Barrow Haven Anti Aircraft Battery WWII
Barrow Haven is a small hamlet close to the Humber coast, near Barrow Upon Humber and Barton Upon Humber and was the site of a Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery during World War 2.
Today I was incredibly fortunate and got to look round the site and take some photographs - it’s a rare treat as there is no access at all to the site so take a look here instead.
This one’s a corker !
Heavy Anti- Aircraft Battery ~ Humber H27
I really did find myself out in the wilds of Lincolnshire today, right on the north coast of the county and eventually found, note eventually, the remains of the Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery at West Marsh, Barrow Haven - and fantastic it was too !
Important Note: There is absolutely no public access to this site - more details at bottom of page
I’ve not visited a World War II site like this one before, there’s far more here than there is at Stallingborough for instance because of this and the fact that there is no access to the site I’ve taken plenty of pictures.
This site really did give me a feel for the layout of such an Anti-Aircraft Battery station in WWII - so much is still there.
Take for instance the picture left to this - incredibly the wooden sentry box is still standing at the site entrance.
Because it’s private property and is inhabited many of the buildings are actually in use which made the pictures a little difficult at times, I should have preferred some better shots but logistics dictated.
What staggered me was just what there was to see, it just went on and on. There are 5 HAA gun emplacements, a bomb dump, staff quarters, command post, fortified bunkers, sheds, huts etc etc - it’s fabulous.
In 1941 it was home to 286 Battery of the 91st Royal Artillery regiment and it started off with two gun emplacements for, I believe, 4.5-inch guns. There was also a command post and four 3.7-inch mobile guns.
Later on another 3 fixed emplacements were added and another command post - clearly a big and important site - presumably as it’s job was to catch German Bombers coming down, or returning home, via the River Humber. I did also read a suggestion that it was there to protect Hull as well.
Let’s get onto some of the pictures:
Sleeping Quarters for Soldiers and Gunners ?
The above shows just one of the original personnel buildings, my presumption would be that this served as a crew hut or barracks - hopefully somebody could help with more definitive information here - and elsewhere in the article for that matter - were you there by any chance ?
Friend of the site Len Copsey did mention once on the Barton Upon Humber article that he was at Barton - I wonder whether that was this site ?
One of the Gun Emplacements
Above is one of the actual reinforced concrete ‘bunkers’ which served as the actual gun emplacement. Fittings are still in existence (one shown above right) concreted into the ground and the design is similar to those I saw at Stallingborough. Only similar though - these were ’single storey’ and the fittings I saw where not quite the same as those at Stallingborough.
Command Post Building
Above you’ll see what I’m told was a command post, very sturdily built and partially underground with some earthwork embanking to one side. Being subterranean it did suffer from water ingress as seen below
Flooded Underground Command Post
It was pitch black inside but thankfully the camera flash revealed all - note the whole in the ceiling, I presume for ventilation or a flue ?
Yet Another Building
Above you’ll see yet another reinforced concrete style building with metal window frames. I’m not sure what this one was used for though.
Fortified Ammunition Dump
The above is quite fabulous, never seen this before. It’s an ammunition dump for storing the heavy anti-aircraft shells in.
It’s very heavily reinforced and banked up on the left with soil. As you look at the entrance the ammo bins are on the left and the right hand side is a blast wall to protect against enemy air raids.
Bomb Storage
The above picture follows the previous one and goes into the ammo storage area itself. To the left you’ll see the protective blast wall and to the right a series of fortified rooms with very heavy and securely fasted iron doors.
Each room was used to store the shells used by the various guns on the site
Ordnance Stock Marker Board
This last one really sealed a perfect day off for me, inside one of the ammunition storage rooms you could, with just a little clearing and dusting, still see this painted on the wall.
It may sound silly but to me it was an incredible thing to see - brings the whole thing to life - a fabulous piece of living history.
You could still see the heavy duty concrete pathways which interlinked the whole site to the bomb storage area so the shells could be moved by trolley or cart presumably.
It really was a fantastic day and a privilege to be there and experience the site for myself. I hope the pictures and write up brought a little sense of that to you as well.
I’ve gone to town on the pictures I know, and I could have written a lot more, but I felt it truly warranted it, frankly under different circumstances I could have taken a lot more pictures such was my fascination and the amount to see and experience.
Important note: The site is not only on privately owned property but is also a residential property as well, there’s no admittance nor can anything at all be seen from the road etc. I say this as I know many people read these articles and subsequently wish to visit some of the sites - this is just to save you a pointless journey
I’m pretty sure this takes the ‘bunker biscuit’ in terms of the sites I’ve written up here so far - it was absolutely tremendous and my thanks go to those who made it possible for me not only to experience it all but also to share it with you as well.
Now . . . tell me that’s not a cracker 
Happily Yours
Rod
If you have any comments at all please do feel free to share them.
We are especially keen to learn anything at all about the site and what happened there
Little Brother said,
April 23, 2010 @ 9:32 pm
Rod,
A great pictorial tour of duty, you must feel very lucky to be granted access. Very interesting.
LB
chris keyworth said,
April 23, 2010 @ 11:03 pm
i used to go here regular when i had my motorbike never even knew this site existed..
regards
chris
Femme Fatale said,
April 24, 2010 @ 7:16 am
Rod,
What an absolutely fabulous day for you,
you must feel very honoured to have been given access to such a place!
FF
xx
Rod said,
April 24, 2010 @ 7:43 am
LB,
it was a great day - got a bit more to come from the rest of the day as well
Cheers
Rod
Rod said,
April 24, 2010 @ 7:45 am
Chris,
you could go passed a 1000 times and have no idea and as usual there appears to be little information on the site.
Hopefully we can get as much information together as possible here
Thanks for the inspiration for days like this Chris
All the best
Rod
Rod said,
April 24, 2010 @ 7:47 am
FF,
it was a fabulous day - I was grinning like an idiot (not difficult for an idiot of course)
And subsequently getting it all on here makes it feel even more worthwhile
Regards
Rod
Len Copsey said,
April 24, 2010 @ 8:21 am
Hi Rod & everyone, Just got back from holiday Fiday 23rd April so i have just seen your great pics, will have a closer look later, it was`nt site i “visited” to work on the 3.7 Gun, Cheers Len.
Amiguru said,
April 24, 2010 @ 12:57 pm
For anyone wishing to ‘Google satellite’ view the site the OS coordinates of the centre of the site are TA05605 23173 or 53.694355° N 0.402079°W.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
April 24, 2010 @ 7:00 pm
Hi Len,
thanks for chipping in, any opinions or general remarks that may come to mind looking at the pics would be really appreciated Len.
Looks like I need to get to the site you did go to Len and get that up here as well if possible
Best wishes
Rod
Rod said,
April 24, 2010 @ 7:03 pm
Neville has had an inspired idea and sent me a screen cap of the site as seen on satellite but set at an angle that approximates what it might look like to an enemy bomber coming into attack - fantastic stuff
Pilot and Bomb Crews Eye View
Jon S said,
June 7, 2010 @ 8:35 pm
Hi Rod,
As well as this emplacement and the one between Stallingborough and Keelby, there is a third anti-aircraft site just to the north of the old North Killingholme airfield. Its approx OS grid reference is TA136191-ish, or Google Earth says the centre of the site is at 53 39′19.94″N, 0 16′57.04″W. There’s a public footpath from East Halton that runs right alongside. I can’t claim to have visited the site on the ground, though I’m lucky enough to fly over it on a regular basis! There are more similar AA emplacements on the north bank - I ‘discovered’ another a couple of weeks ago near Beverley - but as you’d have to risk visiting the Federal Republic of Yorkshire and pay an exorbitant bridge toll (toll booths on the Yorkshire side, unsurprisingly!) I haven’t include their locations in this post.
Great site, by the way; the historical topics are fascinating.
Jon
Rod said,
June 8, 2010 @ 7:18 am
Jon,
many thanks indeed for the information and welcome to the site - hope you’ll return.
I’ll be taking advantage of the Killingholme information - many thanks for the tip off.
I think perhaps I lack both the courage and the funds to travel ‘Up North’ Jon
Many thanks again Jon
All the best
Rod
[later edit] Like an idiot I did go only to think this looks familiar and indeed it was - I’d already been and written it up
East Halton WW2 Site
Ramona Percy said,
August 6, 2010 @ 8:20 am
I read your article on Barrow Haven Gunsite: Throughout most of the war (started when I was 10 yrs. old) I lived in Haven House, next door to Haven Inn, where my Grandmother was landlady. We lived with a gunsite behind us (300 yds.) and an amunition dump in front. about 300yds down Marsh Lane.We came into contact with the soldiers from the Gunsite, via the Pub, when at our grannies.
We also heard them each day, as they marched from their camp, via the station and the down the road, the sound of marching feet and the singing of their song’Oh Merry Oh Merry Oh merry are we; we are the boys of the artillery; sing high sing low,where ever we go! Artillery Gunners they never say no We even got a salute from the seargent, when he commanded his squad ‘Eyes Right’ felt like the queen then.
When air raids started, on Hull many nights; we heard the sound of planes, of bombs whistling down, and the guns firing’ I was terrified! I also had friends, who were living next to the Gun Site; and remember one evening. making our way back from their house, accompanied by their big brother, a raid started, and the guns were firing at close quarters; it was horrific!!
So Barrow Haven has not always been so peaceful. But it is a place, where the happiest days of my childhood was spent
Ramona Percy (nee Parkin)
Rod said,
August 6, 2010 @ 8:24 am
Ramona,
thanks for the comment and welcom eto the site.
That’s absolutely fabulous to read Ramona - it’s exactly the sort of thing we love to get on the site - real experience and real memories which are now preserved, as they should be, forever.
Thanks again Ramona for the taste of what it was like there, I and many others will appreciate it greatly
All the best
Rod
RButhnot said,
January 31, 2011 @ 4:56 pm
There are some very strange ‘earthworks’ visible in Barrow Haven via Google Earth, particularly south of West Hann Lane. Are these all connected with the war?
Rod said,
January 31, 2011 @ 7:41 pm
RB,
they could well be as there was an awful lot of activity around there and what you mention could well be anti-invasion measure.
It’s also a very ancient area with local Roman activity etc . . .
Regards
Rod
RButhnot said,
February 18, 2011 @ 4:04 pm
The earthworks are none other than Barrow Castle, a motte and bailey apparently laid out in the norman style, which is obvious now I look at it again. When you consider the attention given to various hill forts in the South of England, Lincolnshire does a pretty good job of hiding its light under a bushel - whatever that means.
Jon S said,
February 18, 2011 @ 9:06 pm
The Barrow Haven motte and bailey is very impressive. Bizarrely, the motte has a hedgerow running right across the middle of it; whenever I see it I wonder why the original enclosure plan (assuming that the hedgrow dates from that far back) didn’t simply go round the obvious obstacle. I read in an archeological reference book a few months ago - sorry, can’t remember the title, a colleague lent it to me - that the remnants of a wooden palisade were found on top of the bailey boundary bank when an air raid shelter was dug into it circa 1939! I understand that the motte would have guarded the upper reaches of the Haven, which would have been navigable as far as Barrow when the ‘castle’ was built.
The boundary bank can be seen (via Google Earth, ) to the NNE of the motte mound, curving at its top end towards the easternmost house. A further, outer ditch and bank is visible as a parchmark in the field to the north. At this time of year, with the sun low in the sky, the earthworks are even more impressive than usual when viewed from the air.
I’d be fascinated to find out more from anyone who is more expert on such matters than I am . . . Chris?
Jon
Chris Keyworth said,
February 18, 2011 @ 10:35 pm
Jon
ive got a full report on it and few other bits, i seem to remember that it dates to the wars between stephen and matilda but will have to look that out, give me a couple of days and i will get it all writen up, i have paperwork coming out of my ears at the mo just dont fly to low over my house as the downdraft will cause a paper storm
regards
chris
ALISON said,
March 1, 2011 @ 4:04 pm
hi , just decided to research anti aircraft sites in Lincs because I grew up on one and couldn’t believe it when I found your web site and photos of the Barrow Haven site . My parents sold Barrow post office in 1957 and bought the Barrow Haven battery so that dad could follow a dream of becoming a pig and poultry farmer . Dad bought it off the MOD and so when we moved there it was just how the army had left it . We lived in the sergeants mess while the bungalow was being built . the chickens were in 3 big wooden huts which ran parallel to the road and the pigs were in the ammunitions dump and farrowed in the bomb storage building . it was an amazing place to grow up . we left there in 1963 because of financial difficulties and dad went back to accountancy . sadly dad died just 2 years ago aged 90 and when I sorted out his paperwork I found the bills for having the bungalow built and selling the place . your photos have brought back such vivid memories although it all looks rather worse for wear now compared to when we lived there , but then it was 50 years ago !
Rod said,
March 1, 2011 @ 6:45 pm
Alison,
what a fantastic comment - many thanks and welcome to the site - fancy you actually living there.
Pleased the pictures brought back a few memories Alison and many thanks once again
All the best
Rod
steph said,
July 1, 2011 @ 7:24 pm
Hi Rod, came across this site while doing some re-search for my dad. He’s 94 & still got his marbles. He was called up 24 Aug 1939. A member of Goole TA. I know he was on lots of sites around the Humber before he went out to the Middle East. I’m busy writing his memoir - and desperate to make contact with anyone from the 186/91st Heavy AA Reg. who may still be around and came from the Thorne, Goole, area. If you have any suggestions I’d be very pleased to have them. In the meantime I shall ask my dad if he knew of Barrow Haven site. cheers steph
Rod said,
July 2, 2011 @ 7:54 am
Hi Steph,
many thanks indeed and welcome to the site, I’ve no practical suggestions I’m afraid but would be more than happy to hear anything your father may remember about this or any of the other wartime sites featured on the site
Regards,
Rod
John Andrew said,
January 30, 2012 @ 11:08 pm
Hello Rod,
On nights when the Germans were bombing Hull I stood outside our house at Grange Farm Barton-on-Humber with my Father watching the fires burning, bombs exploding, searchlights occasionally finding an enemy plane then losing it in the smoke. Sometimes the searchlights would pick out a barrage balloon which looked like a large silver fish. Usually the planes flew higher than the balloons to avoid the balloon cables.All this time the anti aircraft guns at Barrow Haven and other sites would be firing at the planes circling Hull, some of them came over us.
One night we were watching anti aircraft shells bursting over the Humber when something hit the house and screeched into the grass just near us. I couldn’t find it that night but I dug it out the next day and found it to be a shell splinter five inches long one inch wide and about half an inch thick and jagged round the edges Plenty close enouph for a lad of twelve.
Please e-mail me. Keep up the good work. Regards John
Rod said,
January 31, 2012 @ 6:27 am
John,
what an experience for a young boy - I wonder whether it was terrifying or exciting - perhaps a mixture of both.
Some have told me they loved the wartime as boys, apart form the food, too young to understand the horrors of it so it all seemed like an adventure.
Thanks for sharing this John
All the best
Rod
John Andrew said,
January 31, 2012 @ 6:01 pm
Hello again Rod,
I think I was probably just exited but Dad must have been worried for me because he had been wounded by shrapnel in Belgium during the First World War. Dad was leader of the Barton Auxilliary Unit so he was on the alert every time there was an air raid in case it was the start of the expected invasion. He was not too keen on me being out with him after the shrapnel incident.
If you type into your computer “auxunit news” and click onto Sugar Loaf Patrol at the bottom right of the page you will find pictures of Dads O.B. [dugout], the last photo shows Hull in the distance. I will give you a guided tour if you like. Have you found any O.B.s on your travels? There is more about Dad in Baysgarth House Museum at Barton-on-Humber where I am a volunteer.
Regards, John.
Rod said,
January 31, 2012 @ 7:56 pm
John,
they’re great memories your putting down for us here, great in the proper sense of course.
I’ll check out the search - I’ve been unlucky with the museum, tried it 3 or 4 times but I always seem to be there when it’s shut
No specific OBs that I know of John
Best
Rod
John Andrew said,
January 31, 2012 @ 9:57 pm
Hello Rod,
Baysgarth House Museum is open 12-4pm every Friday Saturday Sunday & Bank Holidays except Christmas & New Year weekends and is run by a charity called CHAMP.You seem to be a cycle enthusiast so you would be interested in the Elswick Hopper Cycles display and Nigel Land’s book about the company.
Regards John.
Rod said,
February 1, 2012 @ 5:58 am
John,
I’ll bear that in mind when I plan my next trip - get the right day for a change
Thanks and regards
Rod