Wartime history of the West Barnes Ranges....

 

West Barns ranges, now John Muir Country Park

We have been busy and not wasting time when off on Furlough and we have been researching the history of the war time artefacts at John Muir Country Park.         This is still on going and this post like my WW2 XT Class Submarines wrecks post will be updated as more history is obtained...

Here to get the ball rolling is G`s latest social media write up on what we uncovered yesterday after research and information by several people;

The A and the F. 

About two years ago someone  uncovered an 8 foot A at Youngs Knowe at Hedderwick... 

I met G through a FB message after I had posted a picture and again mentioned that I would love to know the history of this - I presumed it was for aircraft during WW2,

After G had also discovered the A while out cycling she has spent hours trawling through old photos, maps and generally all over the internet in an attempt to find out what it was.G also always had a notion it was some sort of aerial target. 

The trees you see today in John Muir Country Park at Hedderwick Plantation were planted in the late 1950s, so it’s difficult to visualise the area without trees. rewinding time there was a golf course on the land now planted with pine trees and there was a race course in what is now 2 fields to the west of East Links Family Park. The Military go back a long time in Dunbar with Cavalry barracked in the Town,

During WW1 trench systems were built for training and defence and firing ranges built.

During WWII the area was requisitioned by the War Office for ranges, along with coastal defences built along the shore and across the bay. There were two separate ranges. 

Map from the 1940 Bylaws

The first being Field Firing ranges for anti-aircraft, small arms and anti-tank weaponary and the second being for Battle Shooting practice using mortars and grenades. 

A walk around the Park with a local Archaeologist who lives in the town and is a keen war time researcher gave us a lot of answers to questions both of us had, including most of what we see today around JMCP is actually from WW1.                                                                                                      The trench systems you see in the title photo, the rifle ranges, and mortar/grenade ranges. He was unsure the actual reason of the letter A, but the answer to it would come from the help of someone else and things started to really fall into place a  week ago when G was pointed  to a link to a 1940 document entitled West Barns Ranges Bye-Laws. We were both astounded to find reference to the A within the document!. G printed it off to add to her growing local history book;

And on Page 3 F and A which explains the hinges on the A you can see today were indeed for covering it up from Aircraft...

And you read that right there was also a large F marker for aircraft for when the Mortar range is in use...

And other information...

So we now know the A was an aerial marker to warn aircraft that the Field Firing  range was in use. However the document also mentioned that an F aerial marker was built to warn aircraft that the Battle Shooting range was in use. 

So the hunt for the F started... 

A while back a chap called David mentioned to G he recalled playing in an underground shelter with steel doors as a child. He gave us vague directions. We went looking for this a few months ago but had no luck finding it. However if there is such a bunker in the plantation it is yet to be found. 

After about a week of further research and making an intelligent guesses where the F could be we went for another poach about yesterday.  Much to our surprise, not far from the area we were searching for David’s bunker, we spotted a chunk of concrete sticking out the ground...

This was all you could see...

 We initially thought we had found the bunker...

 

But after a little excavation we uncovered the bottom of the F... 

Painted in the same style of red white and back as the A...

I did a bit further excavation to expose a bit more of the F and the hinges that were used to cover the marker when the ranges were not in use. They still work... 

We popped home for a bit but returned a bit later with the newly recruited battle field detective Spider to help with further excavation. Later the same evening online we were told by a local resident that he and friends as kids had dug out a Den underneath and they were warned to be careful incase it collapsed which it finally did after heavy rain, so we also know how it has broken up.

We gave it a brush down and the lifted turf has been laid around the marker as we originally planned to cover it up if there is a hoo ha about it, but with the excited response of so many locals already to us finding this and G putting all the links together to tell a story of an important part of the towns link to the military were going to leave it uncovered for folk interested to come and see.

Were now relying on the memories of elderly local people now to help find the last few pieces of the jigsaw that I have give a massive credit to G for all her research...

The red arrow marks the F, the A is on the north side of the former sand quarry  at Young`s Knowe...

Both of us have cycled past this undiscovered 80 year bit of history unknown to most visitors to the Park, it's great to share local history on here and via social networking to interested folk...

Here is a 1 minute film of the find and reveal!

More soon...

An old tin with a story...

When i was 14 or 15 i was out walking along the old Right of Way from Lochhill Farm to Aberlady Village on the eastern side of Gosford Estate and just before the 6 Acre Wood i kicked something lying in the long grass...


It was an old Tin which looked like it was made of brass as was all green,i took it home and cleaned it up to reveal its markings, it was from the first world war in Christmas 1914...







Getting online years later i googled and found out about the history of this tin...

Princess Mary was the daughter of King George V and Queen Mary.
She was 17 when War broke out in 1914...


As the first Christmas of the War approached Princess Mary wanted to contribute to the commonwealth forces a gift for Christmas....
Due to the scale of this it was decided best that an appeal fund was set up in her name, Her words to the people were;

"I want you now to help me to send a Christmas present from the whole of the nation to every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front. I am sure that we should all be happier to feel that we had helped to send our little token of love and sympathy on Christmas morning, something that would be useful and of permanent value, and the making of which may be the means of providing employment in trades adversely affected by the war. Could there be anything more likely to hearten them in their struggle than a present received straight from home on Christmas Day,
Please will you help me?"


Money poured in by the public only too keen to make there loved ones fighting have an enjoyable Christmas, though `the war that would be over by Christmas` was now looking to be a long affair and the true horror of trench warfare was starting to become knowledge by returning wounded and rising numbers of the fallen...
It was decided a box would be sent to the sailors and soldiers in service of the Commonwealth as an appreciation of there bravery...




There were approx 500,000 boxes made...
There were two contents in the boxes, one for smokers, one for non smokers,
Non Smokers box included a packet of acid tablets, a khaki writing case containing pencil, paper and envelopes together with the Christmas card and photograph of Princess Mary...


Smokers box included one ounce of pipe tobacco, twenty cigarettes, a pipe, a tinder lighter, Christmas card and photograph of the Princess...


Along with letters and cards from family and loved one these boxes must of been a welcome gift to the young men at Christmas in 1914,
For infantry sat in a cold trench in terrible conditions with death all around or sailors on ships in constant fear of torpedo attacks at anytime...

I wonder who it was who lost the box i found, was he a survivor?
or was it a tin sent home with personal belongings of a fallen soldier or sailor?
The box is 100 years old now, a relic from `The War to End All Wars`...
But still there is fighting in the world...

You can read more about the Princess Mary Appeal Fund and the Boxes on line here at;
The Imperial War  museum...