Coastal Batteries
As well as the "coastal crust" defences against invasion, emplacements on the East Lothian coast formed part of the defences against enemy warships entering the Forth. There were three "lines" of these defences, based on the islands of the Forth and both coastlines. The inner line had guns emplaced on the islands of Inchgarvie, Inchmickery, Incholm and Cramond and at Charles Hill. The middle line were batteries on Inchkeith and at Leith, Pettycur and Kinghorn. The outer line comprised batteries on the north and south coasts, one at Kincraig and one north of Direlton called the Fidra Battery (although it was on the mainland coast and not on Fidra Island).
Fidra Battery
Observer at Fidra
The Fidra Battery was commissioned in 1940. A forestry worker on the Archerfield estate was given 24 hours notice to leave his cottage so that the battery could be constructed. It comprised three main brick buildings with concrete roofs reinforced with steel girders. One was the control building; one housed the two 6 inch calibre guns taken from an old warship; and one housed the battery's searchlights. The battery was not equipped with radar (unlike the Kincraig battery on the opposite shore) and target-spotting and range-finding had to be done visually. So the searchlights were necessary to illuminate potential targets at night.
Control Building
Searchlight Building
In order to camouflage the buildings from aerial reconaissance, false pitched roofs were added to the flat concrete roofs and canvas "curtains" painted to make the buildings look like cottages were hung along the sides.
Fidra Battery Camouflaged
The Cache
Park at Yellowcraigs (N56 03.635 W002 46.749 )and walk along the coast. Close to Marine Villa, take the path that rises up the small headland and push your way through the sea buckthorn. The building beside the path where the cache is concealed is the searchlight position.