Military Sites

From GPG

There is a great richness and diversity of fortifications in Britain they can be a theme for events using rights of way and certainly many coastal or upland border walks are punctuated by defence works from many eras. As Rights of Way/Access practitioners we need to consider Health and Safety risk they might pose.

After World War 2 [WW2] ended large quantities of munitions were disposed of. Some were dumped at sea, some burnt or fired and other munitions, such as the mines planted in beaches, were cleared over a period of years with routine checks taking place on some beaches into the 1990's. Around the country small stores of munitions were forgotten about or deliberately buried, this included phosphorous grenades and shells, which according to the Defence Establishment Research Laboratory could be legally disposed off by burial until 1963.

When preparing to improve rights of way such features as 'pill boxes', spigot mortars and other substantial works should not be considered as isolated features but each is likely to have been part of a network of trenches, machine gun posts wire entanglements and other works. There are enthusiasts for this aspect of our history who can help with the identification of site or the area archaeological record or the Imperial War Museums Defence of the realm Archive. In Essex in 2004 a landscape restoration project at Hylands house uncovered 20 sub-machine gun magazines buried sometime during WW2. Many large country houses were commandeered by the military & estates with moor land were used for military training during this period.

Working on or near these sites requires pre planning. The Army Bomb Disposal Unit only dealt with items accidentally uncovered. It is the responsibility of the organisers to commission a survey to search for any cache of items. There are firms which undertake this work, a one day survey costs in the region of £1000. On a site worked on by the author the search proved negative so with caution the area was excavated. About 100 glass items were uncovered, many meat paste jars but the majority cough mixture or 1/4 or 1/2 size spirits bottles. Our assumption was these were on site to cure coughs or had contained 'a little something to keep the cold out' for the Home Guard. On further consideration of the site the burial of all these items in one pit suggest they may have been a stockpile to be made into incendiary devices such as Molotov Cocktails should the need have arisen and we were fortunate not to have come across something nasty -a scan of the internet revealed a site in Wales where a cache of many similar sized glass containers were found. They contained phosphorous and injured people who 'made play' with them.

It is recommended that before undertaking any excavations near such sites you dig first in the archives and then commission a non invasive archaeological survey by magnetometer, resistivity or radar as though appropriate to try to define any potential hazardous spots and act as part of the archaeological record. These surveys should decide your approach. Again you may have to pay for professional site clearance. Should you expose any 'rifle' ammunition seek professional help immediately, the consensus seems to be to keep it damp as it can still go off when it dries out. Soil from sites contaminated with phosphorous is treated as hazardous waste and the local Environmental Health department will advise on its expensive disposal.

(District councils maintain a record of known contaminated land sites in their area - but the list may not be complete and is likely to exclude any MOD land)

The good practice advice I can give is never to be complacent, plan and work hard to make sure you do not find yourself dealing with munitions!

Ian Blomeley, Essex County Council