WWII Pillbox
Cudmore Grove is located at the eastern end of Mersea Island and covers an area of 38 acres and is owned and managed by Essex County Council. The site comprises an area of grassland; a cliff top grove of oak trees, a small sandy beach and fine views across the Colne and Blackwater estuaries.
Throughout the park you may find many concrete structures, some intact others just shattered concrete on the beach. These are the remains of a coastal artillery battery from World War Two with two 4.7-inch guns, probably of World War One vintage. A Battery Observation Post was the central command position, horizontally-aimed searchlights swept the sea at night from concrete bunkers, and pillboxes guarded the perimeter against ground attack. Barbed wire, stakes, wheels, etc., which were dumped into a pit presumably when the site was closed down, are now re-appearing at the cliff face as a consequence of coastal erosion. Three pillboxes still survive, all in good condition.
Sitting in the grassy field is a hexagonal, concrete, 16' diameter pillbox. Each wall is 9'6" long x 16" thick and contains a rifle loophole with a 5/8" armoured steel surround, all of which are in situ. In the centre of the pillbox is a hexagonal well, open to the sky, with a central concrete post on which would have been mounted an anti- aircraft machine gun, probably a Lewis. The post is extant and in good condition. Around the sides of the well are ventilation holes from the interior chamber. This pillbox is a fine, well-preserved example in a picturesque setting in a similar situation as it would have been all those years ago.
This was the Battery Observation Post for the coastal artillery battery at East Mersea. It originally stood on the edge of the cliff and appears to have been approached via concrete steps. The remains now lie on the beach although the general shape of the base can still be made out.
You are looking for a blue container slightly bigger than a 35mm. canister.