Military

Anti-tank cylinders guarding the wharf at Marple on the Macclesfield Canal. The metal object is a crane base.

Part of the former Ordnance Factory No.10 (Roften) at Hooton. The factory manufactured heavy anti-aircraft guns during WWII, but I believe has now been demolished.

In World War 2 the Western Command Stop Line No.6 ran from Tamworth via Trent Valley, E side of Stoke-on-Trent, to Macclesfield and Stockport, thence to 6 miles SE of Manchester. This line of fortifications was designed to resist an invasion force coming from the east. In a field north of Hopwas, not far from the start of the line, is this pillbox close to the River Tame and easily seen from the West Coast main line.

Once again Jefferson does his best impression of a 29mm spigot mortar, this time on a base located on the coast at Thornham in Norfolk.

Pillbox at Creek Farm, Well Creek, Salters Lode.

Pillbox at Portna Lock on the Lower Bann Navigation in Northern Ireland.

Strongpoint close to Landguard Point, Felixstowe, overlooking the entrance to the Orwell and approaches to Harwich. The batteries in this area never fired on enemy vessels during WWII, but the anti-aircraft defences were kept very busy.

The Air Ministry sometimes specified a pillbox with all-round field of fire for the defence of airfields and this resulted in the F.C. Construction type which, inevitably, became known as the Mushroom. This is one of two examples at Cark Airfield, Flookburgh.

This tiny Nissen hut stands in a quiet corner of the Cultbraggan camp. The prisoner of war camp at Cultybraggan was completed in late 1941 and originally used to house Italian prisoners. It was later used as a transit camp for Germans and as a high security establishment for holding ardent nazis. Later it became a MOD training centre until closure in 2004. It is now owned by the local community through the Comrie Development Trust. The camp still contains a large number of nissen huts.

Nissen hut at Hindringham in Norfolk.

Storage building on the former technical site at Wickenby Airfield, a WWII bomber base. Just like a big Nissen hut.

My mother has always told me that the bombing of Hull was extensive and went on for many nights during the war. She told me tales of how their dog was always first into the shelter when the raid warning sounded and also how uncomfortable it was with everyone crowded into a small space which had a tendency to fill with a certain amount of water. However, her family survived, unlike the two nearby pubs that were both victims of incendiaries. Mum was taken back to Hull recently for a nostalgic look around and called at her old house. She was astonished to discover that the old shelter was still there, probably because it was built of brick whilst all the neighbours had Anderson shelters. For many nights up to eight people from the two adjoining houses, plus the family dog, sheltered in this tiny structure.

Replica Mk IV tank at the 'Tracks to the Trenches' event at Apedale today. It proved to be a real beggar to steer. The event was superb with a wide variety of WW1 railway equipment running on a real field railway and plenty of different re-enactments and contemporary equipment. They even had their own trench system to explore.

Stained glass window memorial at Rolls Royce, Derby. This is the Rolls Royce company's tribute and the wording at the bottom of the glass says: "This window commemorates the pilots of the Royal Air Force who in the Battle of Britain turned the work of our hands into the salvation of our country".

This spigot mortar mount in a quarry was a complete surprise. I can only surmise that it was built to allow the local Home Guard unit to practice with the weapon in a safe location.

The prisoner of war camp at St Martin's is a standard type of German working camp. With most of the buildings still in situ the site is now an industrial estate.

Type 24 pillbox alongside Bridge 46 at Danes Moss on the Macclesfield Canal. This was one of the defensive structures along Stop Line No.6 which ran, mainly along canals from Tamworth to south-east Manchester.

Vulcan XH558 came back to its birthplace at Woodford this afternoon for an emotional farewell as this is its last season in flight. Thousands turned out around the former airfield and factory to see this wonderful plane put in a couple of flypasts. Most people were very quiet as it headed off over Alderley Edge and a legend was gone.