Second World War minefield, north-east headland, The Naze (EHER 21367)

This is the site of a Second World War minefield.

Contemporary records state, “Land mines. Walton Hall Farm. Map ref. 705425.” (Mil. Ed.) <1> A study of an aerial photograph taken in July 1946 shows that there were extensive minefields on The Naze during World War Two. <2> Recording in Essex has revealed that mines were sown in vulnerable areas, often paralleling the coast. They were laid in regularly spaced out lines, around three rows deep. Animals such as foxes and dogs strayed into the minefields, exploding the mines and leaving regular craters, all the same size, although this would depend on the changing firmness of the terrain. On The Naze, they can still be seen in 1946, distinguishable from the random, larger bomb craters which dot the area. There are well over a hundred such craters visible. Most of them are in a long band which parallels Cormorant Creek to the north and Walton Channel to the west, guarding the approaches from these waterways, across Walton Hall Marshes and up to The Naze. A separate minefield lay at the furthest point east of The Naze where a flat promontory jutted out into the sea. Here, around 20 tightly-packed craters can be seen. For the sake of clarity The Naze minefields have been written up in two SMR records, SMR 21366 which covers the major band around the north and west, and this one which covers the small field on the promontory. Site visit by F. Nash, 2010 Visited in March 2010, the promontory no longer exists. Erosion of the coast has been extensive here and the whole of the headland has now gone. The position of the minefield is now in the sea perhaps 100 yards off-shore between the low and high water marks. The mud flats here are littered with the remains of concrete, rock, steel pilings and other debris, difficult to interpret.