The Gunny – Little Gypps HAA Battery
Tucked away in the Little Gypps area of Canvey Island is a park known as the Gunny/Gunney, and here there was once a WW2 Heavy …
Shooters Hill WW2 Defences
Shooters Hill is one of the highest points in London with a summit of 432 feet. The name is thought to date back to 1226 …
Canvey’s Last & Lost Pillboxes
In the early Second World War – being 1939 or 1940, a total of nine pillboxes, along with other defences and bunkers, were built across …
WT Henley’s Air Raid Shelters
The history of ‘Henley’s’ dates back to 1837 when WT Henley opened a worksop in London, manufacturing covered wires, and went on to become one …
Thorney Bay Coastal Defence Batteries
Canvey Island was a fairly quiet area in the 1930s, so when it became heavily militarised to defend against air, land, and sea on the …
Shoebury Searchlights & Pillbox
East along from Shoebury’s Gunners Park where the old ranges were, along the seawall by the Garrison, lies several WWII coastal defences built to protect …
RAF Bradwell Bay Remains
RAF Bradwell Bay was rebuilt in 1940 over the site of an interwar 1936 aerodrome. The surviving concrete runway was built in 1941. The airfield …
B-17 Crash at Canvey Point
The Canvey Archive has a large collection of memoirs, photographs, and by CloudScout” href=”https://beyondthepoint.co.uk/historic-locations/canvey-island/the-second-world-war/b17-crash-site/#48142577″> shared is here: http://canveyisland.org/documents/DHB_v2_Med_Res.pdf On the 19th of June 1944 a formation …
Rawreth HAA & POW Camp
Driving through Rawreth Industrial Estate you wouldn’t have a clue that you were driving past some old Prisoner of War buildings; but they were once …
Billericay Spigot Mortar Emplacement
Defending Billericay’s railway line and bridge lies an abandoned spigot mortar emplacement – a crude form of defence designed for use by the Home Guard …
RAF Rochford Pillboxes
Back in Easter 2014, the two BTP boys, and occasional accomplice Jack, set off to investigate pillboxes once defending Rochford airfield – now Southend airport. …
Stratford Pillbox & Anti-Tank Blocks
Whilst working in the area, I decided to go on a walk and stumbled across this purely by chance. Just a few minutes walk away …
Shorts Seaplane Factory & Shelter
“Aviation pioneers and their workforce founded Britain’s aircraft seaplane and flying boat industry” Dating back as early as 1897, the Short Brothers had always had …
V-3 Cannon, Mimoyecques
What was the V-3 Cannon and the Fortress of Mimoyecques? Most people interested in military history or alive in the war will be familiar with …
Chappel Viaduct WW2 Defences
British Troops have been pushed back to Dunkirk; all that lies between the Germans and Britain is the English Channel. With the threat of German …
M.V. Bendigo Torpedo Boat
Another vessel involved in the Second World War marooned on Canvey is the M.V. Bendigo. Historian Robin Howie explains: “The M.V. Bendigo was being towed …
Shoebury Garrison
The history of the garrison dates back to 1849 when the land was first purchased by the Board of Ordanance. Woolwich Common was usually used …
Canvey V-2 Bomb Crater
When the land was first bought by the RSPB in 2006, one of their first jobs was to sweep the land to see if any …
Slade Green HAA Battery
The Slade Green HAA site (also known as ZS1) was the most easterly anti-aircraft site built inside the London Inner Artillery Zone. Dating back to …
Northwick HAA Battery
Thames North 8, Northwick ( as it was ‘coded’ during the war) was the name assigned to one of the many heavy anti-aircraft batteries across …
Canvey Concrete Barge
Ferro-Concrete barges were used to keep artificial ‘Mulberry Harbours’ afloat used by the allies in D-Day as checkpoints in the English Channel. One was thought …
Grain Tower
Known as 1, The Thames – this 19th century fort is situated 500 meters out into the mouth of the River Medway and was built …
St Clement Danes Church, Aldwych & Blitz Damage
Whilst the current church is fairly modern, the history of it dates back to the 9th century when Danish settlers took over the site and …
Southend’s Shopland Pillboxes
The area north-east of Sutton Road Cemetery and Temple Farm Industrial Estate in Southend is home to numerous pillboxes, and once there was probably even …