NHER 50854 (Monument record) - Possible World War Two military depot

February 2008. Norfolk NMP
A possible World War Two military depot is visible on aerial photographs (S1-S2). A group of buildings were present to the north of the Kings Lynn to Gayton Road. Buildings with pitched roofs and Nissen huts were present at the site, some of which have camouflaged paint patterns on their roofs. An underground air raid shelter and a static water tank (for fire fighting) are also visible at the site. It appears that this is a military depot although it is also possible that it is a civilian industrial site with camouflaged buildings. The earliest available aerial photographs of the site date from June 1945 (S1) and appear to show it still in use at that time. Also in June 1945, a large number of lorries were parked or stored at the former Bawsey brickworks (NHER 3413) on the opposite side of the main road. The brickworks had closed in 1942 and it was possible that the site was being used by the military as a storage facility associated with the depot or camp. However, it is also possible that the activity at the former brickworks was civilian rather than military in nature. Only the extent of the site was mapped as part of the NMP project and not the details of the individual buildings. A modern factory now occupies the site and none of the original buildings appear to survive (S3).
J. Albone (NMP), 04 February 2008