Description
Two blocks of concrete buildngs (1 housed a generator) and foundations for others. One of a chain of radar stations built during the Secong World war which was subsequently reused as POW camp. (Harry Beamish's notes)
On top of a prominent escarpment known as ‘The Heughs’, stand two concrete buildings, remains of a World War II Coast Defence/Chain Home Low (CD/CHL) radar station. The northern of the two is the TxRx (Transmit/Receive) Block and the other the Standby Set House. Close by are a series of earthworks and the remains of a number of other structures. It is known that part of the site was re-used towards the end of World War II, and for a short time afterwards, as a prisoner of war (POW) camp. The site was investigated in 2003-4 by the EH landscape survey team and the following is a summary of their findings. Prior to this the most substantial work was Beamish's unpublished survey undertaken in 1993.
The survey notes that the buildings are used currently as animal shelters and that vandalism and graffiti have been a problem to some degree, but in general, the buildings survive in relatively good condition.
By 1941, a final version of the CHL (Chain Home equipment against Low flying aircraft) station had been developed. The main difference between this and earlier stations was that the transmitter, receiver and operations room were now housed in a single building (the TxRx block), measuring 50ft (15m) by 18ft (5.5m), upon which the aerial (now continuously power-turned) was mounted (Bragg 2002, 261-2). During the latter part of 1941, an advance in technology resulted in the development of a radar with a 10cm wavelength (centimetric radar), as opposed to the original 1.5m band, which proved to be particularly useful in providing reliable plots of shipping (Dobinson 2000a, 128). Initially, a 1.5m radar would have been operating at Craster, as indicated by the ‘M’ prefix of the station’s identification number (Dobinson 2000a, 108). The new centimetric equipment was
rolled-out to the CHL and CD/CHL stations, including Craster, from the start of 1942 (ibid, 130). By the end of 1942, there were nearly 200 radar stations in the UK – these included 62 CH stations, 62 CHL stations and 19 Army CD/CHL stations (Bragg 2002, 292). As well as permanent stations, a mobile device known as a ‘Gibson Box’ (officially known as a Radar CD No 1 Mk V) was developed, which comprised of a large van containing all the essential equipment of a centimetric set (including the aerial) and spares. Once in position, the aerial was mounted on top of the vehicle and the interior became the plotting room. However, at sites with a pre-existing plotting room, the Gibson Box could be a smaller, fixed structure which supported the aerial (Radar CD No 1 Mk VI – Type 33).
Documentary sources show that by December 1942, Craster had been allocated a CD No1 Mk IV or V radar, although it is not confirmed as being in use by this date (Dobinson 2000a, 130). The operational buildings of a CHL station would also have included a Standby Set House, which housed a generator to provide an emergency, back-up power supply for the TxRx block. In order to function, the radar station would have required its own infrastructure, incorporating a connection to both the mains power supply and the telephone system as well as access to a source of water. In addition to the operational structures, there would have been a need for accommodation to house the operating staff and storage buildings for fuel and provisions.
The radar station compound at Craster originally occupied an area of approximately 230m by 170m, and comprised of an operational building (TxRx block), a generator block (Standby Set House) and accommodation, all surrounded by a barbed wire perimeter. Two entrances into the compound defined by the barbed wire perimeter have been identified,
one at the south-east and one at the south-west, the latter being the main entrance. There was a further guarded entrance to the access track some 0.5km to the south. The most prominent remains of the radar station are those of the TxRx block, the larger of the two extant structures on the upper edge of The Heughs, and, some 25m to the south, the smaller Standby Set House.
Evidence from a 1946 aerial photograph (RAF1946; Figure 18) shows that the whole radar station complex at Craster was originally surrounded by at least two lines of barbed wire entanglements. No trace of these lines survive on the ground, although examples of angle-irons and pickets, which would have supported the barbed wire, were found scattered across the area to the east of the operational buildings. There are also a number of sawn-off, in situ angle-irons around the TxRx block building; these are discussed more fully below. The outer line of barbed wire appears to have run alongside the field wall to the east of the radar station, thus utilising the preexisting boundary to strengthen and/or disguise the defences on this side. The fact that there are two lines of barbed wire to the north of the site, but only one to the south suggests that parts of it may have been removed by 1946, the date of the aerial photograph. Local residents recalled that the Italian POWs were tasked with removing the barbed wire entanglements (Mr W Archbold, pers comm), supporting the idea that the perimeter had been partially dismantled by June 1946. The decaying dump of barbed wire in the quarry results from the final clearance after the closure of the POW camp.
Following the abandonment of the radar station, the accommodation huts in the former quarry were re-used to house first German and then Italian POWs (Mr W Archbold, pers comm). It is not known if the pair of Nissen huts and the operational buildings on top of The Heughs were also used for this purpose or not. Although the best evidence for the re-use of the radar station as a POW camp is the oral testimony of local residents, there is also field evidence which seems to support this change of use. Close to the eastern pair of former Nissen huts are artificial terraces cut into the slope below (Figure 22) and another in front of the main group of huts in the former quarry. These terraces have
drystone revetment on their downhill side and have the appearance of cultivation terraces or gardens, similar to, but on a much smaller scale than, examples which proliferate in Mediterranean countries. A short flight of steps was found to give access to the terrace in front of the main group of Nissen huts. These terraces can be best explained as attempts
by the POWs to create gardens in and around their temporary ‘home’. Undertaking the creation and cultivation of these garden terraces would have given the prisoners a constructive occupation, as well as providing a source of food through the growing of vegetables. Oral testimony confirms that the prisoners attempted to grow vegetables, but failed due to the unsuitable nature of the soil (Mrs W Hogg, pers comm). The prisoners were mostly ‘trustees’ who were allowed to move about relatively freely – local residents recall the prisoners working on nearby farms and filling ‘jerry cans’ of water from Craster, loading them onto a truck taking them back to the camp (Mr W Archbold and Mrs W Hogg, pers comm). This may indicate that there was no piped water to the radar station or later POW camp. [SNA63001]