NHER 45233 (Monument record) - Site of World War Two anti tank defences along the North Walsham to Dilham canal

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Summary

The World War Two use of the North Walsham to Dilham canal (NHER 13534) as an anti tank ditch is evident from the banks of material and lines of disturbed ground visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in the 1940s. These were almost certainly left by the dredging of the canal in order to strengthen it as a defence. The site described here is just one of at least six sections of the canal where this is visible.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Location

Map sheet TG32NW
Civil Parish DILHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK
Civil Parish HONING, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK
Civil Parish WORSTEAD, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Map

January 2007. Norfolk NMP.
Banks and linear bands of disturbed ground (the latter have been mapped by extent) are visible as earthworks on 1940s’ aerial photographs (S1)-(S2), between TG 3159 2742 and TG 3277 2725. These lie along the banks of the North Walsham to Dilham canal (NHER 13534). They are almost certainly related to the deepening of the canal for use as an anti tank ditch during World War Two, as noted in (S3). The site is one of at least six sections where this is visible. A U-shaped mound or bank visible at the western end of the site, close to Briggate Bridge, could mark the site of a gun emplacement, but its position on low-lying ground may suggest this is unlikely. There is no evidence on later aerial photographs that any traces still survive on the ground.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 3 January 2007.

  • <S1> Vertical Aerial Photograph: USAAF. 1944. US/7GR/LOC348 2179 27-MAY-1944 (NMR).
  • <S2> Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1636 4371-3 09-JUL-1946 (NMR).
  • <S3> Unpublished Document: ?. ?. Defence Notes, derived from 'Old Maps in County Hall' IN Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society military defence file.

Object Types (0)

Record last edited

May 25 2018 9:29AM

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