Bircham OB Location

This page was last updated at 2:41pm on 22/12/11

Thank you for selecting information on the Bircham Operational Base in Norfolk. The info and images below have been supplied by CART's Norfolk CIO, Evelyn Simak and CART's Suffolk CIO Adrian Pye.

The OB is located in a private woodland

The OB is situated on level ground near the northern edge of Tofts Hill Wood. Although intact we found it filled with sand, caused by burrowing rabbits, with only a crawl space below the curved roof. Due to a large quantity of sand having trickled into the main chamber over the decades the surrounding ground has sunk.

On occasion of an archaeological survey conducted in 2009 by members of the Sedgeford Archaeological Research Project, some sand was removed from the emergency exit opening and also from small section of end wall in order to establish the original height of the structure.
Entrance was via a drop-down shaft built of concrete. It has an estimated original depth of about 2.70m - due to the silting up of the structure we were unable to establish the actual depth.  Wooden posts and boards (painted green) support the concrete walls.

The main chamber measures 5.50 x 3m and the entrance passage: 0.70 x 1.40m

It is orientated  WSW/ENE – 275ft ASL

The vertical entrance shaft (above) is adjoined by a narrow passage of about 1.50m length, with a roof made from sturdy timbers (in a state of decay).  The passage would once have been sufficiently high for the men to walk upright through it and into the main chamber. The roof timbers are covered with corrugated sheeting and a layer of concrete, covered with topsoil in order to conceal it.

Burrowing rabbits have exposed sections of the exterior walls of the entrance shaft and passage, revealing that they were lined with corrugated sheets on the outside, presumably in an attempt to protect the concrete from getting damp.

The entrance shaft has a steel lid, complete with two handles.  We were unable to establish if this is the original cover or whether it was placed over the opening at a later time. Our contact, Mr Peter Ward, mentions a wooden, hinged trapdoor that was disguised with an approximately 0.15m thick layer of leaves when he found the ‘bunker’ as a 10-year-old boy in the 1940s. 

Mr Ward also mentioned to us a ladder that led up a hollow tree with a peephole in it, affording a view across the Common and towards RAF Bircham Newton.  We are not sure how to interpret this description other than that this hollow tree would have formed either part of the exit or of the entrance, although the description seems more fitting for a nearby lookout post.

On occasion of our visit we found the OB’s concrete entrance shaft covered with a steel lid and the exit opening uncovered.

The word ‘MARBLE” can be seen (above) written into the concrete forming the top outer rim of the entrance.  We presume that this was the patrol’s code name. Another edge of the concrete rim bears the initials “ARC” or “GRC”.

The main chamber (above) consists of a Nissen-hut type structure with a curved corrugated roof, covered with a layer of topsoil.  Filled with sand to almost roof-height, it appears to be in fair condition.  Mr Peter Ward remembers that the main chamber contained a table and chairs, placed in the centre, and what he now believes to have been bunk beds, lined up along the wall.

Both end walls were constructed from corrugated sheets, held in place by wooden posts.
The emergency exit opening is situated in the SW corner of the main chamber. It appears to have been cut out of the corrugated sheets forming the end wall. Because of the sand that fills the main chamber to almost roof height the size of the entrance opening has been reduced to a crawl space.
An overgrown, trench-like depression in the ground leads away from it, further into the wood, in south-westerly direction.  In all probability this was the emergency escape tunnel.

The as yet unknown patrol is said to have had an Operational Post hidden in hollow tree trunk and overlooking RAF Bircham Newton of which no trace remains.  Presumably the airfield at nearby Bircham Newton was one of their targets.

Other Info:

After finding some intriguing information on the Internet which mentioned the recording of a WWII Auxiliary Unit operational base in the woods near Sedgeford Aerodrome, in 2009, by members of the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, we contacted the group’s secretary. She kindly (and very promptly) put us in touch with one of the archaeologists who was involved in this project, Neil Faulkner. Neil passed on to us the contact details of their original source of information, Mr Peter Ward.

On contacting Peter by email, this was his initial reply: “I, and two of my school friends were looking for sweet chestnuts in the Autumn of 1945/46, and found a trap door. We of course explored it, with a box of matches to light our way. We found a ladder in the centre which went into a hollow tree with a natural peephole that looked out over the common toward RAF Bircham Newton. We were rather scared at what we had found and did not mention it until a few years later.”
Peter has since shared more information with us and we would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks for so generously and unconditionally sharing with us his memories of ‘his’ wartime bunker.

We failed to find a record for an AU patrol operating in this area which, in all probability, would geographically have come under Group 7, comprising Dersingham Patrol, Snettisham Patrol and Ringstead patrol.

The Group’s CO was Lt RR Stanton of Manor House, Dersingham.
2nd Sgt J Young
2nd Sgt W Newstead

Peter Ward, Great Bircham (personal communication); Neil Faulkner (Sedgeford Archaeology Project, Weblogs wk 5, 2009); Peter Marsh, DOB 1996, Mrs C White.

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