Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Upton Army Camp, Wirral.

I would think then the powers to be assumed that the outlying HAA sites were adequate cover for 3 RAF sites. Also you would think no fighter aircraft would be left on the ground in the event of a raid.

I am fairly sure the RAF sites would have HAA on them as well, it just wasn't recorded because the land didn't have to be purchased as it was for the outlying HAA.

I'm sure your right DD, The defence of air fields was down to the RAF regiment and they must have had HAA, i thought i read recently(now i can't find it) requisitioned land had less recorded info by the MOD.

Another little piece in the search taken from the ADS site, a spread sheet which also has info on Clatterbridge and Bidston camp workshops.

http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/ads...n/csv/Stage_1/North_Western_district.csv

I had a good look around on Friday Evening, went in through the front but the Cadets were doing some square bashing, so quick exit and tried to get thorugh the back from Upton Meadow - no chance - someone has created a fantastic inpenetrable bramble wall, found ways round fences etc but couldn't get past the bramble wall.

But basically as Bert said, they are digging up part of the site at the moment and doesn't seem to be anything of interest.

dd

I lived across the fields from there when I was a kid, so naturally we would play there...
This was in the late 70's and I remember there being 3 half buried buildings, in the style of stores or barracks ( which was what we called them: "The barracks".They werent in the best state of repair then, and I remember whilst playing there I went to climb up something in one of the buildings and a chunk of concrete crumbled off the wall and mashed my fingers. I still have the scars today.
they would have been approximately where the homebase side of the sainsburys site is now located.. there were also some man made raised hillocks with metal posts on leading off towards arrowe park road.

doubt this is of any interest to anyone, but thanks for this thread because it really jogged my memory of somewhere I had completely forgotten.

Phil, its always good to hear from peoples experience. I find it weird how your perception as a child is completely different as an adult - you only remember the parts that were of use to you or were different - so you may remember a wall you used to climb but can't remember anything much about the rest of the building it was part of. There are exceptions, Chris & Pinz seem to have been walking camcorders!

yeah, you are right... the reason I remember the raised hillocks with the metal poles was because we used to use these as bases in games, where these were a safe place and you couldnt be got...
barley.. if you like..

some time later, as a teenager, myself a a few others did a dodgy deal with some of the cadets from the ? ATC ? (dunno if thats right, but its what I remember, wherein they had discovered a stash of old army (possibly air force) coats and were flogging them off on the sly..
Myself a some mates had one each for what I think was 2 quid..
they were big blue overcoats, obviously pretty old, amazing quality, weighed a ton... and more importantly .. they were so warm you could only really wear them in winter.. I had mine in a wardrobe at my folks house until they passed away a few years back...
wish I had remembered , because it was still in great nick after all those years.

Phill , they were called Greatcoats, had one myself issued to me, kept you warm but couldn't move in them when they were wet.

i remember the army camp as my grandad used to work there and he used to take me with him when i was a child

Do you remember when this was, and what the camp was being used for at the time?

it would be about the early to mid fifties and it was used to store large army guns and things covered in grease as i can remember getting covered in the stuff once

thanks for that diggingdeeper very helpful

Glad this thread has been brought back to life, with new members all the time, someone might be able to add more.

Without going of on a tangent according to a good friend of mine who was a long time serving member of the TA , Chetwynd House which is in the Grounds of 234 Sqn RLC (V) TA .Was during the war Operations HQ Royal Artillery AA for the Wirral area . The regular Royal Artillery Battery which was stationed there had a fixed AA gun at the rear of the Barracks and was home to the mobile AA Guns ready to be positioned where there was an urgent need . I would persume this battery got it's shells from Ordance Depot in Arrowe Park . Also he remembers as a kid seeing masses of military vehicles cammed up at arrowe park prior to Normandy landings . I don't know how much of this is true but he's a noligable chap when it comes to military history on the Wirral

Regards

sludge