WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Hi folks. I'm curious about the purpose of the WW2 bunker/observation post which can be found between Mitchell lodges and Hambledon Hill (Near the Kings Highway). It's been suggested to me it was part of a decoy airfield as its construction is very similar to the MOD plans of the time. I was always under the impression it was used as an observation post as part of the home defense network. Does anyone have any firm information on it?

Thanks for reading. :wave:

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

It certainly has a dominant position over the valley northbound from Haslingden,so this would be my idea as to what it was and be very sceptical about a spoof airfield.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Where is this ? The only bunker I can think of is the large crater.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Cheers Les, I'm skeptical about the Q-station thing also. Can't find any further info on it, so I'm assuming as you suggest it was just an observation post.

Chris.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

If you walk down the passage the room on the right housed two diesel generators.
The room on the left was accomodation, when I first went in the generators had been removed, the other room still had bunk beds a table and some chairs.
The only civilians allowed any where near were the farmers, even we as children out collecting whimberries were turned away by the sentries. What little we could see was camoflaged.
After the last air raids on Manchester, the generators were removed and what ever had been camoflaged had also gone.

Retlaw

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

The presence of generators would suggest searchlights.I did not see evidence of any large gun emplacements,but they would have been in short supply at the time,small arms and rifles would be the limit.Another possibility would have been a barrage balloon,but these were nearer to towns or important sites.So,it's looking like an observation and searchlight post.The location is off the A56 by-pass as on the attached Google Earth grabs.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

A lot depends on the size of the generators. Most searchlight batteries, exept those around major cities and defence/military sites, were mobile as were the generators for them, the same applied to barrage balloons.
It could well have been a communications site -the receiver antennae could have been part of the site but the transmitter antennae would probably hae been some distance away and connected by cable, of which there should still be me sign of it.
Being so far away from habitation wireless communications would have been essential, so whatever the use it would have had some form of wireless link, probably VHF, which in that location would have given quite a reasonable range. In all probability it is an observation post run by the Observer Corps with just a small possibility that it was Home Guard.
The generators, bunk beds would tend to suggest that it was manned and operational 24/7. I will try and have a look at it when I am in Accrington next month.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

I went up to this many times as a kid, but had know idea it was possibly something to do with the ROC. I knew the ROC had posts in Padium/Burnley and Mellor/Blackburn, but didn't know they were possibly on our door step. I hope your research pays off Barrie.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

The following is an etract from "A Brief History of the ROC"

"Regular training continued through the 70's and 80's but in 1991 it was decided by the Home Office & MOD that the ROC would cease active training and the remaining underground posts were closed at the end of September that year. Most of the posts closed in 1968 reverted back to the original landowners while those closed in 1992 were put out to public tender. Nationally, many were snapped up by cellular telephone operators because of their strategic positions on high ground."

I have never seen the site even though as a child in the late '40s i used to be taken for walks every Sunday across the Coppice, Moleside and Hambledon.
Is it an above ground structure? It may have been in use uring the Cold War as a Nuclear Attack Reporting Site, but i cannot find any record in the ROC listing of Lancashire sites.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

It is an above ground structure, but landscaped, the only obvious feature was a brick blast wall in front of the entrance, one brick had been left out 5ft up as a peep hole.
Its pointless looking for any thing to do with the cold war, or anything to do with the 50's, 60's 70's or 80's. It was stripped and closed down before the end of 1944.
From what I can make out on google earth it looks to have collapsed in on itself or deliberately destroyed.

Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Searching the web comes up with one possibility, that it was just one of several decoy units scattered over the moors during WW2, to confuse Jerry's bomber navigators.
Don't think they worked very well, Salford & Manchester got a right shellacking during the early 1940's.

Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Thanks Retlaw

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Just found these 2 photos from my archive,taken about 8 years ago

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Thats deteriorated a heck of a lot since I last saw it 60 years ago. Looks like its had some help from some one, to get in that state.
The blast wall looks ready to fall, needs a push before it falls on somebody.
Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...ii-3711-4.html

Read this its as I thought a decoy to fool jerry navigators.
Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Mystery solved, many thanks Retlaw. I took a wander up there today and scouted the bunker fully, it's not in as bad a condition as it appears from the outside. I would not encourage anyone to enter the bunker as it is still a dangerous place, but I felt it should be documented before it is allowed to decay further. Here are some of the pictures I took of it for research purposes:

From the south.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0539.jpg

From the west showing concrete platform and remains of retaining wall and soak-away pit, possibly the site of fuel tanks for the generators.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0523.jpg

From the north.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0525.jpg

North-east showing the blast wall and entrance.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0526.jpg

The entrance corridor.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0527.jpg

Northern ops/bunk room with roof access hatch.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0528.jpg

Northern ops/bunk room eastern wall showing floor level duct and stove flu vent.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0529.jpg

View from ops/bunk room towards generator room.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0530.jpg

Southern wall of generator room showing exhaust vent.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0533.jpg

Eastern wall of generator room with main cable duct exiting the bunker.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0532.jpg

rectangular field markings 900yrds east of bunker which may or may not indicate the presence of decoy structures.
http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/DSCF0542.jpg

Well built from good old Accy brick, it'll be there for 100's of years providing the reinforced concrete roof remains stable.

I'm amazed given the scale of this decoy project just how little information is available about it. Presumably this site is just one in a complex of many. If anyone knows of other sites associated with the deception I would be very interested to hear of them, as it would be nice to record some of it before it fades away.

Many thanks to everyone who has commented in the thread :thumbsup: I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Chris.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

After all the talk on the site I had a look around for other "Decoy Site" info & found this on a site about Lincolnshire Airfields of WW II, hope you find some interest in it.

http://s192798389.websitehome.co.uk/urbex/ww2sites.kmz

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

I have a copy but I'm sure others will find it useful, thanks dave. :thumbsup:

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Got the son in law & daughter to take me up there today,
manage to shuffle about 1/2 mile or more, son in law took his metal detector,
we made two surprising finds on the track leading to the so called cave.
picture attached, the one on the right has been fired down a rifled barrel
left hand twist, which denotes .303, the diam and weight are also consistant
with a .303, possibly an overshoot from the Hapton range,
thats probably why it wasn't to deep,
what I can't understand is the 6.5mm, no rifling marks.
Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

What a great find Retlaw. Looking at Crusty's pictures I would say it has survived well, as it looks exactly as I saw it, the last time I was up there and that's 15+ years ago. With the coming good weather this weekend, I feel a trip is on the cards.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

Barrie its not an eiytie bullet wrong profile.
The Carcano was a piece of junk, how he
managed to hit Kenedy with one of those
beats me, especially the amount of surplus
military rifles available on the American market
at that time.
I used to collect cartridges, like people collect stamps,
you'd be surprised at the history behind
a calibre of ammo, I had over 500 rifle Calibres
from .22 to .577 and around 250 pistol rounds from the
4.25mm lilliput to the old .500 Webly.
Also had a few shotgun rounds as well
Had to give them up when I surrendered my
permit, all I have left are a few pics.
I've attached one showing the Carcano, I've put a black
stripe over the top.
Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

what a wonderful collection, thanks for sharing Retlaw, not very often you get to see such a variety, have all these been found locally?

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

No Odders.
If you read the post, I used to collect
cartridges, not find them, you couldn't
find cartridges in that condition metal
detecting, some of those on the picture
are over 150 years old.
The two cartridges on the right are .303,
notice the bullets are blue, they are wooden
bullets specially produced for the film
"The Longest Day", the wooden projectile
was to make the Vickers machine gun work.
on the end of the barrel was a disrupter,
which chewed the wooden bullet up,
if you ever see that film again, and look
closely you can see the sawdust pilling
up on the ground in front of the Vickers.

Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

used to play up teh hapton shooting range and im pretty sure i have a jar somewhere at my mums with a load of bullet heads in good condition although most of them were flattened from hitting the target and i recall on ewinter my friend collecting some only to find it was frozen sheep poop when his bullet colection defrosted in his pocket lol

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

This looks like a Starfish decoy site. Here's another that I've visited near Cragg Vale.
http://www.hebweb.notaproblem.co.uk/...0Site%2002.JPG

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

my mother said it was dummy airfield with dummy planes and searhlights it was used to divert german planes from manchester airport and hopefully bomb the dummy airport there was still bits there in the late 1940s after the war it was used 1940 till 1942 my mother is 86 and remembers armed guards on routes to the site

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

It had nowt to do with Manchester Airport. Manchester Airport
back in the 1940's was not worth the bother.
That decoy site was supposed to confuse jerry as to where
Salford and Trafford Park was. Never saw any dummy planes on it, just canvas
and wood structures, which at ground level to us meant nothing. I all ready
mentioned the guards on all the main paths, they wouldn't even let us pick
whimberries. Look at Google Earth and you can pick out a lot of straight lines
like streets, nature doesn't do straight lines.
Retlaw.

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

hi,about 20 yrs ago,i came upon a structre like you described,it puzzled me for ages,i heard some rumor previously that there may have been some sort of decoy airfield here.if i recall the building had round soil pipes built into the walls.i think these pipes fed the cables that led to the dummy airstrip.this was just speculation on my part,untill i read LANCASHIRE AIRFIELDS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR,page 45 refers to special decoy sites, codemame SF or (special fires) in accrington,at haslingden,accrington,burnley,worsthorne and mameldon hill(hameldon hill)
you may also be interested in a similar structre in gt harwood,its underground, i dont know what prpose it served,i assume its WW2,i think it may be under threat from developers for housing.access is ok,just hop over the stile and your'e nearly there.the grid ref is SD 731 329 and its on hindle fold lane. if you need any more info just ask.

kevj

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

you may also be interested in a similar structre in gt harwood,its underground, i dont know what prpose it served,i assume its WW2,i think it may be under threat from developers for housing.access is ok,just hop over the stile and your'e nearly there.the grid ref is SD 731 329 and its on hindle fold lane. if you need any more info just ask.

kevj

Hi KevJ
Please can you tell me more about your site before it is lost - exact location etc.
Thanks

Re: WW2 bunker near Hambledon Hill
 

That last post was over two years ago, its probably been built on by now. And he gave the exact location - grid ref and road name.