Monument record MDO44883 - Second World War barbed wire entanglements Blandford Camp, Tarrant Launceston

Two sub-circular fenced enclosures on the north side of Blandford Camp are visible on 1940s aerial photographs. The features may be Second World War barbed wire entanglements - possibly used for military training, and were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

Two sub-circular fenced enclosures on the north side of Blandford Camp are visible on 1940s aerial photographs [1-3]. The features comprise a 130m by 112m oval enclosure with an entrance on its east side, with a linear fence extending south eastwards from its east side for just over 190m. A 75m by 103m semi-circular fenced nclosure to the west of this feature abuts a historic field boundary on its west side. A further section of fence line extends between the two features. Within the enclosures are earthworks and rectangular military huts that may be for military training purposes - curvilinear earthworks may be practice trenches, for example, although the function of other earthworks within the enclosures are not known - some of these are not visible in 1944 but are present by 1947. The enclosures themselves may be Second World War barbed wire entanglements, possibly used for military training. The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 RS 4008 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18888.

<2> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 FS 2153 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18613.

<3> Royal Air Force, 24-MAR-1944, RAF/NLA/80 RS 4083 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18617.

Record last edited

Nov 1 2024 2:06PM