Wwii Concrete Infantry Section Post

This is a Second World War concrete infantry section post, built in the summer of 1940. It has a bunker-like appearance, consisting of a rectangular main section with two wings. The structure includes a substantial three-sided concrete wall protecting a covered gallery to the rear. The concrete is rough, incorporating large beach pebbles in the roof, likely for camouflage. There are four embrasures in each of the side walls, and three in the front; one embrasure in each side wall is larger, designed to accommodate a heavy machine gun. The gallery was accessed via a pair of entrances facing to the rear, which are now blocked. Behind the central pillbox is a horse-shoe shaped hollow defined by a concrete revetment, marking the site of a former gun position.

Following the defeat at Dunkirk in May 1940 and the threat of invasion, the British military developed anti-invasion defence lines, largely in place by the end of that year. The Somerset coast was protected by various defences, including coastal batteries, anti-tank obstacles, gun emplacements, and infantry section posts manned by the Home Guard. This particular post was constructed between June and September 1940, primarily by the ad hoc K1 Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. It was built to protect a length of beach believed vulnerable to glider attack and to defend the nearby railway station. The defended locality of Blue Anchor Bay included at least twelve pillboxes, an anti-tank girder, and other obstacles.