Suffolk's Defended Shore

Suffolk’s Defended Shore - Coastal Fortifications from the Air by Cain Hegarty and Sarah Newsome 

Published by English Heritage, 2007
Paperback, 108pp, numerous colour and monochrome illustrations. 
ISBN 978 873592 98 4  Product code 51173

This book illustrates the history and development of military defences on the Suffolk coast using data collected during an English Heritage funded survey of the
Suffolk Coast carried out as part of  English Heritage's National Mapping Programme (NMP) by Suffolk's Archaeological Service . This involved the examination of both modern and historic aerial photographs in order to create a map of archaeological remains on the county’s coast. The results of the survey were dominated by evidence for the military defence of the coast, reflecting the importance of the Suffolk coast in national defence strategies over many years.

The book highlights the particular importance of historic aerial photographs which provide a different, and often unique, perspective on the coastal defences constructed in World War II. Photographs taken during and immediately after this war sometimes provide the only visual record of the rapidly evolving defences from this period.

Loundbattery1945


Loundbattery2005

A typical World War 2 Heavy Anti-aircraft Artillery battery at Lound with accommodation huts and gun-laying radar platform




The remains of the Lound battery in 2005

Using modern and historic aerial photographs, and interpretive illustrations based on the survey data, the book provides an overview of Suffolk’s military coastal defences and demonstrates the value of aerial photographs as a resource for studying these types of remains.

Price £14.99

Available from bookshops or from Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service:

Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service
9-10 Churchyard
Shire Hall
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1RX.
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