NHER 59628 (Structure record) - World War Two pillbox with rare anti-aircraft emplacement

This World War Two 'Type 22' pillbox is one of a number built to protect nearby RAF Watton (NHER 8908) in the event of a ground attack. Notably, it has an additional brick structure anti-aircraft emplacement on its roof. Despite its accessible location it was seemingly not identified by previous surveys of surviving World War Two defences – being first reported to the HER in 2015 [1].

2015.
This pillbox lies on a public footpath and in 2015 repair work was commissioned by Norfolk County Council after local children apparently climbed on top and got stranded. These works saw the restoration of the external brickwork and the installation of a new door. An information plaque installed at the same time records that the pillbox had been called 'F for Freddie' and was apparently the electrical firing point for a Parachute and Cable (PAC) anti-aircraft system. These cables were fired into the air using rockets known as locally as 'Fizzing Onions', with their attached parachutes then hopefully allowing the cables to remain suspended in the air long enough to entangle enemy aircraft. It is recorded that in 1941 this system successfully brought down a Heinkel HE111 bomber that was attempting to attack the nearby airfield.
See web articles (S1) and (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 14 August 2025.

March 2025. Building Survey.
Details site survey by [2]:
The main structure is hexagonal in plan and was designed to accommodate infantry armed with rifles and light or medium machine guns. It is orientated to face directly north, with the entrance and an adjacent external blast wall to the south. A single rifle embrasure is present to the left of the entrance and there are machine gun embrasures in all the other faces. A square brick-built anti-aircraft emplacement is present on the roof of the pillbox. The bond of this brickwork is different to that of the main shuttering, hinting that the emplacement was a later addition. It wasn't possible to gain access to the interior of the pillbox, although it could be viewed through the embrasures. A rectangular internal anti-ricochet wall is present and the walls have what is potentially the original whitewash. The form of this anti-ricochet wall and the presence of the external blast wall are both deviations from the FW3/22 pillbox design, suggesting this example was built to a locally-derived design.
The pillbox was probably constructed towards the latter end of 1940 and was clearly sited to cover the northern approaches to RAF Watton – being able to cover the trackway approaching from the north and the open fields to west, north and east. Although no signs of camouflage or concealment were visible it was noted that the pillbox was nevertheless very hard to spot within the landscape (as evidenced by the fact it went unrecorded for so long). 1940s aerial photographs apparently show the pillbox to have been surrounded by a significant barbed wire obstacle and adjacent trenched positions.
Although the pillbox is in a good condition overall, some damage and decay was noted.
It is argued that due to its unique design (particularly the presence of a rare PAC emplacement) this pillbox would be a suitable candidate for listed/scheduled status.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 14 August 2025.