Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #swwsussex
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When I tweeted yesterday, I never dreamed that today would turn out to be such an epic voyage of discovery! My brain is still frazzled, so I'll add to this thread over the coming days as I untangle today's findings. #swwSussex 1/ 
This pillbox is one of many still extant as part of the defence of Rye and Winchelsea. It stands on private land; we had permission to visit. The tables are designed for the Vickers machine gun and are similar to those at Rye Harbour: 2/
Armed with documents, we searched for supporting defence works; we found an earthwork cut into the river bank off to one flank. Most of the pillbox's embrasures were blocked up; this earthwork would've been in the line of fire otherwise. 3/
In 1940 Bishopstone Station had a pillbox built on its roof, cleverly camouflaged into the Art Deco architecture. In December 2020 I was granted access; read my blog for more detail! pillbox.org.uk/blog/251798/ #swwSussex @MrTimDunn 1/6
Opened in 1938, the station building stands above a railway cutting. It's not immediately obvious that the pillbox actually has four embrasures. I build a 3D model a few years ago to help interpret the layout and siting. 2/6
The pillbox is only accessible via the roof, so scaffolding is required. Amazing to finally get close after longfully gazing up from ground level for years! 3/6
THREAD: clearing a heavily-overgrown pillbox somewhere in #swwSussex. An amazing day organised by @suspol_heritage with @UnseenSussex. A professional tree surgeon undertook the tree removal and minor landscaping. 1/7
One tree stump was removed to prevent further growth that would affect the pillbox. The Bobcat also scraped back the ground surface to help open up the embrasures again. 2/7
We had cleaned the interior some weeks ago, but there was still plenty of mud, especially in the socket to hold the Bren tripod leg. Clearing these out allowed the Bren gun to be set up. 3/7
THREAD: Big thanks to our team of volunteers who did an amazing job cleaning the exterior of a pillbox today! It stands on private property and had not previously been recorded. #swwSussex 1/7
Prior archive research gave us some good leads. A 1940 document told us this was pillbox GL6 on the WX-WZ Stop Line, with 6 Home Guards & 6 rifles. We also had a blank copy of orders, a copy of which would've been in this pillbox in 1940. "THIS POST WILL BE HELD TO THE LAST" 2/7
What the ancient texts did not tell us, however, was that the sacred pillbox had a guardian in feline form. Fortunately, Tiddles only cursed us by growling aggressively for half an hour as we discovered a secret stash of dead pigeons inside. 3/7
