'Starfish' Decoy Control Bunker on Liddington Hill near Swindon

Blimey Owen - it certainly looks cold in Swindon!

Interesting bunker.

 

Indeed it does look cold....I thought we were getting it bad in Leeds when I took the dog out.

Owen, Interesting bunker is the graffiti still inside ?

 

Probably, I didn't go in this time as I've been in it before & it's so full of junk I din't fancy going in again.
The graffiti isn't anything special just spray-can stuff.

I know what you mean.....The two in the field across from my parents are the same- contents include a mattress and other such homely items.

Cheers

 

Owen

This Deception is a neat story. I interviewed a vet once who was part of the lot that were southeast of London for D-Day trying to feed Hitler's belief that Normandy was a feint. Realized the importance of what he was a part of after the fact, but was not impressed to have missed the show.

Any good essays online about this subject?

phil

 

Owen

This Deception is a neat story. I interviewed a vet once who was part of the lot that were southeast of London for D-Day trying to feed Hitler's belief that Normandy was a feint. Realized the importance of what he was a part of after the fact, but was not impressed to have missed the show.

Any good essays online about this subject?

phil

Hi Phil

Slightly off topic....You don't know where by any chance do you ?

Cheers

 

Owen,
All I can get from Fields of Deception is that Liddington was one of two Starfish sites (SF41a Liddington and b Barbury) commissioned in the early Spring of 1941 to cover Swindon, which were co-located with two 'C' Series QL (lighting) decoys, numbered 71a and b. The NGR given for Barbury is SU149747.
I wouldn't think there would be much left on the ground, but you never know. The decoy at Craigmaddie Muir, just north of Glasgow, still had the various pits etc for the fires still visible until a couple of years ago.
That Liddington bunker is unusual in a couple of respects; it seems to be brieze block construction rather than shuttered concrete, and the observation hatch shaft seems higher than most others I've seen.

 

Owen,
Probably ARP personnel, since these were civil sites. They would have had a crew of around 10, with sites consisting of fire baskets only having a crew of five.

 

Hi Phil

Slightly off topic....You don't know where by any chance do you ?

Cheers

I will see if there is anything on the tape, otherwise I will go have a chat with him.
phil

 

Don't worry too much Phil, its just a curiosity thing as I'm from South East London which was classed as Kent during WW2.

Cheers

 

Great photos, Owen.

 

Owen,
I found this little snippet on Barbury-
http://www.ridgewayfriends.org.uk/pdfs/Issue%2076%20Newsletter.pdf

 

Hi Phil

Slightly off topic....You don't know where by any chance do you ?

Cheers

Finally got to talk with the Vet and this is what his note to me says:

"The 6th Anti Tank Regiment move to concentration area near Hythe, Kent on 24 April 1944. We settled into a wooded are called Sandling Park and began waterproofing vehicles for a wet landing.
On June 10th, we were ready to move on an hour's notice. On July 4th, the entire Regiment moved to London to be embarked on LSTs.
Sometime between April 24th and June 10, I took a troop of 74th Battery to hard standings on the bank of the Thames. No one [he checked with some other officers who still survive] can recall where these concret pads were except that they were on the banks of the lower Thames in a wooded area. I might be able to find something in the war diary - probably in Ottawa, but otherwise the location is a mystery.
From this place, we rejoined the Regiment at Sandling Park for its move to embarkation very close to London. We crossed to Normandy on July 7th."

So, there you have that detail, as best this young fellow can remember. When we looked at a map, he seemed to think it might be near Cliffe that there were the hard standings.

Hope this may be of some use to you.
phil

 

There's a couple of those things on Farlington Marshes, just west of the north west point of Portsmouth. One right inside the gate, set to observe Pompey. The other, somewhere to the sou', south east side of the marsh.

Never gave them too much thought, back in the day. Brick built, as I remember? It's the bit about the Decoy Fires that reminds me. I'm sure I read some where, since, that they were observation posts for decoy fires. Pompey and Hayling, I'd imagine?

Nice work in getting ths shots and detail on that one, Owen. If someone wants to do the book on the stuff around Pompey? I'll be first in the queue for a copy!

Love 'Pill Boxes' and such, me

 

Cheers Phiil,

Funny they should move back to London to load up when they were so close to Folkstone and Dover. Incidently I drive past Sandling Park on the way to my Parents (its 10 minutes ish from their house)

Anyway thanks for getting back to me

Cheers
Andy