A tale of two pillboxes

Around 6000 pillboxes likely remain in the UK, from maybe 18000-28000 constructed as anti-invasion fixed defence measures during the early years of the Second World War1. Two of these, at Portna Lock and Kilrea in County Derry, are physical reminders of how the Bann Valley in Northern Ireland was fortified during the conflict. Invasion was a real fear, especially in the aftermath of the  rapid German advance through France and the British retreat from Dunkirk. Initially concrete and steel were at the heart of the anti-invasion defence in both Northern Ireland and the wider UK. The result was a network of fixed positions built to slow any invasion pushing inland from Ireland's north coast.

The pillbox at Portna Lock outside Kilrea stands near the lock gates on the Lower Bann, positioned to cover a vital point on the river network between Coleraine and Lough Neagh. The structure is a solid concrete design, with a forward-facing firing slit and a blast wall. It was part of what became known as the Bann Line, with fixed points along the river supported by observation posts and fortified firing positions. Records show another pillbox across the river in the townland of Culmore.

Pillbox door
Pillbox

Pillbox at Portna Lock on the Lower Bann

But there was also growing recognition that long defensive stop-lines could be bypassed, as had happened to France's Maginot Line, so the strategy moved towards defending towns and road junctions instead. These were known as nodal points, intended to block or delay an enemy as they advanced along key transport routes. Twenty-seven of these were designated across Northern Ireland.

Kilrea was one of them. The pillbox on the A54 Moneygran Road just south of Church Street reflects this change in thinking. Rather than simply guarding a river crossing, it was built to control the approach into Kilrea, a town close to the river. The structure is square, set into the boundary of St Patrick's Church, with multiple embrasures designed to reduce ricochets entering the interior. I've not been up close but apparently the remains of steel shutter rails can still be seen inside, once used to protect the occupants from blast and from weapons such as flamethrowers. The south-facing embrasure was later bricked up.

Why Kilrea? Is it as simple as the fact that all roads in mid-Ulster effectively go through this small and historic market town, located close to the critically important river Bann? It's easy to get to the North Coast from here. It's easy to get to Lough Neagh. It still had a train station during the war years. There was lots of military activity in the wider area from both British and American forces, with bases and small airfields and use of the Bann for transporting supplies. A military hospital was also established in Kilrea in the former Manor House turned Convent (now known again as the Manor House at the golf course).

Pillbox on the approach to Kilrea

So two pillboxes, two slightly different purposes. Together, these sites show how even quiet rural landscapes and ordinary places were shaped by international conflict. 

A river lock, a roadside, a village church boundary, each part of a larger plan for defence of a nation which ultimately and thankfully wasn't put to the test.


Sources

1. Based on information from the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland, Defence Heritage Records, which in turn cite:

William Foot, Beaches, fields, streets and hills: the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940 (York, 2006)
Mike Osborne, Pillboxes of Britain and Ireland (Stroud, 2008)
Bill Clements, Defending the North: the fortifications of Ulster 1796-1956 (Newtownards, 2003)

The map viewer for the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland has information on around 70 pillboxes, not all extant.

This blog post points out errors and assumptions around data on the number of pillboxes built around the UK during World War II.

Defence of Britain database



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