Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Barbed wire dating to WWII and located within a military site, north of River Stour, Pegwell Bay. The barbed wire has been mapped from military aerial photographs.

Monument Types

• BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT (Modern - 1942 AD to 1945 AD)
• BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT (Modern - 1944 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

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A complex of barbed wire obstructions showing several phases of development throughout WWII, and located within a large military site north of the entrance to the River Stour, Pegwell Bay. The barbed wire has been mapped from several series of military aerial photographs.

On photographs taken in February 1941 [1&2], barbed wire is visible enclosing an area of military features comprising structures and gun pits. This extends 370m from the intertidal zone of Pegwell Bay in a curvilinear formation to the edge of the River Stour. A further length of barbed wire is visible running parallel to the anti-tank blocks for 330m north from within the enclosure mentioned above. These features are still visible in photographs taken in 1950 [3]. To the north of the military complex is a double barbed wire enclosure extending just under 15m into the intertidal zone from the anti-tank blocks. This feature is gone by June 1980 [7].

By January 1942 [4] another enclosure of barbed wire is visible approximately 140m to the north of the earlier enclosure. The barbed wire, which is a double thickness, extends in an irregular manner from the anti-tank blocks in the north to the N-S running barbed wire that was laid down in 1941 to the south, enclosing a series of military defence features including slit trenching, structures, and gun pits that were mainly built by February 1941 [1&2].

US photographs taken in April 1944 [5] show another sub-rectangular barbed wire enclosure to the west of the one erected in January 1942, enclosing structures possibly commandeered by the military. The enclosure is 550m long and has four entrances at the midpoint of each length. A further length of barbed wire, measuring 250m, is visible behind the enclosure to the south of the military complex placed in position by February 1941.

The barbed wire is no longer visible by March 2003 [6].

<6> Google Earth, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 5-MAR-2003 ACCESSED 7-APR-2010 (Graphic material). SWX15704.

Sources and further reading

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