Record Details
| NHER Number: | 17016 |
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| Type of record: | Structure |
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| Name: | World War Two section post |
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Summary
A World War Two section post is visible on 1940 and 1941 aerial photographs. It can still be seen today, and is one of only two examples in Norfolk.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 3481 3355 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG33SW |
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| Parish: | BACTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Pill box.
Roughly L-shaped, brick.
Five concrete chamfered loopholes in north and west sides each.
Original information from Pillbox Survey.
Accurately located by E. Rose (NAU), 4 February 1981.
See record form in file by source [1], who adds:
Very rare 1940 L Section post; one of only two in Norfolk.
Survey No. H1-18.
D.Walker (NLA), August 1996.
November 2004. Norfolk NMP. Watch House Lane.
An extant World War Two L-shaped section post is visible on aerial photographs (S2 to S5). The grid reference for this structure has been adjusted from TG 3482 3355 to TG 3481 3356. It was not present on aerial photographs dating to 16 August 1940 (S2), but had been constructed by 16 July 1941 (S3). An oblique aerial photograph dating to 7 August 1941 shows it camouflaged as a haystack (S4). The structure is still extant (S5).
(S2 to S5)
J. Albone (NMP), 26 November 2004.
July 2023. Condition Report.
Cracks have begun to form in the façade facing Watch House Lane, causing it to begin to lean forward towards the footpath.
See photographs (S6).
H. Hamilton (HES), 20 July 2023.
July 2023. Correspondence [2].
Documentary research indicates that the term 'section post' was used quite generally during wartime to refer to any defensive position a Section of infantry would occupy, including everything from trenches to garrisoned buildings. It is now used (as applied here) to refer to specialised elongated pillboxes built to be garrisoned by a Section of infantry comprised of about 8 soldiers, often armed with rifles and a single light machine gun. These types of 'section posts' are particularly common in the coastal regions of North Yorkshire and some other northern counties.
H. Hamilton (HES), 20 July 2023.
Monument Types
- PILLBOX (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- SECTION POST (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| <S1> | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S2> | Oblique Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1940. NMR TG 3433/47 (MSO 31015 2A/BR14/5 3646) 16-AUG-1940. |
| <S3> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1941. RAF S/330 22-3 16-JUL-1941 (NMR). |
| <S4> | Oblique Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1941. NMR TG 3433/50 (MSO 31255 S378/H50 72) 07-AUG-1941. |
| <S5> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Environment Agency. 2002. EA 040 AF/02C/339 6974-5 22-JUL-2002 (EA). |
| <S6> | Photograph: [anonymous]. 2023. Photographs of exterior of brick-built section post at Bacton. |
Related records - none
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