Monument record MCC5314 - WWII Anti-Aircraft Rocket Site, "C10 Colchester", Lexden, Colchester

Summary

WWII Anti-Aircraft Rocket Site.

Location

Grid reference TL 9770 2624 (point)
Map sheet TL92NE
Non Parish Area COLCHESTER, COLCHESTER, ESSEX

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

NGR: Rocket Emplacements TL 9770 2625 a

Documented in contemporary records as "C10 Colchester", a WWII Anti-Aircraft Rocket Site at Lexden, W of Colchester, at Military Grid Reference M424446. Equipment and manning at the site is documented in May 1942 (Dobinson, 1996):

Manning
Date Weapons Radar Mat Regt Bty
20 May 1942 6 x U9P GL Mk I No 84 HAA 171 ZAA

ZAA Bty is stated as being on temporary attachment to 84 HAA Regt. "Warmen Courageous", p246, states, "In Essex, the raising of rocket batteries was not bruited until June 4th, 1942, when the Lord Lieutenant wrote to General Charlton: "I have been asked to help in the creation of two batteries of Home Guard anti-aircraft artillery, one at Chelmsford and one at Colchester……," and it was not until 7th July that Brigadier H.A.D. Murray, O.B.E., T.D., D.L., Commander 37 A.A. Brigade, received War Office authority for the formation of the batteries "on existing troops of 171/61 A.A. 'Z' Battery R.A.," a regular unit which was then deployed at Lexden Lodge and Writtle".

No other references to the Lexden Lodge site have been found and later text (p.254) in "Warmen Courageous" refers to the site in December 1942 at the "Cavalry Riding School" and the "Cavalry Barracks" with at least 32 projectors. It is therefore thought that, as Writtle was the original training camp for the operational site in Central Park, Chelmsford, Lexden Lodge was the original site of the formation of the unit which operationally moved to Abbey Field, Colchester, in the autumn of 1942. No obvious signs of the site can be seen on an aerial photograph taken in May 1946.<1>-<4>

Site visit October 1998: No further information on the site has come to light.

See also <5> & <6>.

Sources/Archives (6)

  • <1> DESC TEXT: Dobinson, Colin. 1996. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England - Vol I - Anti-aircraft artillery 1914-1946. Vol 1.3.
  • <2> DESC TEXT: Finch, P. 1951. Warmen Courageous; The Story of the Essex Home Guard.
  • <3> AP: RAF. 1946. 106G-UK 1492-3125.
  • <4> DESC TEXT: Nash, Fred. 1998. World War Two Heavy Anti-Aircraft Gun Sites in Essex.
  • <5> Unpublished document: Nash, Fred. 2007. SURVEY OF WORLD WAR TWO DEFENCES IN THE BOROUGH OF COLCHESTER. VOLUME 1. Volume 1.
  • <6> Unpublished document: Nash, Fred. 2007. SURVEY OF WORLD WAR TWO DEFENCES IN THE BOROUGH OF COLCHESTER. VOLUME 2. Volume 2.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Jun 17 2020 9:13AM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any more information about this record? Please feel free to comment with information and photographs, or ask any questions, using the "Disqus" tool below. Comments are moderated, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible.