northern part is now sand dunes and a salt water lagoon. The southern part, within the sea wall, is dense thicket and scrub. The aerial photograph referred to above, shows an indeterminate structure at a junction of field boundaries 350 yards south of the decoy site, at TM 2640 2423. This position is now heavily overgrown but in the thicket and brambles are the concrete remains of what may well have been a large bunker. There is heavy concrete, reinforcement rods and lengths of railway line. It is not known if this is the remains of a pillbox or the decoy night shelter but, on balance, as it is in the "right" position, the night shelter is preferred. Three photos of site. <5> <6> Site visit by F. Nash. February 2010 for the defence of Tendring survey: The remains of the bunker still lie in the thicket as they did ten years ago. A visit to NMR, Swindon in February 2012 has revealed an exceptionally fine aerial photograph of the decoy site. It was taken in July 1941 and, although small, shows the varying patterns of the lighting arrays very clearly. <7> Additional reference <8>