NHER 53250 (Monument record) - Possible World War Two military site at the Scout Association headquarters, Eaton

December 2009. Norfolk NMP.
A possible World War Two military site is visible as huts and other structures within an area of uncultivated land on 1940s aerial photographs (S1)-(S3), centred at TG 2069 0526. The function of the site is unclear, and its interpretation as a military site is far from certain as the area is now occupied (at least in part) by the local Scout headquarters. It is therefore possible that the structures and huts that are visible relate to the use of the site by the Scout Association, rather than military personnel. The fact that some of the structures, perhaps including the main hut (visible at TG 2071 0524), are still visible in 1956 (S4) may support the non-military interpretation of the site (as most military structures would have been removed before or shortly after 1945). If the non-military interpretation is assumed, what was presumably an ‘updated’ version of the site is visible on aerial photographs taken in 1962 (S5).
The site comprises several huts and structures, some of which may be visible in 1940 (S1) although the photographs are not clear enough to be certain. Only the main elements, as visible in 1945 (S3), have been mapped; the extent of the uncultivated land has been depicted using ‘Extent of Area’. The main hut or structure is visible at TG 2071 0524. To its northwest (at TG 2070 0525) a rectangular area of concrete may indicate where a former hut had been removed, or it may be a ground-level roof relating to an underground structure (such as an air raid shelter). Further to the northwest, close the northern edge of the uncultivated area (at TG 2068 0528), a small hut or shed with a conjoined fenced enclosure is more reminiscent of an animal pen than a military structure. A track or path leads eastwards away from the northeast corner of the site to where there was presumably an entrance giving access to Church Lane although this is not clearly visible on the aerial photographs. Various small huts and structures visible alongside the railway line (NHER 13571) immediately to the south of the site seem more likely to relate to the railway than military activity and consequently have not been mapped or included within the site boundary. There is no evidence on more recent aerial photographs or Ordnance Survey maps that any element of the site still survives, although sub-surface elements could still remain.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 4 December 2009.