Site of Second World War light anti aircraft battery, north of Thaxted Road, Debden Airfield (EHER 21530)
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Summary
Now destroyed. Two circular earthen enclosures some 250 yards north of Thaxted Road.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TL 5719 3526 (88m by 103m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | WIMBISH, UTTLESFORD, ESSEX |
Type and Period
Description
An aerial photograph taken in March 1943 shows two circular earthen enclosures some 250 yards north of Thaxted Road. Each of them has an entrance gap on its south-west arc. Nearby there are smaller enclosures. A track leads from nearby RAF Regiment accommodation huts directly to the enclosures. <1>
A 1946 plan shows, not two but three, large enclosures, all of them labelled “G.P.” (Gun Post). <2>
These, then, would have been enclosures for light anti-aircraft guns, perhaps Bofors, for firing on low level enemy planes intent on strafing the airfield. In 1943, two had been built. By the end of the war, another had been added.
Nothing of them now survives and the site is now an open arable field. <1> <2>