Stop lines

Dating from 1940 this now almost buried defensive pillbox formed part of the Morayshire coastal defences intended to slow any German invasion via Norway and allow time to assemble flying columns to block the enemy before they could move inland. These "Stop Lines" which the defensive lines were officially known as, were designed to gain some valuable time before being inevitably over run by the invader.

For those anoraks amongst us this is a Type 24 pillbox adapted for local conditions from the War Office Directorate of Fortifications and Works publication "Standard Design Drawings for the Building of Pillboxes". A riveting bedtime read I am sure but not so riveting for either the Polish soldiers who were tasked with constructing the blockhouses or the British squadies who had to spend long hours in the cold damp interiors waiting for an invasion which thankfully never came.

The Poles worked in squads of 10 men manufacturing these concrete structures on site as well as being tasked with making the thousands of anti tank blocks which completed the coastal defences and added to the over 400 miles of anti-invasion barriers which to this day line parts of the UK shoreline.

Nowadays of course we welcome visitors from abroad with open arms but in the dark days of 1940 it was a different story indeed.