In my hometown of Brixham in South Devon, you can find perhaps the country’s best preserved Second World War coastal and defence battery, simply called “The Battery”.
The Battery was hastily built between June-September in 1940 to protect Torbay from the expected German invasion, and it was manned by the Royal Artillery and members of the 10th (Torbay) Battalion of the Devonshire Home Guard. The guns were never actually fired in anger, despite the fact that on several occasions German E-boats entered the bay. – The decision was taken NOT to fire upon the E-boats using the guns of the battery as this would have given away the existence of the battery, which would’ve been vital information to any potential German invading force.
I grew up just around the corner from “The Battery” and when I was a kid I would often jump from observation post to observation post, or simply hang out in the old bunkers with my mates. Nowadays, I’m happy to report that the structures have been lovingly restored to their former glory by the passionate volunteers of the Brixham Battery Heritage Group, who are dedicated to sharing the stories of the men who served here and to telling the story of how this impressive battery played a vital role in the defence of Devon during the Second World War.
Photos 8-10 are of a model that faithfully re-creates how The Battery looked in 1943.
The group also runs a fantastic little museum, Brixham’s fantastic Battery museum!
It’s hard to describe just how much Second World War memorabilia has been packed into this place, but I think it’s genuinely got a little bit of everything!
Guns galore (which you can handle under supervision), medals, family history of locals who served, anti-aircraft pieces, German incendiary bombs which were dropped on the area, Messerschmitt propellers found at sea, one-man air raid shelters, uniforms, lots of naughty German tokens of war, and yes even Panzerfaust bicycles…
The museum is staffed by passionate local volunteers who are happy to answer any question you might have – plus they run select special open days in which they come dressed in uniform and “man” the local battery posts.
The museum is only open a few days a week, from 2-4pm, but honestly, I could have stayed there all day.
In the last two pics, I was learning how to shoot a Vickers and Thompson (but also handled Sten guns and K98s too).
For more info and to support the volunteers, visit the museum’s website at: https://brixhambattery.org/
(This is a repost from Instagram from July 25th, 2024)