WW2 HAA gun emplacement

The 1944/1946 images show a HAA four-gun emplacement and nearby 1.2km up the hill is what I believe may be an associated searchlight position. The location is Mill Hill Old Shoreham Sussex UK.

Is anyone able to confirm the layout to be consistent with a searchlight position?

 

With thanks to and courtesy of Historic England Research Records.

Screenshot and link to webpage below.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.



Heritage Gateway - Results

 

And Brian, a specific searchlight reference here, so maybe, just maybe.

Courtesy of "Shoreham's War", screenshot with link to source below.



Shoreham's War - shorehambysea.com

 

A Shoreham Battery, and searchlight mentioned within here:

BBC - WW2 People's War - Family Tree - Part One

Can't determine as of yet if it is the N11 battery and searchlights that are being referred to.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Fyi
Map of Heavy Anti-Aircraft gun sites in England, Scotland and Wales

 

Thanks for the comments.

I live about 50m from the HAA gun emplacement site and have some good information about it, thank you.

My interest in the possible searchlight site is because an archaeologist friend believes it may have the remnants of a Neolithic long barrow. When rummaging around I found a concrete slab that is shown on the 1946 AP’s and also appears on google earth historical imagery. This allowed me to geolocate the 1946 AP on google earth as an overlay. The result is attached which shows the mound and the WW2 structures which I believe may be associated with a searchlight.

Clearly the mound cannot be prehistoric, it must have been constructed after the WW2 buildings were removed. Other local WW2 sites simply had structures removed, it’s curious that a mound was constructed, I wonder what lies beneath!

 

Do you mean Mill Hill close/Mill Hill drive and surrounding area. If so nothing shows there apart from HAA site.
If the concrete slab site is close an assumption it could have been underground storage or shelter.

 

The slab should appear as a marker:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5m15gokakaXNWbBV8

 

That appears to be near the location of a now removed Chain Home Low site
Heritage Gateway - Results

 

There are discrepancies regarding the description of WW2 features in this area. The main Chain Home Low site being on Truleigh Hill over 3km to the North East. The barbed wire enclosure I am interested in is described here: Heritage Gateway - Results

The Downs from Above site describes the circular feature here:

Heritage Data

Anyhow, returning to my original question. Does my 1946 AP look like a typical searchlight installation?

 

Can you visit the site and take photos?

The only item that shows on the pillbox study group is a defunct CHL site that has your interest it also shows your HAA site along with the CHL site at Truleigh Hill

 

Based on the map from 6th AA Div diary, it may be worth getting hold of the the following SL battery diaries along with 70 SL Regiment. I have 2 diaries for 70SL Regt but need to look through them in more detail and one wasn't completely copied.
WO166/3307 for 461 Bty
WO166/3304 & 3305 for 459 Bty

 

I am a volunteer ‘scrub basher’ for the National Trust. We are at the location clearing scrub on Thursday 09/10/2025, I shall take time to remove the weed that is covering the concrete slab visible in the 1946 AP. I shall also look for any other features that may be visible. The attached photos show the mound that I have described above.

 

I can see why the thought it was of a long barrow.

 

A new web site has appeared making it simple to flick between EA lidar and satellite maps for England.

It may assist in showing you what potentially lies under the scrub you are bashing.

Lidar date on the site is usually 2 or 3 years out and looks to be the 2m spacing at 0.25m height resolution data set.

LiDAR Finder

Have a play - the mound is evident along with new carpark to the south.

In settings use DTM (Digital Terrain Model to estimate ground and math out tree cover/structures). I use Hybrid Tile map - but play with these to get best - OS 1900s is interesting for before rampant industrial builds.
Ross

 

Heritage Gateway - Results
Searchlight sites typically comprised a small ring-ditch to provide the crew with shelter during an air raid, a predictor emplacement for calculating the height and range of targets, a light anti-aircraft machine gun pit, a generator and hutted accommodation for the crew. During the Second World War searchlights were manned by the Royal Artillery and were under the control of the Army's Anti-Aircraft Command. (2

 

Thanks for the link. I tend to use the Environment Agency datasets direct and then view using Global Mapper. An example showing the mound with a section through it is attached. I have also attached some files relating to Canadian forces stationed around Mill Hill as it was a strategic defended location in WW2.

 

This certainly looks like a ring ditch at the Southern end of the enclosure.

 

Great stuff Brian - I'm QGIS for my dataset manipulations - sorry for assuming a novice approach would suffice.

Ross

 

I found these in my front garden. It's a few metres from the HAA site.