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Posted By: w10694 WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 16th Jun 2009 9:23pm
Visited a while ago, nothing left much, but one mystery remains - where was the control bunker:

The Site Now - nothing much left:

[Linked Image]

A WW2 RAF photo of the site - details at the bottom:

[Linked Image]


After a bit of PhotoShopping, some details emerge:

[Linked Image]

The Site Boundary is in red dots

The red arrows show groups of fire baskets (pic below)

The Green dot shows where I suspect the control bunker was, buried on the river side of the railway embankment; there is some concrete there, the right size, it is the top of something, right place, right thickness, nothing has sat on top of it, all it needs is a shovel !

It's even the right type of concrete ( MoD )

[Linked Image]


intresting derek was on about this the other night d.d. info please!
Posted By: Sanchez Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 16th Jun 2009 9:32pm
wow, the very first pic - I had my lunch there not so long ago, its very near the sign saying dungeon i belive !
a look see i think!
Posted By: Sanchez Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 16th Jun 2009 10:03pm
[Linked Image]
Posted By: derekdwc Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 17th Jun 2009 9:02am
hope this helps

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/t/thurstaston/index2.shtml

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/t/thurstaston/index3.shtml
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 17th Jun 2009 11:53am
Ta - the HAA site was nearer the station, this was further south, pity they didn't leave the HAA site (or at least one emplacement) standing !

I've also got a video somewhere of a gang of blokes (flat caps, fags and shovels), shovelling yellow Uranium ore out of 10 ton railway wagons into a big pile, right in Thurstaston station good yard (ie the picnic site !).
Posted By: Anonymous Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 17th Jun 2009 12:56pm
Shovelling Uranium Ore in the goods yard ?? This we must see !!

Maybe for the secret H-bomb factory under the tea rooms next to the station ?
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 17th Jun 2009 7:44pm
Originally Posted by Pinzgauer
Shovelling Uranium Ore in the goods yard ?? This we must see !!

Maybe for the secret H-bomb factory under the tea rooms next to the station ?


It was in a Wirral Railways video tape, it mentioned (remembering a while back ?) that it was for Capenhurst - which seems a bit odd as it's not the closest goods yard - perhaps it was at the time ? It was defo yellowcake.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 17th Jun 2009 8:14pm
Well I'm truly amazed at that. If it's Uranium Oxide Ore/Yellowcake, it's only got a very short half-life (I think). Hours rather than thousands of years. Nevertheless, surprised it was just loose material rather than in barrels or bags.

Breathing it in wouldn't be top of my agenda !

Interesting info w10694. Thanks.
Popped along to the site tonight, approached it from Heswall end, same as everywhere else, it is pretty overgrown at the moment where I wanted to dig - Aldi spade failed miserably at the second cut - endex. Had a wander around the fields, there is a mound that may contain the remains of some of the stuff, but the metal will have been recovered and scrap wood burnt, so probably left with rusty fence-wire if there is anything in it.

A tree seems to have rooted right across the end where the pipes should be if it is the decoy control. One thing I did find out is that it is a split level building there is another roof at a lower level next to it, on the short side away from the decoy site.
Here is a 1997 aerial of the area - underneath the "V" is the manmade "mound". There are some things starting to pop-up in the decoy field in 1997, but pictures after this and 1970 ones don't have them.


Description: Thurstaston decoy 1997
Attached picture ThurstastonLump1997.jpg
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 18th Jun 2009 4:26pm
That's a bit close to the decoy site !
Posted By: mattywirral Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 13th Jul 2009 12:19am
its the other side of the field if ur commin frm the carpark way theres an old bridge witch goes over the wirral way foot path,(the old railway track) go under that then look left and u will see the bunker over in the field,jst looks like a cave frm a distance but we walked over last week to have a nose its there.pm if u still need help in finding this hope it off some help.
Thanks to MattyWirral for finding this.

Heswall Decoy Control Bunker, in pretty good condition, covered in plants apart from front face.

Map shows B for bunker...



Description: Map - B marks the bunker
Attached picture rsheswall1942-sharpenedupcolouredco-bunker.jpg

Description: Front entrance
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1876-s.jpg

Description: Front entrance
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1877-s.jpg

Description: Front entrance from right
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1878-s.jpg

Description: Front entrance from left
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1879-s.jpg

Description: Looking down entrance corridor - rooms to left and right.
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1887-s.jpg

Description: Right hand room - inside right hand wall of decoy, with pipe outlet for control cables.
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1880-s.jpg

Description: Right hand room - inside front wall of decoy - pipe for control cables.
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1882-s.jpg

Description: Right hand room - inside back wall of decoy - quite a lot of soil pouring through here.
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1883-s.jpg

Description: Right hand room - inside of right hand wall of bunker.
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1884-s.jpg

Description: Left hand room - inside left hand wall of decoy - emergency exit - which is open and clear.
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1885-s.jpg

Description: Left hand room - looking towards left hand wall of decoy
Attached picture Thurstaston-Heswall-Decoy-Control-Bunker-IMG_1886-s.jpg
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 13th Jul 2009 11:06am
excellent - it's actually quite a distance from the decoy site, especially with the railway between as well.
nice one see u found it hehe,we stumbled across it.
Posted By: davew3 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 13th Jul 2009 7:06pm
Thanks for the info have passed by that on the Wirral way a number of times,I always thought it was an air raid shelter for the troops who would be area guarding the Radar /gun site,taken a number of pictures from the Wirral way,anybody got any ideas as to what the underground shelter was used for in Meols just opposite the caravan site,I think the the lane is called Guffits Rake,its partly buried with the roof showing and a bit further along about 6ft was showing ,it's in the horse pasture.
Thanks davew3 - that is the Moreton Decoy Control Bunker, I didn't realise how far into Meols this one was ....

See here - Clicky
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 13th Jul 2009 7:57pm
The name of the decoy site often bears little geographical connection to it's location !

I did read somewhere that the generator (noisy !) for the Thurstatston AA site was on the other side of the railway.
Posted By: x_plore Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 14th Jul 2009 7:35am
Hi all, the decoy bunker in meols (Guffits rake) has now been converted into a locker room for horse feed and things like that. My girlfriend has horses on that lane and she was telling me about it.
Posted By: x_plore Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 14th Jul 2009 9:02am
Originally Posted by w10694
Visited a while ago, nothing left much, but one mystery remains - where was the control bunker:

The Site Now - nothing much left:

[Linked Image]

A WW2 RAF photo of the site - details at the bottom:

[Linked Image]


After a bit of PhotoShopping, some details emerge:

[Linked Image]

The Site Boundary is in red dots

The red arrows show groups of fire baskets (pic below)

The Green dot shows where I suspect the control bunker was, buried on the river side of the railway embankment; there is some concrete there, the right size, it is the top of something, right place, right thickness, nothing has sat on top of it, all it needs is a shovel !

It's even the right type of concrete ( MoD )

[Linked Image]






Just wondering, what would be under the concrete (MoD) slab???
I'm wondering if it is a second control bunker, built when the decoy was upgraded (or perhaps the original). It is most definately not a air raid shelter because there was nobody around there to use it. Not a pill box because it is too low to effectively protect the railway. Could be a number of other things though, including just railway oriented item.
Posted By: davew3 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 14th Jul 2009 7:54pm
Thanks diggingdeeper,did try a web site that had info on pillboxes around the country but never got a reply,I kept wondering about it,was it used for a particular area of Birkenhead docks as the your map just shows fields with no ponds.
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 14th Jul 2009 8:52pm
Visited the bunker tonight, excellent. Visitors obviously not welcome judging by the newly looking painted signs on the bridge.
Originally Posted by w10694
Visitors obviously not welcome judging by the newly looking painted signs on the bridge.
It was pitch black when I went, didn't see any signs, just the odd cow pat whistle wink
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 15th Jul 2009 2:00am
I also took my PDRM to the Thurstaston car park, wandered everywhere, and (disappointingly !) didn't find any radiation !
Posted By: davew3 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 22nd Jul 2009 9:56pm
Had a little stroll along the Wirral way today via the 2 ponds behind the mass of bushes and along the path by one pond in the soil is a piece of metal shaped as two coils didn't try to dig it up but I think it's one of those steel posts that they used to put barbed wire on,I can remember these poles from many moons ago laying around Leasowe sandhills before the green lunatics took over the gunsite and turned it to a look but don't walk or touch the pretty flowers,I tried to find the concrete plinth but no luck but further on was another concrete plinth on the river side of the pathway,maybe it was where a platelayers hut sat on.
The concrete plinth is on he river side of one path, it is actually between the two paths, right up against an open wooden fence.

Did you get into the decoy field round the scary U-turn?, I thought the field would be waste high in corn at the moment, it was about a foot deep when I was last there.
Posted By: kimpri Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 12:37am
i used to go shooting round there in a field we set up hides in small clump of trees lot of concrete there buried mates dog there..
Posted By: derekdwc Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 10:33am
who shot the dog
Posted By: Anonymous Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 11:08am
davew3 : From your description of the location, the concrete plinth is indeed the base of the platelayer's hut. Spent nights in there before the track was lifted. Used to go ferreting/shooting around there a lot at that time.

The plinth used to have the remains of the small fireplace on it - on the north side. I recall the hut surviving (with some slates missing) until the Wirral Way was made.
The plinth is made of roof type concrete, not base type though
[Linked Image]
Posted By: Anonymous Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 1:36pm
Yes, that in the pic would appear to be a "roof". I thought the platelayers hut base was a different chunk.

Getting confused as I'm officially an old git today (65). Working my way through piles of slippers, cardigans and pipes !! ha.ha.

Oops... NURSE !!
Posted By: kimpri Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 4:54pm
old dog died in night
Posted By: UrbanEx2U Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 6:21pm
wow I have not been there yet
Posted By: bri445 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 8:14pm
Wot...No socks?!

How to spend all that pension?!
thumbsup
Congrats anyway!
Bri
Posted By: w10694 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 9:25pm
Originally Posted by Pinzgauer
Yes, that in the pic would appear to be a "roof". I thought the platelayers hut base was a different chunk.

Getting confused as I'm officially an old git today (65). Working my way through piles of slippers, cardigans and pipes !! ha.ha.

Oops... NURSE !!


Good Lord - I'm a pensioner and only 54 !

I agree - that looks like a roof - no evidence of anything ever been built / placed or bolted on top. A roof for what ?
Posted By: davew3 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 9:51pm
I have two pictures one of the supposed barbed wire screw with two coils showing and the "roof" one how can I upload these two picures for your perusal,by the way it was my birthday walk on the 22nd,I am too an oldie.
Posted By: davew3 Re: WW2 Thurstatston ( Heswall ) Bombing Decoy - 23rd Jul 2009 9:57pm
Here are the two pictures
Hope this works


Description: The Roof ?
Attached picture roof.jpg

Description: the screw
Attached picture screw.jpg
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