Contemporary records state, "A/T ditch and 3 pillboxes. O.S. No. 1623, Monkwick Farm, adj. Berechurch Road. Map ref. 440412" (Mil .Ed.).<1> Field No. 1623 was a large field which stretched about 700 yards westwards from Berechurch Road. Two of the pillboxes stood on its N boundary (SMRs 20542/MCC5333, 20543/MCC5334) while the third stood beside Berechurch Road. From here it overlooked the anti-tank ditch, 30 yards away, which encircled south Colchester.<2><3>

This pillbox still survives. Just inside the entrance to a wooded meadow, it is a large, brick and concrete, hexagonal type measuring 20' across with 11' 3" walls. The entrance , on its NW face, has been sealed up, as has each of the loopholes. Around the pillbox, earth has been piled up to the level of the loopholes to provide extra protection. Two photos of site.<4>

SITE ASSESSMENT: The great majority of the defensive pillboxes around Colchester have been demolished and this example is one of the few survivors. It is an integral part of the history and heritage of the Borough and every effort should be made to ensure its continued survival.

In 1940, the songwriter Ross Parker, then in his mid-twenties, was stationed at Roman Way Camp. The previous year, together with Hughie Williams he had written "We'll Meet Again", which was to become a wartime favourite, sung by Vera Lynn. Now he was in the throes of composing a new song, one which was, like his previous hit, particularly redolent of the times. It was "There'll Always be an England". Unable in the noisy barracks to find the peace and quiet he needed to continue his work, he regularly retired to the one place he could be alone - the local pillbox. There is every chance this very pillbox still survives. All the wartime defence sites in the area have now been recorded and the three most likely candidates still exist, all close to the barracks. SMRs 20546/MCC4968, 20547/MCC4969, 20548/MCC4970. It would be a fitting tribute to both the composer and to Colchester's World War Two heritage if a "There'll Always be an England" plaque could be erected at one of these three sites.

See also <5> & <6>.