Site of Second World War Minefield, 45/46, Clacton Golf Course (EHER 21171)

Second World War Minefield, no evidence remaining.

WWII Defence of Clacton survey. Contemporary records state, ‘Minefields, gun emplacements, etc. Clacton Golf Course. Map ref. 605315’ (Mil. Ed.) <1> Aerial photograph, 1946 An aerial photograph taken in July 1946 shows the area of the golf course very clearly. A number of WWII structures can be seen together with several minefields. These are discernible by the regularly spaced craters caused by mines exploding accidentally, most likely by dogs, foxes etc. Towards the W edge of the course sixteen craters, in an area perhaps 50 yards across, denotes one of these minefields. <2> At the Essex Record Office there exists Clacton Urban District Council correspondence from 1945-47 regarding the clearance of military defence works. From the map references given, this was minefield No. 45/46, at 603315 (Mil. Ed). The correspondence states that there were 332 mines ‘on plan’, 289 were cleared and there were 18 ‘old craters’. The site was declared as safe. <3> Site visit by Fred Nash, 2006 Walked in 2006, no obvious signs of depressions could be seen. <4>