Lost in Hadleigh: The Hunt for a Hidden WWII Gun Battery
Hidden among the familiar landscapes of Hadleigh Country Park are the remains of a wartime gun battery that once protected the Thames Estuary. But finding it proved rather harder than expected! Has anyone discovered the site or got photographs?
Did you know that #Hadleigh Country Park was once home to some seriously big guns? During the Second World War, Sandpit Hill at Hadleigh was home to the TN9, Thames North 9 heavy anti-aircraft battery, helping defend the Thames Estuary and approaches to London.
It originally used 4.5-inch anti-aircraft guns, later replaced by four enormous 5.25-inch guns. The guns are long gone, but remains of the concrete emplacements still survive.
I went looking for the Sandpit Hill gun battery last week. Armed with Google Maps, coffee from the Hadleigh Farm Estate - Salvation Army cafe and plenty of enthusiasm, I confidently wandered around Hadleigh Park and found everything including plenty of cows except the gun battery site!
Has anyone found the remains or got any photos, old or new? Hadleigh has some fascinating hidden history, emphasis on hidden!
