Second World War Pillbox on Chelmer Island (EHER 10160)

Standing in a picturesque setting on a small island in the River Chelmer, this pillbox is an FW3/24 type, hexagonal, built of concrete, with a "Y- shaped" central roof support.

Standing in a picturesque setting on a small island in the River Chelmer, this pillbox is an FW3/24 type, hexagonal, built of concrete, with a "Y- shaped" central roof support. <1> The entrance is in the 16' long W side with two 10" square loopholes; each of the other five sides, 10' long, has a 12" x 6" loophole. Although the walls are 3'6" thick the pillbox would have been dangerously exposed, somewhat ahead of the main pillbox defence line, with little apparent possibility of escape from the island. Two photos of site. <2> Photo <3> - <6> Defence of Chelmsford survey <7> Information from NRHE record 1421928 Type 24 thick walled pillbox. Type 24 shell-proof pillbox. LOCATION: Weir on River Chelmer, Chelmsford <8> <9> Information from NRHE record 1421929 Rectangular infantry pillbox. Vickers machine gun emplacement. LOCATION: Under the recently constructed (during 1980's) A12 road, Chelmsford bypass (1) Note the Defence of Britain database has been updated since the creation of the NRHE record. It now states: Nothing shown on the 1967 1:2500 OS map which does show the other sites in the area. This is probably a duplicate of e17935 (EHER 10160) which is shown as a Type 24 not square. Status updated.