Record Details

NHER Number:43546
Type of record:Monument
Name:World War Two military railway siding

Summary

A World War Two railway siding used to unload bombs for nearby USAAF bomb stores is visible on aerial photographs. The bomb stores were dispersed around woodlands and roadsides in the vicinity, with their headquarters at Earsham Hall (NHER 41375). The siding was out of use by April 1946 and the railway line closed in 1960.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TM 30805 87912
Map Sheet:TM38NW
Parish:EARSHAM, SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

April 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A World War Two railway siding used to unload bombs for nearby USAAF bomb stores is visible on aerial photographs (S1-S2). This site is centred on TM 3082 8791 on the former Waveney Line railway. The earliest aerial photographs showing the site date to October 1945, at which time it was still in use (S1). A concrete hardstanding extended for 470m along the northwest side of the railway line. Three buildings, including a Nissen hut or similar curved profile building, were present on a triangular area at its northeastern end. To the southeast of the railway line were four more buildings located along an access road. A small structure, possibly a spigot mortar emplacement, was located at TM 30875 87935. This siding was constructed to unload bombs for a nearby USAAF bomb store, the headquarters of which were at Earsham Hall (NHER 41375) (S3). The bomb stores were distributed around the adjacent area, with several located in woodlands (NHER 41372-4) and others along roadsides (NHER 43547-9). The siding appears to have been out of use by April 1946 (S2) and the railway line closed in 1960 (S4). All of the buildings at the site had been removed by 1963 (S5).
J. Albone (NMP), 12 April 2006

Monument Types

  • MILITARY BUILDING (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • MILITARY DEPOT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • NISSEN HUT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • RAILWAY SIDING (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • SPIGOT MORTAR EMPLACEMENT? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

<S1>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1945. RAF 106G/UK/930 4152-3 16-OCT-1945 (NHER TM 3088A / TM 3188A).
<S2>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1429 3066-7 16-APR-1946 (NMR).
<S3>Article in Serial: 1973. Airfields of Norfolk and Suffolk. Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. Pt1. p.18.
<S4>Article in Monograph: Joby, R.. 2005. Railways.. An Historical Atlas of Norfolk. Wade-Martins, P. (ed). pp 152-153.
<S5>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1963. RAF 58/5942 (F22) 102-3 27-SEP-1963 (NMR).

Related records

41375Part of: Headquarters camp of a USAAF World War Two bomb storage facility (Monument)
Norfolk County Council logo Heritage Lottery Fund logo

Powered by HBSMR-web and the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd, and mojoPortal CMS
© 2007 - 2024 Norfolk Historic Environment Service