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Monument details

HER Number:1533848
Type of record:Monument
Name:Three possible Second World War bomb craters and four contemporary slit trenches

Summary

Three possible Second World War bomb craters and four contemporary slit trenches are visible on aerial photographs of 1946 as earthworks in an open area to the north of what was then Littlestone Holiday Camp. By the time of vertical aerial photographs of 2007; the craters and slit trenches had been either obscured or destroyed by development. These features were mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South East RCZAS NMP project.


Grid Reference:TR 0799 2206
Map Sheet:TR02SE
Parish:LYDD, SHEPWAY, KENT

Monument Types

Full description

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The three possible bomb craters and the four possible slit trenches are centred at TR 0799 2206 and are visible scattered across an area measuring approximately 217m east to west and 68m north to south. The individual craters are located and sized as follows: TR 0811 2204, 10m in diameter; TR 0795 2204, 20m in diameter; TR 0790 2209, 12m diameter.

The easternmost example is unusual in appearance for a bomb crater in that it consists of a roughly round mound with a hole or depression in the top. It is thought that a comparatively small bomb might have caused this effect in the loose shingle characteristic of this area; by a small explosion at the point of impact causing the shingle to be upcast into a circular bank around the small central crater. This is however, speculation, and it is also possible that the shingle was banked-up to conceal a structure such as a land mine. The two bomb craters to the west both have a narrow banked rim around their edges. It is thought this may also be a result of the shingle being thrown upwards and outwards by the explosion.

Four possible Second World War slit trenches are clustered around the easternmost possible bomb crater. These straight trenches are all aligned SSE to NNW (parallel with the seafront) and measure between 8m to 23m long. Their widths vary from 4m to 9m, and they are all flanked by narrow banks.

All three craters and the four slit trenches are visible as extant earthworks on vertical aerial photographs of 1946. By the time of the vertical aerial photograph of 2007; the easternmost crater and the four trenches had been obscured by housing development, and the two bomb craters to the west were beneath an extension to the holiday park (1-2).


<1> 1946, NMR CPE/UK/1752 3002-3 21-SEPT-1946 (Photograph). SWX23759.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>Photograph: 1946. NMR CPE/UK/1752 3002-3 21-SEPT-1946.