Report - RAF West Beckham, Norfolk - 11/01/2010

[DETOX & DIZZY]

RAF West Beckham (WW2) was located between the towns of Sheringham and Holt in Norfolk, England. The base was large and included a transmitter site, receiver site, generator site, underground rooms as well as two camps for based personnel to live in. RAF West Beckham opened in 1938 and closed in 1958.

Myself (Detox), Dizzy & Lighthouse ended up running into this place after looking for local ROC posts. Later that day we returned with are equipment for a underground explore!

Guard House to the site.

Inside - Switch box

Much better....

No soap?

Inside view point

Bricked up bunker. Shame!

But around the corner a nice pillbox

Later that day we return for the hole!

Opening...

Who's first?

What you found guys?

He's on a mission now!

Nice Work Lighthouse

Beyond the steps...

Just a few pictures of the broken hatch cover and some sort of a pulley
mechanism.

Today the base is in private ownership. Many buildings remain.

Peace DETOX & DIZZY

 

[The_Mole]

Nice little find. Its an old RADAR site. The sorry looking underground bunkers are buried reserve stations. There should be another one nearby. One for Transmitter and one for Receiver.

 

[tigger]

Nice little find. Its an old RADAR site. The sorry looking underground bunkers are buried reserve stations. There should be another one nearby. One for Transmitter and one for Receiver.

The reserve site for West Beckham Chain Home was mobile not burried. Nominally located at Kelling.

 

[Vapeexpert86]

Buried reserves,i have been in many and its pretty easy to find them using google earth near the sites,there is also another site close by

 

[The_Mole]

The reserve site for West Beckham Chain Home was mobile not burried. Nominally located at Kelling.

Sorry to disagree Tigger, but that is definitely a buried reserve site. They may have had a "Mobile Reserve" as well, or maybe that was for the Receiver site, but this is definiteley a buried reserve station. I think the Transmitter and Receiver station ones were the same, but the receiver one near me is sealed so cant get in.
The big metal thing hanging from the ceiling is an extractor fan for the equipment. You can see the escape hatch behind. There is a sh*thouse just to the right of where the pic is taken and another room for the generator at the bottom of the stairs. The extractor runs into that room too. The entrance doors are on rollers and are quite big to get the equipment in and out. There is quite a nice dry example on on the embankment by Bawdsey Radar museum, but they own it and its on school land (I think) so inaccesible without permission, but some nice pics of it online.

 

[tigger]

You are probably right. I had thought that the photos were ALL from the main site (which does not have burried reserves) hence my confusion.
This 1941 photo shows both transmitter and receiver burried reserves on the left with a single 120' mast each, Adcock Array of the receive site and then curtain array of steel towers fairly close behind them

 

[The_Mole]

You are probably right. I had thought that the photos were ALL from the main site (which does not have burried reserves) hence my confusion.
This 1941 photo shows both transmitter and receiver burried reserves on the left with a single 120' mast each, Adcock Array of the receive site and then curtain array of steel towers fairly close behind them

Oh thats a nice pic, I dont think ive seen seen that one before. Thanks for sharing! Interesting that the reserve sites are so close together. The one near me is a bit further apart: Probably the distance from the nearest reserve to the little complex in the foreground at the front of the pic.