The small reinforced structure we all know as the pillbox is probably the most familiar type of 20th century defensive building in Britain. Essentially a response to the development of the machine gun, concrete pillboxes were first used by the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War, and the concept was copied to formidable effect by the German army in World War One (1914 to 1918) on the Western Front. British military engineers were quick to realise their worth, and they became an increasingly important component of Britain’s coastal defences from 1916 to 1918.
However, it was during World War Two (1939 to 1945) that the pillbox really took off, and in 1940 alone, some 18,000 were built. During this period the pillbox was mainly associated with beach defences, anti-invasion defensive stop lines and 'nodal' points (i.e. important junctions and airfields), although some were placed to defend coastal batteries, airfields and radar stations. They were now part of an integrated invasion defence system, positioned to interlock fields of fire with other boxes, and associated with other defence systems including tank destruction blocks, anti-tank ditches and scaffolding, road blocks, barbed wire and mined areas.
Pillboxes in World War One were usually of a round or hexagonal shape However, in World War Two, the War Office issued designs for some dozen standard pillboxes to meet the needs of an anti-invasion defence. The variations in shape of these standard designs usually reflected the kind of weaponry they were to contain and their proposed location. In practice these standard designs were seldom followed to the letter, and a large number of variations were incorporated to allow for local availability of materials, tactical considerations and individual preference.
Despite these variations, (official and unofficial) pillboxes retain a range of common features. They are nearly always under two metres high, of squat, heavy construction, and usually flat roofed. Normally they are four sided, polygonal or round in plan, with an entrance (sometimes two) away from the anticipated direction of attack, often protected by a porch or blast wall. Main structure walls vary in thickness between 23cm to over a metre.
There are always a series of firing embrasures, or loopholes for firing through, usually stepped in to be narrowest on the inside of the box, and widest on the outside. This allows a maximum field of fire for the occupants and minimum access to incoming fire. The size of the loophole varies according to the size of the weapon to be fired through it (from rifles to anti-tank guns). Pillboxes are almost always of concrete construction, sometimes with brick shuttering, although some were camouflaged with stone facing. Earth was often used as camouflage, on the roof or to break up the outline of the walls.
Norfolk Pillboxes in World War One
At the start of World War One in 1914, there were no effective defences at all in Norfolk. All existing forts had been dismantled except an obsolete battery in Great Yarmouth. The main reason for this stagnation was the Royal Navy, whose power at the time was such that it was not thought important to have coastal defensive installations.
Today there are thirty one recorded World War One pillbox sites in Norfolk. Of these, seven have been demolished, and have been identified from earlier aerial photographs.
You are looking for a small clip log box containing a stamp ink pad and log book. Please do not remove these items from the box. There is limited parking close to GZ.