KS #4A: WW2 Hidden Pillbox Redux
The cache, a small pill pot, is hidden near this WW2 relic casemate (fortified structure from which guns can be fired) just off the footpath running from Swanborough to Lewes. It is usually very well hidden by shrubbery and has beautiful views of the chalk pits in the distance to the east made by the old Cement Works.
The cache was hidden in recognition of an earlier one at this location, seadown's GC84TKW WWII Pillbox EXPOSED ! which was hidden on 16/3/19 and archived on 26/10/22 after some 14 finds.
To Find the Cache: make your way to the entrance of the pillbox which is on its north side. How tricky this will be depends on the time of year and weather the massed ranks of nettles and other plants surrounding most of the structure have been cleared - as happens periodically.
If you are unable or unwilling to make your way through the stinging defences, an alternative approach would be to park in the farm access lane @ N 50 51.631 W 0 0.580 and walk up Kingston Road till you are opposite the pillbox. Then - very carefully - cross this sometimes quite busy road to access the pillbox easily from its western side.
Looking from the entrance into the pillbox you will see a 4-digit ID number painted on the wall facing you - let this be ABCD.
The cache is hidden nearby at:
N 50 51.(C-4)D(B+3) W 0 0.(D-1)(C-D)(B+4)
A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard post, often camouflaged, normally equipped with loopholes or (narrow holes in the walls) through which defenders can fire weapons. It is in effect a trench firing step, hardened to protect against small-arms fire and grenades, and raised to improve the field of fire.
The modern concrete pillbox originated in 1916 on the Western Front of WW1 in the German Army. The first concrete pillboxes discovered by the Allies in Belgium were so small and light that they were easily tilted or turned upside down by the nearby explosion of even medium (240mm) shells.
The origin of the name is disputed. It is widely assumed to be an amusing reference to the its perceived similarity to the cylindrical and hexagonal boxes in which medical pills were once sold. However, it is more likely that it originally referred to pillar boxes, comparing loophole on the pillbox and the letter slot on the pillar box.
Their concrete construction means they are a typical feature of prepared positions. Some were prefabricated and transported to their location for assembly. During WW1, Sir Ernest William Moir designed concrete machine-gun pillboxes made from a system of interlocking precast concrete blocks, with a steel roof. Around 1,500 Moir pillboxes were produced (with blocks cast at Richborough in Kent) and sent to the Western Front in 1918.
They were often camouflaged to conceal their location and to maximize the element of surprise. They may be part of a trench system, form an interlocking line of defence with other pillboxes by providing covering fire to each other (defence in depth), or they may be placed to guard strategic structures like bridges and jetties. They were hard to defeat and required artillery, anti-tank weapons or grenades to overcome.
About 28,000 pillboxes and other hardened field fortifications were constructed in Britain in 1940-41 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations of WW2 - and about 6,500 still survive (the figures may be over-estimates).
Generally thick-walled pillboxes were designated as shell-proof and thinner-walled as bulletproof. Internally, they were sometimes whitewashed and were generally cramped and spartan. Some models had internal loophole shutters of metal or asbestos and there were often shelves riflemen to rest their guns and extra ammo on which were often hinged. An internal blast wall inside the small entrance protected troops inside.
The type here is FW3/22 (FW3 = Directorate of Fortifications and Works Branch 3) - the 2nd most common pillbox type with 1,347 recorded as being extant.
It is possible to enter the pillbox, and although there is evidence it is visited, on the day I entered, there was nothing nasty inside - just a few bits of litter.
It is a regular hexagon in plan with an embrasure in 5 sides and an entrance in 6th. The embrasures are suitable for rifles or light machine guns. Some Type 22s have a low entrance that allows an extra embrasure above. Each wall is about 6 feet (1.8m) long and it was generally built to the bulletproof standard of 12-24" (30-60cm) thick, although shellproof versions with walls around 40" (1.0m) thick were also built. The internal distance between opposite walls is about 10'.
One of the features with most variation is the shape of the loopholes and the internal provision of weapon rests - in this pillbox, a couple of slanted wall grooves below each loophole.
See here for more info on the development, types and features of pillbox.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, pillboxes have been used to gain advantages in trench warfare.
See here for more info and here for a short video on the restoration of the Swanborough pillbox.
Notes: 1) Three type FW3/24 pillboxes can be found in the area near Swanborough at N 50 51.337 E 0 1.276 in a field about 1km south of the A27 Southerham junction, at N 50 51.61 E 0 1.243 in a field just south of Iford Farm and at N 50 51.336 E 0 1.119 at a farm lane junction just north of St Peter's Church in Rodmell.
2) There is a Pillbox Study Group which identifies, studies and preserves C20 pillboxes and anti-invasion devices.
