WWII Wiltshire: shellproof pillboxes of Lydiard Green (Lydiard Millicent) - Pillbox #1

Image: © Mike Searle Taken: 2 Feb 2018

- Pillbox - shellproof (type FW3/22): DoB ID: S0011909 The photo is of a shellproof type 22 pillbox alongside the footpath in the centre of Lydiard Green. It's a shellproof variant of the standard bullet proof type 22 that was built simply by increasing the wall thickness. The entrance and all the embrasures have been sealed, hence its rather featureless look. It's one of a group of six shellproof defensive structures to the northeast and southwest of Lydiard Green, and is the only type 22 pillbox among five type 28A anti-tank gun emplacements. They are numbered 1 - 6 for ease of identification. https://media.geograph.org.uk/files/7eabe3a1649ffa2b3ff8c02ebfd5659f/Lydiard_Green_Pillboxes_2-original.jpg The series of photos that follow feature a group of six pillboxes to the west of Lydiard Millicent at Lydiard Green. Built in 1940/41 during WW2 in response to the threat of invasion, they formed a component part of the GHQ Red Stop Line that ran from south of Malmesbury to the west of Reading. The type 22 pillbox seen here is of a shellproof design, that is otherwise a conventional pillbox designed for infantry armed with light or heavy machine guns. The other five pillboxes are actually anti-tank gun emplacements, designed to house standard 2 pounder anti-tank guns. Image

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