Figure 1.-Here we see a British boy on the beach at Druridge Bay after the War. Druridge like other British was prepared with beach defenses, although a German invasion that far north was unlikely. THere were important beach defenses and we believe that training took place there. You can see all the bullet holes in the tank here. Some ofthe beach defenses can still be seen. When walking along the sand, you can still see the anti-tank blocks and pill boxes that were installed there to protect yhe defendrs from any NAZI attack.

The Germans had to strike in the south. It was only along the Channel or extreme southeast (Kent) that the Luftwaffe had the range to establish air superiority. In addition, the further north you go, the greater is the Royal Navy's ability to intervene. Also, the Germans did not have specialized landing craft. They were going to have to use Rhine River barges. And the Germans would have difficulty getting barges across the Channel, getting them further north was an impossibility. The further north you go, the tougher the sea conditions become along the North Sea coast, meaning barges could simply not each the coast. Even so, the German success in Norway and France unnerved British planners, so there was attention given to even northern coasts. We note defense built as far north as Northumberland. We see defenses built around Druridge Bay as part of the overall anti-invasion preparations. This involved scaffolding barriers and anti-tank blocks overlooked by pillboxes. Further back were minefields and an anti-tank ditch. 【Foot, p. 199.】 Nearby around the the hamlets of Druridge and Cresswell, anti-glider ditches were prepared and a brick-built decoy control. We think that the beach areas could have been used for training.

Sources

Foot, William. Beaches, fields, streets, and hills ... the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940 Council for British Archaeology: 2006)..

Created: 4:39 PM 6/14/2025
Last updated: 4:39 PM 6/14/2025