Second World War Dummy Minefield, greensward, Marine Parade West, Clacton-on-Sea (EHER 21180)

Second World War Dummy Minefield.

WWII Defence of Clacton survey At the Essex Record Office there is Clacton Urban District correspondence from 1945-47 regarding the clearance of military defence works. Each of the minefields from Holland-on-Sea to Jaywick is clearly detailed, nine of them in total, numbered from 45/40 to 45/47 with a dummy minefield as 45/41A. <1> However, there is photographic evidence of another minefield, or a dummy, on the greensward S of Marine Parade west. The photo, taken at ground level, is primarily of a notice board with the legend ‘Danger. Mines’. It stands in grass with a timber-framed public shelter in the background close by a standard lamppost. This location has been fairly conclusively identified as that along the greensward between Collingwood Road and St Vincent Road. The shelter still exists, exactly as in the photo, the lamp standard has been moved a few yards along the promenade. <2> At, presumably, a later point in the war, a ‘Diver’ site was set up on rising ground just off the promenade opposite Collingwood Road (see SMR 21179). From an aerial photograph taken in July 1946 which shows up to 20 very distinct parch marks, it can be seen that the accommodation huts for the gun site were located along the greensward behind and to the NE of the guns. They appear in two separate areas, one each side of a blank (no parch marks) stretch of the greensward between TM 1702 1404 and TM 1707 1409, with the public shelter standing in the middle. This ties in exactly with the ground-level photo with the minefield sign. <3> However, it cannot be conclusively determined whether the minefield was genuine or a dummy. Despite the fact that they built carefully around it, it is thought that the minefield was probably a dummy. World War Two minefields are largely interpretable on 1946 aerial photographs from the distinctively regular craters caused by dogs, foxes, etc exploding the mines. Here, there are none, the ground is completely clear. In either case, whether genuine or dummy, this minefield should have appeared in the 1945-47 schedules and the reason for its omission is not known. <4> <5>