Pegwell Bay: Ports & Protection
A virtual archaeology & heritage walk focusing on Pegwell Bay's Second World War defences & two unique ports
Image source © IWM RICH 233. Pegwell Bay Country Park is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust .
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*Our self-guided Low Tide Trails can be followed virtually as well as physically. If you do go for a physical walk using our trail as a guide you are responsible for your own welfare and safety. MOLA/CITiZAN cannot accept any liability for injury/damage/trespass as a result.
Port Richborough & machine gun position
Image source © IWM H 39607
From here the remains of Port Richborough can be seen down the mouth of the Stour.
Hidden from seaward view, Port Richborough grew from 1916 as a secret Q port in order to supplement Dover in WWI. At the time Dover was providing service for the Inland Water Transport Section (IWT), which had been formed to carry supplies directly from Britain into French canals & rivers, easing port congestion & meeting the rising demand for an efficient supply system to the Western Front. Another benefit was the spreading of cargo across multiple flat bottomed vessels, which were harder for U-boats to torpedo and a proportion of which would inevitably succeed in crossing. The first barges used were unseaworthy French canal barges & in 1916 Richborough started constructing its own more seaworthy design of ac barge. Although they were usually riveted one barge hull was made entirely through welding, the first such hull made in Britain.
Richborough also built high-speed lighters, an invention which underwent trial but was never adopted & represent the earliest example of an aircraft carrier. These unique barges were designed to be towed by destroyers & carry flying-boat seaplanes at speeds of up to 34 knots across the channel in order to increase their flying range. In 1918 they were briefly adapted for launching sopwith camels whilst at sea, resulting in one successful operation in which Lieutenant Culley shot down L53, the last zeppelin brought down in WWI.
Later in 1918 roll on train ferries were introduced to the port. These had railway tracks on board, which could be connected with terrestrial tracks on docking as seen in the photograph. This enabled cargo laden train carriages to transfer directly on & off the boat, which cut out the need for added storage & labour increasing the efficiency of supply to many parts of the frontline, including the Ypres salient. Transporting a total of 650,000 tons of supplies & munitions they were able to cross in just 30 mins. They transported food, equipment, troops, artillery & even 685 tanks.
Beside the former train ferry dock a pillbox was built in WW2 as part of the wartime coastal crust defences . This housed two vickers MMG machine guns which, coupled with a cave based installation under Pegwell village to the north, could provide cross-fire along the entire bay.
Later in WW2 Port Richborough was used as a transit camp, helping over 5,000 jewish refugees escape persecution at the hands of Nazi Germany. It also constructed mulberry harbour pontoons for D-Day.
Obstacle Z.1 admiralty scaffolding
Image source © IWM H 11545
Stretching SW from this point a straight cut can be seen running through the marsh, much of which has accreted since WW2. This runs where part of an obstacle Z.1 admiralty scaffolding lay, providing its only surviving trace in the landscape.
Admiralty scaffolding was a WW2 coastal crust obstacle comprising of long lines of triangularly laid tubular steel which ran along stretches of vulnerable coastline. It was quick to construct & it’s estimated that 15,000 miles of tubing was manufactured for the purposes of coastal defence at this time.
The majority of the scaffolds followed a classification known as obstacle Z.1 & more commonly referred to as either beach scaffolding or anti-tank scaffolding. When positioned at or above the high water mark the scaffolds were used as a deterrent to tanks. When positioned at the mid-tide mark they were intended to hinder landing craft, though tests in 1940 showed that a 250 ton barge could easily pass through the obstacle at 5.5 knots & their effectiveness was questionable.
With a total height of 9 feet & with the highest point facing seaward, they had diagonal tubes bracing uprights in a triangular shape. These were preassembled in 6m sections & connected together on site.
The scaffolding at Pegwell Bay ran for almost 2km in front of the low lying section of marshland and would have been partly submerged at high-tide (when seaborne invasion was most likely). Starting close to the observation post & flame device storage tanks, it incorporated pipes carrying fuel from them & could create a flame barrier along its length, which finished at the mouth of the River Stour to the south.
Coming off the eastern bank at the mouth of the stour a tethered mine barrier loop extended towards the centre of the bay. This was probably intended to intercept & damage any landing craft approaching the southern portion of the defences. The mouth of the Stour also contained two deliberately sunk vessels HMT Harvest Moon & HMD Alfred Colebrook which obstructed the use of the river by enemy vessels.
Anti-tank cylinders
Image source (Kent History Forum)
These anti-tank obstacles formed part of a filled pipe wall, which stretched over 0.5km and consisted of over 300 cylinders. It would have provided a further layer of difficulty for the progress of tanks and helped to plug vulnerable gaps between other defences.
They were made in two separate concrete parts, each of which was resourcefully moulded from local farm irrigation pipe. Reinforced with steel rods they originally had pickets set into the tops for supporting a type of barbed wire called dannert concertina wire between the cylinders. As well as providing resistance to infantry, dannert wire could entangle itself in wheels and could sometimes hinder armoured vehicles.
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Bofors anti-aircraft gun emplacement
Image source © IWM CH 4626
This earthwork was commonly thought to be a bomb crater, however recent CITiZAN fieldwork has cast doubt on this.
After surveying the feature & contextualising it with other nearby remains it appears likely to have been a WW2 emplacement dug for a bofors anti-aircraft gun. With a commanding view of the skyline, an emplacement here would have performed a vital role in defending the skies above Ramsgate & RAF Manston. Its position would have enabled it to intercept low flying aircraft, which bofors were designed to do.
Ramsgate suffered badly at the hands of German bombing raids in WW2. The majority of the town was evacuated & those that remained spent long periods of the war living in Ramsgate's 2.5 miles of underground tunnels. Partly recycled from Victorian train lines, these could shelter up to 60,000 people. On the 24th August 1940, a total of 500 bombs fell on Ramsgate in just 5 minutes.
About 1km from Pegwell Bay, Manston airfield was bombed to almost complete destruction in 1940 & subsequently played an important role in the Battle of Britain. Possessing a fog dispersal system (FIDO), which ignited petrol filled pipes on either side of the landing strip, it was well placed near the channel & was used by damaged aircraft struggling to reach the coast. In 1944 RAF Manston was used as the departure point for parachuters involved in Operation Market Garden & is also famous for its role in The Channel Dash of 1941.
Nissen hut
Image source © IWM D 12564A
Recent CITiZAN fieldwork has recorded these concrete bases as fitting the dimensions of a nissen hut .
Given the proximity of probable light anti-aircraft gun emplacements from WW2, it's likely these structures would have provided shelter & support for the positions. If you would like to help us monitor this site then sign up & become a CITiZAN surveyor !
Light-anti aircraft gun emplacement
Image source © IWM FX 68707
Further concrete remains identified by CITiZAN built of breeze blocks may represent a second anti-aircraft emplacement here, working alongside the other WW2 features.
Slit trench or PAD trench
Image source © IWM H 5844
A small v-shaped dugout feature survives here & is likely to form the remains of a slit trench or passive air defence trench (PAD). Slit trenches were often located close to military defensive installations to provide cover for defending against ground attack in the event of invasion. PAD trenches gave on site personnel a nearby refuge for sheltering from airborne attack.
Infantry pillbox
This infantry pillbox is loosely based on a design known as FW/24. In May 1940 the War Office setup the directorate of fortifications & works or FW3 under the command of Major-General Taylor. The purpose was to provide a number of defensive pillbox plans. The number 24 refers to the specific drawing type, rifle & light machine gun installations ranged from nos. 22-28.
With an irregular hexagon shape it has stepped embrasures in 5 sides, which would have allowed a light machine gun, possibly a bren gun, to stabilise its bipod. It also had a high rib steel reinforced roof but unlike some pillboxes no anti-ricochet wall, which protected the inhabitants from stray bullets & blasts. One strategic function of the pillbox may have been its command over a nearby sluice drainage ditch, which running down to the foreshore represented a strategic vulnerability.
On the other side of the Deal road were a series of sunken features, which were deepened & adapted in 1940 to enable their use as anti-tank ditches.
"Dragon's Teeth" anti-tank pimples
Image source © IWM H 18873
Known colloquially as dragon's teeth these are pyramid shaped anti-tank obstacles or pimples, designed in WW2 and used extensively in static defensive lines such as the French Maginot & German Siegfred lines. In Britain they formed an important part of the coastal crust defence networks. Their unique shape was designed to interfere with a tank's advance by lifting it's treads from their contact with the ground. By making progress difficult they would encourage tanks into certain areas knows as killing zones where they could be disposed of using anti-tank weapons. They were often accompanied by barbed wire for slowing down infantry.
The surviving teeth here were laid along the edge of the Deal road & were situated to make it less accessible for armoured vehicles & tanks.
Close to this site was also a dummy gun emplacement, which used recycled telegraph poles to imitate gun barrels. Its purpose was to mislead enemy reconnaissance into overestimating the firepower of local coastal defence networks. A number of them were known to have been built around Thanet including on West Cliff in Ramsgate.
Observation post & flame device
Image source © IWM H 7016
An observation post situated on the site of the current petrol station supported the nearby 2 x 6" Bethlehem Battery guns & some concrete remains can still be seen in the structure of the walls. Observation posts were critical to the success of a gun emplacement & would both acquire & communicate their targets. They required exceptionally wide fields of visions balanced with a good level of protection.
Next to the observation post were underground tanks for storing a mixture of fuel & oil. This mixture was designed to be useless for combustion, to avoid it's reuse in the event of capture by the enemy. A system was in place enabling its propulsion through pipes, which were integrated into the admiralty scaffold running across the southern portion of the bay & into the mouth of the Stour. This enabled the rapid ignition of an untraversable flame barrier, shielding a large section of the Bay's defences.
Just east of the Sportman pub was the site of a pillbox housing two Vickers MMG machine guns which gave protection to the 2 x 6" Bethlehem guns futher NE along the bay. The pub is also where food & refreshments were provided for the Ramsgate home guard machine gun platoon.
Bethlehem 6" gun battery & HQ
Image source © IWM H 21948
On the site of the Viking longboat reconstruction was situated gun no. 2 from the Bethlehem Battery. This consisted of 2 x 6" gun installations designed to fire seaward, possibly at ships covering an invasion attempt. It's probable that these guns, like many of those in the coastal crust, would have been recycled Naval guns from WWI ships, brought out of storage & repurposed. The emplacements in which the guns were mounted would have had brick walls supporting a 15cm reinforced concrete roof to absorb bullets & cannon shells fired from aircraft in strafing attacks.
Between the two guns on the other side of the Deal road was St Augustine's hotel. This was used as the headquarters for the battery, which would have relied on information provided by the observation post further to the South. Another HQ at Salem House, Foad's Lane provided the overall battle headquarters. Nearby this was an emergency water tank to help in the need for fire-fighting activities.
Hoverport & anti-landing posts
Image source by George Garrigues CC-BY
In 1966 Hoverlloyd started commercial crossings for passengers on their SR.N6 hovercraft with a crossing time of only 22mins. When they developed their larger SR.N4 design, capable of carrying 30 vehicles alongside 254 passengers, they moved to a purpose built port. The remains of it can be seen here. In the early 1980's Hoverlloyd were forced to merge with rivals Seaspeed & relocate operations from Dover. A symbol of technological progress at the time, the hovercrafts had the advantage of being fast & able to easily traverse the infamous Goodwin Sands. Disadvantages were a bumpy ride with frequent breakdowns (one resulting in a beached craft in Joss Bay) as well as costly maintenance.
Gun no. 1 from the Bethlehem Battery was also situated in the NW edge of the site. This part of the bay was fronted by a regular grid of iron posts in WW2, driven into the mud to obstruct landing craft.
Little Cliffsend Farm 4" gun battery
Image source © IWM H 16703
This 2 x 4" battery was positioned high up with the ability to fire across the bay. Like the westward Bethlehem Battery it probably used guns recycled from WWI naval ships & was placed in protective concrete housing. One of these structures still exists on private land and has been incorporated into the outbuildings of Little Cliffsend Farm. The tops of the cliffs were lain with barbed wire & the foreshore in front of the cliffs had iron anti-invasion posts driven into it. This was to resist any attempts to scale the cliffs & assault the battery directly.
Further to the east from this point & underneath Pegwell village was a cave which was utilised for housing two vickers MMG machine guns. The position could be accessed by steps leading from the grounds of Pegwell Lodge & was protected by a concrete frontage with embrasures for firing through. It was positioned to work in tandem with the machine gun position at the mouth of the River Stour to the south, the combination of which provided an interlocking arc of fire across the entire bay.
This is the last point on the trail. If you would like to learn more about the sites we work on, please go to www.citizan.org.uk to see local events, our interactive coastal map & to help us monitor vulnerable coastal archaeology by becoming a CITiZAN volunteer .
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