January  2006.

Very Rare Beach Scaffolding survivor.

New Defence types section on Loopholed Walls

Many thanks to Anne Burgess, Tim Denton and Dave Brown for the photos.

Also some new sections.

Find your local pillbox!

And a bit of fun with Make Your Own Pillbox.

January Book of the Month

Blitz: The Story of 29th December 1940

A vivid account of the toughest day of the London Blitz, immortalised by the famous photo of St Pauls wreathed in smoke and flame.

February 2006.

Unusual type 23 variants at Heysham , Lancs

Bison Mobile Pillbox

Alnwick Loopholed Wall.

Many thanks to Tim and Mark Crossley, Colin Anderson and  Tim Denton for the photos.

Also a new section on mystery structures - Can you identify them?

Mystery Structures

February Books of the Month

The Military Airfields of Britain

A well priced and fact packed set of books, and a must for anyone interested in the World War 2 military history of Britain. Ken Delve covers every airfield in each area, including World War 1 with a brief history, including decoy sites, comprehensive lists of all flying units with dates and aircraft types, as well as maps and plans of almost every airfield..

March  2006.

Bumper North East Update with 3 new sections!

County Durham

Tyne & Wear

Redcar & Cleveland

Also new Scotland section.

East Lothian

Many thanks to Andy Thompson, Simon Whitlock and Gordon Wilkie for the photos.

March Book of the Month - “Speaking for England”

Not exactly pillboxes, but a fascinating read nonetheless. Leo Amery was a minister in Churchill’s Wartime cabinet, his son Jack broadcast pro-german propaganda from Berlin and attempted to set up a unit of British troops to fight alongside the Germans. His other son Julian served in the RAF and Army and was liason officer to the Albanian Resistance.

A fascinating account of a family divided by political beliefs.

April  2006.

New Hartlepool section

More Tyne & Wear Pillboxes

More Redcar Pillboxes

Llandudno Camouflaged Pillbox

East Lothian Coastal Crust Defences

Outer London Stop Line Rail Block.

Also new Devon section. and new Aberdeenshire section.

Many thanks to Andy Thompson, Simon Whitlock, Rob Poole, Anne Burgess , Gordon Wilkie and Scott Brookes for the photos.

Pillboxesuk Competition - win a 00 scale model of a Battle HQ

Click her to enter the competition

April Book of the Month

“Honour Restored - Dowding the Battle of Britain and the Fight for Freedom”

Written by a former Spitfire pilot this book corrects some of the myths surrounding the Battle of Britain, particularly the “Big Wing” controversy and argues that the quick dismissal of Dowding after the Battle of Britain was brought about by a group of senior officers in the AIr Ministry. The book also carries some very interesting statistics showing how much the weather was a major deciding factor in allowing the RAF breathing space to recover from its losses.

 May 2006.

New Gloucestershire Section.

New Wiltshire Section.

New Merseyside Section

Auxiliary Units

Northumberland Loopholed wall.

More Dorset Defences.

Rare Norfolk Hairpin Survivor

Pillboxesuk in the News.

Many thanks to Stephen White, John Eley, Tim Denton, Colin Anderson,Greg Chapman and Ken of Stockport.

More Mystery structures to solve.

And the winner is........The Winner of last months competition is R. Nicholls and an OO Scale model of a Battle HQ is in the post to them.

May Book of the Month

The Sinking of the "Lancastria": Britain's Greatest Maritime Disaster and Churchill's Cover-up

A fortnight after the evacuation at Dunkirk some 150,000 British troops were still stuck in France. As the German advance thundered west these Allied soldiers and airmen were faced with a mad dash to the coast in the hope that a troop-ship awaited them there. One such vessel was the 'Lancastria', a 16,000-ton liner pressed into service and now anchored off the port of St-Nazaire. On 17 June 1940, ready to head for home, the ship was bombed by the Luftwaffe. As she sank, between 3,500 and 4,000 of those on board lost their lives making this the largest maritime disaster in British History.

June 2006

Co Durham Lozenge Pillboxes

Tett Turret - photos of one of rarest pillbox types.

West Sussex Loopholed walls.

Section posts - another rare defence type.

More Manchester Defences.

Rare London Road Block Survivor.

Many thanks to Andy Thompson, Glyn Baker, Mark Websdale, Cliff Reeves, Bill Saxton and Fin Fahey  for the photos.

Pillboxesuk recommends...

Dunkirk:Fight to the Last Man.

A great new book that details the brave rearguard actions of the BEF allowing the bulk of the BEF to return to England. Anyone who saw the BBC drama doc on Dunkirk will be familiar with some of the stories but will find the BBC  program was not as true to the facts as it appeared. The books also covers the defence of Boulogne and Calais.

July 2006

Somerset local variant.

Wiltshire Prefab Pillbox Time capsule.

Ruck Machine Gun Post.

Camouflaged Staffordshire pillbox.

Thanks to Anon, Graham Cole, and Dave Pemberton for the photos.

Pillboxesuk recommends...

Waiting for Hitler - Voices from Britain on the Brink of Invasion 

A great new book that uses personal accounts of those who still remember this time, with written sources from contemporary press reports, to diaries and letters, to illustrate and recreate the fear, suspense and even excitement of living in England in the shadow of the Invasion.

August 2006

Lunan Bay Angus Defences

New Cambridgeshire Section.

More Devon Defences.

Thanks to Ann Burgess , Jamie Stephens and Graham

September 2006

New Cornwall Section.

Devon Pillbox Variant.

Silloth “Winged” Pillbox.

Cark Cantilevered Pillbox

Thanks to Graham Hart, Stephen White and Colin Anderson.

September Book of the Month

Battlefields That Nearly Were - Defended England 1940

William Foot, known to many from his work on the Defence of Britain Project, and more recently as the author of the extensive Beaches Fields, Streets and Hills has written this 288 page personal record of his discoveries over his two years work for English Heritage and The Council for British Archaeology.

Click on the link on the left to buy the book at a discounted price and help support the work of this website.

October 2006

Scotland Anti-shipping Boom.

Newcastle Upon Tyne Loopholed Wall

Restored Spigot Mortar Emplacement

Thanks to Gordon Wilkie, Colin Anderson and Graham Cole.

Click on the names above to see Gordon’s and Colin’s web sites.

November 2006

Somerset Camouflaged Pillbox.

Very Well preserved Wiltshire type 28a

Essex Giant Pillbox

New Lincolnshire Section featuring Linc 3 Bay Pillbox and Beach Defence Command Post.

Thanks to Paul Wilson, Ashley Jewitt, Glyn Baker., Graham Cole and Mike Wood