Product Description

Demolition of Second World War defences commenced before the end of the war, when the risk of Nazi invasion had diminished, and until recent years the study and recording of buildings and structures associated with twentieth-century defences has received relatively little attention. Despite the extent of the demolition work many examples of defence installations and structures survive throughout Great Britain. As Warwickshire was not as heavily defended as counties with coastal regions and those on the eastern side of Great Britain there are inevitably fewer examples of defence structures than in these kinds of areas. However, within Warwickshire a wide variety of defence buildings and structures still survive. This guide includes pill boxes, bombing decoy sites, anti-aircraft defences, air-raid shelters, army buildings, and Cold War defences. Complementing his study with photographs and maps, including suggested walks, Steve Carvell has compiled a detailed and important record of these often overlooked structures and defences across Warwickshire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363549 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Clearly written and informative - worth buying
As Warwickshire is one of the most land-locked counties, you may be forgiven for thinking that defence-wise, there was little need to build the myriad of fortifications that dotted Britain's front line counties of the Second World War.

But think again. As Steve Carvell reveals, from the existing plethora of wartime defences, future archaeologists may be forgiven for thinking that Warwickshire was at the forefront of the Nazi invasion threat.

With the major industrial cities of Birmingham and Coventry, Warwickshire was actually a highly important and vulnerable target for German invaders. As such, the county was criss-crossed up by six anti-invasion Stop Lines, all designed to obstruct the German attackers.

Much of the defenders' efforts are still visible today. Unique octagonal anti-tank blocks, together with concrete cylinders and cubes, nestle in the Warwickshire countryside alongside several types of pillbox, including rare Stent and Mushroom types.

During the Second World War, the county was home to seventeen airfields, mainly of the training and bomber types. There are still a variety of crumbling hangars and airfield ancillary buildings to be seen too.

The far-reaching threat of the Luftwaffe meant Warwickshire also looked to the skies. Both heavy and light anti-aircraft sites were emplaced around the main conurbations and bombing decoys were also lit in remote areas to distract the bombers. There were also several types of air raid shelter for those on the ground to sit out the German bombs.

But Warwickshire's military infrastructure did not end with the coming of peace in 1945. With the new threat of the Cold War came the RAF Gaydon V-bomber base and its associated atomic bomb store, Royal Observer Corps underground monitoring posts and Group Headquarters, Emergency Government bunkers and post-nuclear attack communications towers and exchanges.

Like the anti-invasion defences of the previous conflict, thankfully these Cold War defences were not put to the test and partially remain as a reminder of nightmarish times.

Steve Carvell's book is clearly written, well laid out and brilliantly illustrated with maps, plans, gazetteers and photographs of rare remains. Not only that, but further exploration is served up on a plate for the reader in the forms of five illustrative walks.

This book provides a valuable history for the people and the archaeological record of Warwickshire and is a great case study revealing how extensive the last century's inland defences were.