Site of Second World War Minefield, 45/43 Clacton Golf Course (EHER 21174)

This is the site of a Second World War minefield, nothing of which now remains.

WWII Defence of Clacton survey. Contemporary records state, ‘Minefields, gun emplacements, etc. Clacton Golf Course. Map ref. 605315’ (Mil. Ed.) <1> 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. 150 yards north-east of Martello Tower ‘D’, a patch of around 15 craters in an area 60/70 yards across, denotes one of these minefields. 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. 45/43, at 610317 (Mil. Ed). The correspondence states that there were 128 mines ‘on plan’, 107 were cleared and there were 27 ‘old craters’. The site was declared safe. <3> Site visit by Fred Nash, 2006 In 2006, the area is now part of the golf course immediately north of a small lake. No obvious signs of depressions can be seen. <4>