NHER 42364 (Monument record) - Probable World War Two bomb craters on Winterton Dunes

January 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A line of eleven pit-like earthworks and vegetation marks is visible on aerial photographs (S1)-(S3), between TG 4821 2146 and TG 4841 2111. Some of these are first visible on aerial photographs taken in 1944, and their relatively fresh appearance and linear arrangement suggests that they were World War Two bomb craters. They were oriented on a World War Two bombing decoy for Great Yarmouth (NHER 29752) located approximately 150m to the north, and this was probably the intended target. At the same time, it should be noted that not all of the craters are entirely convincing as man-made features. Some could have been naturally occurring vegetation, while others were perhaps created by animals. Also, the possibility that they reflected a removed agricultural feature, such as a fence, cannot be ruled out; compare, for example, the marks visible on (S4), only some of which may correspond with the mapped craters. Conversely, some of the pit-like features visible nearby may in fact represent further craters but have not been mapped as their origins are too uncertain. The craters are not visible on recent aerial photographs of the site (S5) but some may still survive as earthworks.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 9 January 2006.