Digging Dad's Army

Discovering Churchill's underground army

2011-05-31T21:25:00.003+01:00

Join archaeologists and other volunteers as they search for evidence of the headquarters

and training grounds of Churchill's secret Auxiliary Units at Coleshill House in Wiltshire.

An earlier evaluation weekend has already located the remains of previously unknown

structures in the woodlands where the men would have trained, along with various finds

including a very well preserved bayonet. Come and be part of our first season and reveal

even more of the lives of the men who trained here.

For further information visit www.coleshillhouse.com/coleshilluncovered/get-involved.php

To book a place contact Richard Alexander at churchills_underground_war@yahoo.co.uk

Minimum attendance for this first season of the Coleshill Uncovered project is 3 days, with

the induction day of Sunday 3rd July a must for all volunteers.

Dates: 3-7 July 2011
Cost: £75 flat fee. Day rate = £20 per day
Coleshill House, Wiltshire

Aside - an essential tool..

2010-11-13T09:06:00.003Z

... and some stop line/standing building references.

Anyone want to buy a hat?

;-)

Rog

DDA After Action Report: Summer 2010

2010-10-21T19:15:00.002+01:00

Eaglesfield Park EFP09

In June we were back at Eaglesfield Park to complete the evaluation of the World War One anti aircraft gun position.

The objective this year was to obtain the full dimensions of the gun platform and assess its state of preservation with a view to possibly getting it put on display, or at least getting it interpreted for the public at some point in the future.

We had a smaller student team than last year, perhaps that is down to the recession, which meant we were restricted to working on the gun platform itself, but the results were still impressive and useful.

It is now clear that the whole footprint of the gun platform remains in situ. It looks as if attempts were made to remove it as the top of the slab has been broken up on the north east side, but it seems this was rapidly given up as a bad job and the site was abandoned.

In terms of phasing it still looks as if we probably have two WW1 phases with the second hold fast cut into the original platform. There is currently no documentary evidence for the change, but there is a suspicion that the weapon fit was changed when responsibility for the Anti Aircraft Defences in London switched from the Navy to the Army under Field Marshall Lord French, in early 1916.

We also picked up telephone cables hinting at the command and control system in place at Eaglesfield and possibly also hinting where the Battery Office/Command Post might have been situated. We still don't have the location of any of the ancillery elements of the site which actually enabled it to function, the CP, ready use ammunition storage location and the accomodition [and probably the Latrines] for the duty crew.

Eaglesfield AA Gun Site

We will be carrying out more research and producing the archive report of the excavation so far, this Autumn.

Thanks to the regular DDA team and particularly to our students and volunteers, Rachel, Naomi, William and Richard. Also to our friends in the local community, particularly the Eaglesfield Neighbourhood Watch, the Friends of Eaglesfield Park and the Shooters Hill Safer Neighbourhood Team.

OSTERLEY PARK OSP10 Osterley Park wasn't strictly a DDA Project, the idea to mount a project at Osterley was around before DDA existed and Osterley is in west London rather than in DDA's more regular patch in south east London. However I am including it here because, first and foremost it is a fascinating site, but also because it reflects my ideal way of working and a way of working which I hope DDA can develop. That is working in a collegiate way with not just fellow archaeologists, but also groups interested in interpretation and education and being innovative in bringing the story to the public and giving it a future life. So, when we are normally dealing with concrete and slit trenches, why were we at a Stately Home with Adam interiors and a wonderful Tudor Stable Block?

Home Guard School Number One at Osterley Park is one of those stories you couldn't make up. Where else would your average patriotic middle class Briton, gather for a weekend course in guerrilla warfare taught by the former commander of the British Battalion of the International Brigades, "Basque Bombers," a Russian Spy, a Surrealist Painter who used images of his partner to demonstrate camouflage and the Boy Scout Movement's Head of Fieldcraft.

But not only is Osterley a fantastic story and one of the most remarkable to come out of that remarkable Summer of 1940. It is right there at the heart of the debate about how to employ the Home Guard and how to counter the new mechanised warfare of Blitzkrieg. However, perhaps surprisingly the site of the school, while an iconic one to researchers looking at the Home Guard and often appearing in documentaries, most recently Andrew Marr's "History of Modern Britain," has not been looked at archaeologically before. We set out to change that with a crack digging team drawn from both DDA and our colleagues from "No Man's Land," specialists in Great War archaeology who have vast experience in digging training areas and front line trenches in the UK, France and Belgium including Rob Jannaway of the University of Bradford and a leading forensic finds conservator.

Because it is DDA Policy not to excavate on a known military site where ammunition and explosives might be present we also included No Mans Land and DDA Archaeologist and EOD Operator Rod Scott, as our Safety cover.

That would have made for a rewarding weekend in its own right. However what made Osterley so special was the fact we were able to tie the archaeology to real time Living History in a partnership which dates back to the origins of the Project.

For me the Osterley Park 70th Anniversary Project began life back in 2006 when I interviewed a Home Guard veteran, the late Geoff Pendergast, who recorded that his father had attended the Home Guard School at Osterley Park and had been taught explosives by a "Spaniard."

Geoff recalled his father saying "The Spaniard is a good explosives man but one day he will make a mistake." Because of this, and because I was also researching the involvement of people from Greenwich and Woolwich with the Aid Spain Movement and Basque refugee children in the period of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, I had also begun working with "La Columna," an excellent Living History group who specialise in impressions of the Spanish Civil War and the Aid Spain Movement. Veterans of the Spanish Civil War were intimately associated with Osterley Park making developing a project there something of a a "no brainer."

La Columna have taken part in, and latterly organised, a living history event at Osterley Park every year on the anniversary of the opening of the Home Guard School Number One and this year, the 70th Anniversary fell on Saturday 10 July, the actual anniversary to the day of the first intake of students, so La Columna and the National Trust who own the site, planned a special anniversary re-creation of what went on at Osterley during that momentous Summer of 1940.

This represented a opportunity to tie commemoration of the HG School to the anniversary of the founding of the Home Guard and to look at something which had never been looked at before archaeologically. We submitted a project design to the National Trust for an evaluation of the surviving archaeology of the Home Guard School and several drafts and site meetings later we were granted a licence and so the archaeology team gathered on site on Friday 9 July.

The weather over the anniversary weekend was baking hot, which was wonderful for the visitors, but less so for the diggers, particularly as one of our trenches turned out to be on top of a wasp nest, but even so we managed to stay in one piece, un-stung and to produce some archaeology.

With only a limited evaluation possible an area which was believed to contain practice trenches was selected and our colleagues from the Bexley Archaeology Group attempted an indicative resistivity survey to augment a close study of the topography and its relationship with 1940 photographs and newsreel and air photographs from 1942-1944.

However, in spite of heroic efforts in a limited space and on uneven ground, the resistivity survey failed to identify more than a possible area of disturbance. When we put in the two evaluation trenches we found out why.

Having hacked through at least 30cm of hardcore probably left over from the construction of the M4 [Note to the Project Manager- next time book a mini digger] we did come down on what may be the 1940 ground surface, and a possible 1940 cut feature in the second of our evaluation trenches.

The archaeology from such a short lived period in the site's history was always going to be ephemeral, but careful excavation by Cat', Martin, Bev and Brian suggests we may have picked up at least the base of one of Tom Wintringhams practice trenches and we have certainly identified the main practice area of HG School number one.

Like Eaglesfield there was little in the way of small finds although there were some fragments of brass, possibly shell case and Roger identified a possible artifact scatter in an area of interest for next time.

We are committed to producing the Desk Top Study and Report by Christmas and there will also be a video so watch this space. It is also becoming clear that, HG School No 1 apart, Osterley Park has a significant amount of additional surviving Conflict Archaeology and had a significant life in both World Wars encompassing the Army Service Corps, POW Camps and Army and Home Guard Training as well as the odd Luftwaffe bomb and anti invasion defences areas which will be addressed in the desktop study and which can hopefully could be developed as a long term study.

Thanks to Bev Bailey, Ali Baldry [who turned out on her birthday and above and beyond the call of duty on the morning after too!], Martin Brown, Cat Edwards, Mark Khan, Brian Powell, Rod Scott [mention in dispatches for being on site on a week after major back surgery], and Roger Ward on the dig team; Rob Jannaway on finds; Pip, Martin, Clare and the Bexley Archaeology Group for attempting Geophysics under very difficult conditions; Martin, Anne and the team from Archaeopysica Ltd and Angie Jobson and Derek Smith on the video; and not least all to the staff and volunteer team from the National Trust who let us come and play at such a remarkable site. We could not have been made more welcome.

ALLIED FORCES BEV AND BRIAN AT WORK AT OSTERLEY PARK 10 June 2010

For the NT the whole thing was coordinated by Emily Toecher, Karina Swann of the Osterley Park management team and, on the archaeology side, by Gary Marshall of the Trust's regional archaeology team and the National Trust press office co-ordinated a number of TV and Radio spots which meant we were able to bring the weekend to a wider audience, including the viewers of British Forces TV, where ever in the world they are stationed.

4.43pm September 7 2010

September 7th was the 70th anniversary of "Black Saturday" the first day of the Blitz on London, an event which would leave a permanent mark on the City and by the time the last V2 fell in March 1945 would kill over 20,000 Londoners.

All Summer we have been running a partnership called "Digging The Blitz" with our colleagues at Firepower- the Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich Arsenal combining our archaeology, shown in a video diary, with the collections of Firepower and Greenwich Heritage Centre. As part of DTB we decided that it was important to mark the anniversary as close to the time and place it started and in a way which allowed people of all ages to simply remember and reflect in the way they chose.

We decided that simplicity was the most appropriate way to approach the event and so we invited anyone who wanted to take part to join us for two minutes silence at 4.43pm, seventy years to the minute since the sirens sounded for that first deliberate raid on targets in London.

The afternoon was full of resonances.

The silence was begun by Steve Hookins of Firepower who sounded an original hand cranked air raid siren wearing his grandfathers ARP Overall and whistle and it was ended by members of the Royal Artillery recently returned from Afghanistan, firing a salute to all the victims of the Blitz where ever they were, from a WW2 vintage 25 pounder field gun from the Firepower collection.

The gathering included the deputy Mayor of Greenwich, Cllr Jim Gillman, himself a wartime evacuee from the Isle of Dogs and three generations of one family, the oldest an eye witness to the events of that Saturday afternoon whose mother had been a worker under the bombs at Woolwich Arsenal and the youngest who was studying the war and evacuees in Primary School.

You could not really have a better illustration of why the Archaeology of Modern Conflict and communicating it to the wider public, is so important.

Sheila Manix, five years old when the blitz started summed up the human response to such an awe inspiring exhibition of Total War and perhaps of the victims of war of every generation and nationality when she told the "Greenwich Time" reporter who covered the event...

"There was tremendous camaraderie, but it really was Hell and absolutely horrible."

DDA Sitrep

One of the best things about being involved in a Project like Digging Dad's Army is the possibility of making connections and letting the research take off in directions led by the evidence we are discovering and the enthusiasm of colleagues.

Aside from our first published reports we are currently looking forward to hearing about Stuart Dickson's research at Teddington and Richard and Theresa Emmett's work in the borough archive at Greenwich Heritage Center and I hope there will be more to come.

Of course research is useless if it is not published and made accessible. That means publishing and this Autumn we have another avenue for publication in the new magazine MILITARY TIMES, edited by our own Dr Neil Faulkner.

"Military Times" is a joint venture between Current Publishing of "Current Archaeology" and "Current World Archaeology" and Chelsea Magazine Company who specialise in consumer magazines. The new title is available in the high street [I picked up my copy in W H Smiths and another colleague found his in Sainsbury's] and by subscription with a not inconsiderable 35% saving at www.military-times.co.uk/NX10.

DDA must remain impartial so, as the BBC always says, other magazines are available, but it is a brave venture to launch any magazine in the current financial climate and a plurality of voices is clearly important in an area as popular and growing as fast as the archaeology of modern conflict. Particularly a voice which, like MT if the launch issue's discussion of the origins of irregular warfare, Lawrence of Arabia and the Taliban is anything to go by, recognises that the events of the past also have resonance in the present, a factor that we as researchers and communicators forget that at our peril.

And on that note, David Cameron has just used the formula "Your Country Needs You!" in his speech to the Tory Party Conference. Having already come a cropper over his less than accurate allusions to the Anglo US relationship in World War Two perhaps someone should have reminded him of what happened to the Kitchener volunteers who answered that call the first time it was made. On 1 July 1916 they took part in a certain action in the Somme, the most disasterous day in the history of the British Army.

INTELLIGENCE CELL

English Heritage is appealing for the return of a torpedo hatch stolen from the protected wreck HMS Holland V six miles off the Sussex coast.

You can find more details about the theft at...

http://www.divernet.com/home_diving_news/578481/hatch_taken_from_protected_sub.html

...but here is an extract which gets to the core of why catching the thief and returning the torpedo hatch is important.

"Diver Jamie Smith, who holds a visit licence for the site, said that he was “saddened and shocked” at the removal by “the few that tend to spoil it for the many”.

“This is not a diving trophy from the deep but a historic piece of protected wreck,” he said. “Please return it.”

He added: “If you wish to dive the wreck you can apply for a visitor’s permit; this is not too complicated. You can then dive her and take your memories home with you.”

English Heritage is appealing to the “diving community for help in locating this important piece of theHolland 5”.

Those who think that they may have useful information are asked to contact Sussex Police or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111."

www.divernet.com

MOVEMENT ORDERS DDA members and blog readers might be interested in these forthcoming events.

Our Colleagues from Osterley Park , La Columna have an event at Firepower on Saturday and Sunday 23 and 24 October. If you have not met them yet please go along and discover where Living History meets Conflict Archaeology.

La Columna at Firepower- The Royal Artillery Museum

Britons in the Spanish Civil War

Saturday and Sunday 23-24 October- 10.30-17.00

Nearest public transport: 53 Bus to Woolwich from Central London, Woolwich Arsenal overground from Charing Cross and Cannon Street, via London Bridge and Woolwich Arsenal DLR

Free entry to the fully licenced cafe

Museum entry charges may apply

La Columna is one of the UK's most experienced living history groups. They set out to celebrate and commemorate one of the most important, but little known stories of 20th century Europe, the Spanish Civil War and the thousands of volunteers who went to Spain to help the Spainish people confront Fascism between 1936 and 1939.

This weekends impression of the life of the volunteers will be set in 1938 around the time of the Battle of the Ebro and La Columna will demonstrate the clothing and equipment of the British Battalion of the International Brigades   as well as the activities of the many thousands of ordinary Britons made financial or material donations as part of the Aid Spain movement.

Digger of La Columna explains how to deny your enemy the

use of a bridge on a previous visit to Firepower in 2008

This weekend is part of the Firepower "Nine Days in History" programme- see the Firepower Website www.firepower.org.uk for details

Modern Conflcit Archaeology Conference

2010-09-13T17:26:00.000+01:00

The programme for the Modern Conflict Archaeology Conference to be held at Bristol University on October 23rd has just been published and can be seen by clicking HERE
There is a link at the top of Blog page to enable you to sign up for receiving further details.

John Winterburn

Sutton Green Air Raid Shelters (re-)Discovered

2010-07-16T12:30:00.005+01:00

An interesting snippet from the BBC. They report that council workers in Sutton have (quite literally) stumbled across the remains of communal air raid shelters on Sutton Green after a partial collapse of the buried roof.

See full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8812000/8812421.stm

This includes a nice AP showing the structure outlined in dry weather.

If anyone has any photos or recollections of this structure then they are asked to contact Kath Shawcross of Sutton's Archive Collection on 020 8770 4745.

Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy's poem marking the deaths of Henry Allingham and Harry Patch

2010-07-12T20:47:00.000+01:00

Last Post by Carol Ann Duffy

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin

that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud ...

but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood

run upwards from the slime into its wounds;

see lines and lines of British boys rewind

back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home -

mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers

not entering the story now

to die and die and die.

Dulce - No - Decorum - No - Pro patria mori.

You walk away.

You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)

like all your mates do too -

Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert -

and light a cigarette.

There's coffee in the square,

warm French bread

and all those thousands dead

are shaking dried mud from their hair

and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,

a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released

from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.

You lean against a wall,

your several million lives still possible

and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.

You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.

If poetry could truly tell it backwards,

then it would.

Segdeford Aerodrome places still available for 2010 season

2010-06-22T17:39:00.014+01:00

Places are still available for this years field season at the Sedgeford Aerodrome in Norfolk.

We currently plan to investigate and record the visible remains of several areas of buildings identified as being related to the First World War use of the aerodrome. In addition we will be investigating an area that seems to have been used as a dump. This will involve the excavation and collection of a range of material culture. The plan is to set up a finds processing station within the building that housed the Officers Quarters during the First World War.

We will be running two volunteer weeks for experienced diggers and a one week course as an introduction to Modern Conflict Archaeology.

Volunteer week 1 - Sun 11 July - Fri 16 July:

MCA course - Sun 18 July - Fri 23 July (more details can be found at here.

Volunteer week 2 - Sun 25 July - Fri 30 July:

An application form can be downloaded from the SHARP website by clicking here

See the GWAG bulletins for a quick round-up of what happened at the Aerodrome in 2009. Link here

2010-06-04T14:12:00.002+01:00

"Teddington Lock in Wartime"

Research to reveal effect of enemy action on strategic Thames lock

As part of the Thames Discovery Programme’s “Thames at War” project I am researching the history and effects of bombing raids (including V1 and V2 rockets) directly on the River Thames upstream of the LCC area – particularly around Teddington Lock.

Teddington Lock is the highest point the tidal Thames reaches so the effect downstream of its breach or destruction would have been sizeable. There is no direct evidence that the lock itself was specifically targeted - unlike raids directed at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington - as it is believed that reports of attempts on this target would have been suppressed by the government.

Appeal for evidence

To aid my research I would welcome anyone who has (or knows someone who has) memories or information about when the raids were, what damage was done, what damage (or repairs) are still visible and what was the impact on and reactio of the local population getting in touch with me at stewart.dickson@hotmail.co.uk.

Thanks.

Stewart

2010-06-04T12:41:00.005+01:00

"The Thames at War"

TDP launches initiative to record wartime damage to London's artery

On Saturday 22 May the Thames Discovery Programme (http://www.thamesdiscovery.org/) hosted a one day seminar at UCL on the subject of "The Thames at War" - a main theme of the group's Riverpedia research programme this year.

A keen and attentive audience - crossing all ages - were treated to a series of informative presentations in the morning and the choice of three workshops in the afternoon.

First up, Project Director Gustav Milne set the scene. He advised that the research was aimed at recording "London's war as seen from the Thames by those who worked by or on the river".

Interesting imagery and anecdotes gave a clear view of the importance of the Thames and the many threats it faced - and not only during wartime (I certainly wasn't aware of the 1928 flood and the damage caused). A result of this was the appointment of a new LCC Chief Engineer in 1930 - the remarkable Thomas Peirson Frank.

With war looming, Frank prepared the capital for protection against the effects of flooding - one of the four main threats envisaged (invasion, aerial bombing and gas attack were the others). After much preparatory research (done in secret so as not to alarm the populace or give 'the enemy' notice of weak points) one of the resultant actions was the setting up of four Thames Flood Depots at Battersea Park, Southwark Park, the Isle of Dogs and Greenwich. The depots' role was to provide personnel and materials for the swift repair of any damage caused to the Thames riverwall by enemy action. With 121 such strikes recorded between 1939 and 1945 (80 during the 1940-41 Blitz alone), they were kept busy. Despite their sterling work during the war they have been largely forgotten since.

However, the recent discovery in the Metropolitan Archives of a logbook recording each incident and description of the repairs undertaken (either Emergency, Temporary or Permanent) meant that their works could be researched and given the acknowledgement they rightfully deserve after so many years. This set the stage for one of the afternoon sessions.

TDP's Sue Harrington then described the work of the Museum of London archives - a valuable resource for the TDPs research. During her presentation she made a call for images and recollections of women at work on the Thames - a little explored area of research.

TDP Archaeology Outreach Officer Lorna Richardson then expanded on this theme by talking about women at work on the Thames during wartime. I'm sure it came as a surprise to many of those present to learn that - despite not being allowed to serve in combat roles - women did serve in the Home Guard (under the guise of the Womens' Home Guard Auxiliary) and an organisation called the Womens' Home Defence League.

If anyone can help unearth more about these remarkable women then please feel free to contact either Sue or Lorna at enquiries@thamesdiscovery.org.

Andy Brockman (Project Director of the Digging Dads Army (DDA) project) then gave an insight into the military related goings-on on the Thames around and just past Woolwich. The Woolwich Arsenal was a major munitions plant in WWII and at one point the largest factory in Europe, employing over 70,000 workers. It was therefore obviously a major target for the Luftwaffe.

One particular area of interest that Andy noted is around Tripcock Ness (also known as Margaret Ness). This is an area of interest due to its relationship to the Woolwich Arsenal. It was here that large armaments and munitions were loaded on to barges (most remarkably the 'Gog' and 'Magog') to be taken down the river for unloading and testing at Shoeburyness. The reason that this will be of interest to DDA members is that Andy is working hard to get a DDA event for late summer in place. News of progress will be posted on the DDA blog (http://diggingdadsarmy.blogspot.com/).

Another DDA stalwart, Guy Taylor, then took us on a mystery tour of the lower Thames in search of the "missing Great War bridge". Guy first stumbled across mention of this bridge whilst researching another project in the National Archives. Such is Guy's inquisitive nature that it didn't take him long before he was off on its trail.

He narrowed its possible location to around Tilbury / Gravesend. He then found out that it was a floating bridge made from 70 lighters and 14 inch timbers (the width dimensions being demonstrated during the presentation with the willing participation of various members of the audience!) and was originally envisaged as a 'short cut' for troop movement between Essex and Kent - circumventing the London metropolis.

Recent unearthing of photos of this temporary structure (it only remained in place for the duration of the war before being dismantled) has led Guy to accurately place its location. His next objective is a visit to Gravesend to see what, if any, evidence remains of its existence. In case you were wondering (as we all were on the day) - a 600 foot centre section of bridge could be moved to allow vessels through. Very helpful given the location!

Gabrial Moshenska (UCL) gave the day an academic view of the work we were there to understand. His overview introduced us to the different types of archaeology we were getting involved with - from battlefield to conflict to industrial to public to heritage & commemorative. Even rescue archaeology! It certainly opened my eyes to the sheer variety of disciplines that our research will touch upon.

He promoted the variety of resources we could call upon - citing Civil Defence infrastructure as one that has been little used. One real example he gave was the recent survey of flood doors on the tube network. Something else I had never considered but once mentioned was obvious. What else was out there?

With his academic viewpoint he made the supposition that the Thames at War theme would lend itself perfectly to a formal research programme. Even, at some point in the future, to some form of commemoration of the people and events it reveals.

After enjoying the beautiful weather outside of the lecture theatre during lunch, DDA's UXO (unexploded ordnance) specialist Rod Scott gave an overview of what to be aware of whilst on the foreshore. However, as an experienced archaeologist, Rod was keen not only to raise our awareness of the dangers of UXO but also to educate us as to why such collections (aka assemblage) can play a key role in dating a site and understanding its use. (He also kindly introduced us to the correct definition and usage of word ‘spalling’.)

Following Rod’s talk, three workshops were offered:

"Military litter - its place in the archaeological record" – lead by Guy Taylor
"Why bother with concrete when we've got the documents: What can Conflict Archaeology contribute to the TDP?"– lead by Andy Brockman
"Thames Flood Emergency Repair Units: what evidence still exists?" – lead by Gustav Milne

I attended Gustav’s session.

Following on from his presentation in the morning, the group set about determining a plan of action that would enable research on river wall incidents around each of the four Thames Flood Depots to be undertaken. After poring over bomb damage maps annotated with estimated locations of each incident, each attendee of the group volunteered to be a member of a depot (Battersea in my case). Each group will attempt to find and record what evidence still exists at each identified event site. I will keep you posted!
The event concluded with a Q&A session.
In summary, another great TDP day. Thanks to Nathalie, Lorna and Gustav for arranging it and continuing to advance the objectives of the project.

GARP places still available for 2010 season

2010-05-09T16:17:00.001+01:00

Quite a few DDA folk also work on the GARP project in Jordan - so here is a plug on their behalf!

Places still available on GARP 2010 dig - see main web site for info.
http://www.jordan1914-18archaeology.org/

or click below for the prospectus
http://www.jordan1914-18archaeology.org/prospectus/Prospectus%202010.pdf

Thanks

Roger

DDA SITREP - The Summer 2010 Programme

2010-04-19T18:07:00.001+01:00

So now it can be told...

...as this weeks episode of the BBC's "Doctor Who," showed, the Battle of Britain was actually a dastardly attempt by the Daleks to entrap the Doctor and create a new "Master Race," in colour coordinated Art Deco.

Personally, I think it is entirely appropriate that one of the first extended references in the media to this year's 70th Anniversary of that momentous Summer of 1940 is on, what is probably, Britain's best loved family drama. The knowing references to War Films from "Where Eagles Dare" to "Star Wars," the visual referencing of the raising of the Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima and the inclusion of that unmistakable piece of kinetic sculpture, the Spitfire, performing a victory roll as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere, only goes to show how World War Two still pervades our popular culture and consciousness and how, even when people don't necessarily consciously want to remember, they just do.

Our own work this Summer will be slightly less of a romp than this weekends adventure, but I hope in its way it will mark and inform our understanding of how the most intense, sometimes terrible, always remarkable, period in modern British History, is written in the memories of people and in the archaeological record, particularly here in south east London.

We are planning events and activities designed to explore all the principle events of the Summer and Autumn of 1940, from the return of the BEF from Dunkirk and the desperate attempts to put some form of defence together in the face of a probable invasion, through the formation of the LDV/Home Guard in June with its million and a half volunteers within six weeks, to the Battle of Britain and the start of the sustained terror which was the Blitz on London. The moment when the daily fear of invasion began to give way to the more long drawn out fear of bombing.

We will be researching more of London Anti Invasion Stop Line B; looking at Home Guard Training and at the Anti Aircraft and ARP Services. Neither will we be forgetting the personal response by individual families building their own air raid shelters, or heading for the public provision in shops, parks and streets.

As always with "The Digging Dad's Army Project," we will be making a concerted attempt to make the work accessible through Open Days, Living History and Educational Activities involving our colleagues in various local schools and we also want to provide a more direct way of getting involved in the research.

To do that, we are working on a new Project with our colleagues at the "Thames Discovery Programme" and looking forward to November we will once again he helping facilitate the Birkbeck College Archaeological Geophysics Course which is led by our "House" Geophysics Team, Archaeophysica.

We will publish details of these and other events here on the DDA Blog and on the Facebook Group "Digging Dad's Army Project," in due course, but here are this years confirmed courses where you can get down and digging...

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 June 2010

Digging Dad’s Army- Zeppelin’s, Anderson’s and Ack Ack

- an introduction to the theory and techniques of the Conflict Archaeology of the 20th Century.

10.00am – 5.00pm

Based in Shooters Hill, this groundbreaking series of talks and practical sessions is designed to bring together Archaeologists, Historians, Teachers, Museum Curators, and Living History Practitioners, in fact, anyone who has an interest in researching the archaeology of 20^th Century Conflicts in Britain and presenting that research to the public.

Day 1 is a series of talks and discussions designed as an introduction to Conflict Archaeology and the Digging Dads Army Project.

Subjects to be covered include-

Is Conflict Archaeology, Archaeology?
Why bother with a load of old Concrete? Conflict Archaeology, planning and preservation.
Landscapes of Memory and Living Memory- the role of the eye witness.
Living Archaeology, Living History- presenting Conflict Archaeology to the public.

Confirmed Speakers include Andy Brockman, Local Consultant on the Time Team programme, “Blitzkrieg on Shooters Hill,” Dr Neil Faulkner of the “Great War Archaeology Group,” and Features Editor of Current Archaeology who excavated the crash site of Zeppelin L48 in Essex and Rod Scott of the No Mans Land Project.

Day 2 is designed to follow up the theory with practical examples of fieldwork and the presentation of data and artifacts to the public.

· The morning session consists of a guided field trip to look at the surviving military archaeology of the Shooters Hill area and Anti Invasion Stop Line Central, the subject of the Time Team programme, Blitzkrieg on Shooters Hill.

· Day 2 concludes with a visit to Firepower- the Royal Artillery Museum, where there will be a chance to discuss how Conflict Archaeology is presented to the public.

This is a unique chance to see what is going on in the fascinating discipline of Conflict Archaeology, to discover where to find out more and how to get involved in research and presentation.

The workshop costs just £70 including Tea and Coffee and entry to Firepower.

[£40 concessions].

NB: If you wish you can book for Day 1 the Talks Programme only;

or Day 2 the visits to Shooters Hill and Firepower only, at a cost of £35 [£20 Concessions].

Monday 14 June 2009- Friday 18 June 2010

Digging Dad’s Army-

An Archaeological Fieldwork School at Shooters Hill.

The Shooters Hill Field School will be a chance to learn or practice the skills required in archaeological fieldwork, while applying them on sites known to have features dating from World Wars One and Two which we are studying as part of the Digging Dad’s Army Research Programme.

This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some excavation experience who might wish to practice their skills or learn new ones.

The week will consist of an introduction to the site and the story behind the excavation,

followed by the survey and excavation of specifically targeted areas of Shooters Hill.

In particular we hope to un-cover sites connected with the Invasion Threat and Blitz of 1940.

This area is known to be rich in archaeology and there may also be features from other periods.

The Field Course is designed to be “Hands On,” and skills you will have the chance to learn or practice include…

Excavation Planning and Project Designs.
Health and Safety on Archaeological Sites.
Basic Levelling and Surveying.
Excavation Techniques.
Archaeological Recording- Plans, Sections, photography and Specialised Recording for Masonry etc.
Finds Identification, analysis and basic conservation.

The excavation is being directed by Neil Faulkner and Andy Brockman, but all participants will be encouraged to discuss the excavation and finds and contribute their own thoughts and interpretations.

The Fieldwork Course costs just £160 including Tea and Coffee.

[£100 concessions].

Saturday 19 June 2009-Sunday 20 June 2010

Digging Dad’s Army- Blast Shelters and the The Bagnold Bunker

An Introduction to Standing Buildings Recording.

Tutor: Kirsty Nicol of Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit and “No Mans Land.”

Many World War Two Pill Boxes and similar sites have their location recorded but relatively few have been subject to full photographic and three dimensional recording.

This weekend workshop is designed to study a series of apparent Air Raid Shelters in the Oxleas Wood area of Shooters Hill and record them for publication and inclusion on the local Historic Environment Record.

Participants will have the opportunity to plan and record the sites using standard recording techniques which are applicable to standing buildings of any period.

These include…

Recording Standards- how much detail do you need to record?

Setting up a grid.

Locating structures using Ordnance Survey Bench Marks and GPS.

What to photograph and how.

On Site and Off Site Drawing.

Paper based recording systems.

Electronic recording using a Total Station Theodolite.

The workshop costs just £70 including Tea and Coffee

[£40 concessions].

Details of all three courses and a booking form are available from me, Andy Brockman, at DDA Admin

Telephone: 07958 543518

E-Mail: andy.archaeology@virgin.net

Also you can download a prospectus here.

As we say on DDA, "See you on site" and in the meantime, as Churchill said KBO...

And there it is, in what must be a record this week- a blog and not one word about the UK Election.

Perhaps one thought though. However imperfect the UK system is, one of the reasons for confronting Nazi Germany in 1940 was to retain the right to vote for whichever party you favour to form a government, or to the right to keep on complaining about the one you do get without fear of the 2am knock on the door. To that end people, including many who would have been too young to vote in 1940 when the voting age was 21, willingly or not, gave up their lives.

Whoever you choose to vote for, perhaps going out to vote on May 6th is another way of remembering what might have been had things taken a different turn seventy years ago, particularly when we have political parties on the Ballot whose Leadership think the wrong side won.

Andy B

Introduction

2010-03-07T13:20:00.003Z

Hi to all on this Blog. Just to introduce myself to unfamiliar members Im called Jules. My principal interests are metal detecting, and historical research. I am a published author of several books in the War Torn Skies series mainly about aviation archaeology. I contribute to other works such as Steve Darlow`s "Fighting High" Volumes 1 and 2 and also to the most recent "Spitfire Hunters" book by Simon Parry all about the televised archaeological excavations of aircraft in the last decade. In addition I write for several American magazines and two in Britain "Treasure Hunting" and "the brilliant "Britain at War". For those interested in aviation archaeology please keep an eye out in the latter as several epic excavations are due to appear in there very shortly. Im always keen to assist or be part of any primarily Second World War research and fully support all those involved in such projects...such as The Great War Archaeology Group and The Great Arab Revolt Project of which I am a member.
Cheers all Jules

Modern Conflict Archaeology

2010-03-04T19:20:00.004Z

Foll0wing the success of the 2009 event a Modern Conflict Archaeology conference is being held at Bristol University on Saturday October 23rd 2010.

Further details can be found here

To subscribe to the conference email list click here to generate an email for you to send that will add you to the list.
You will receive a welcome message when this has been carried out. Unsubscibe information is included in all messages.

Mighty FROGs from little tadpoles grow

2010-02-25T21:59:00.010Z

Last Saturday saw a healthy turnout of DDA members at the first day of the latest Thames Discovery Programme (TDP) Foreshore Recording and Observation Group (FROG) training course at UCL in central London. A second, practical day will follow in late March.

TDP aims to utilise the FROG to observe and record archaeological remains on the Thames foreshore from Teddington to Bexley. The result will be a longitudinal study that it is hoped will survive the funded TDP (due to end in September 2011).

Saturday saw the eager attendees given a sound grounding in the work of the TDP and the practical aspects of FROG's activities.

After Nathalie Cohen gave an overview of the TDP and FROG, she explained the health and safety aspects of the work we were volunteering to be involved in. From rat-borne Weil's disease to blister inducing Giant Hog Weed to discarded syringes, the list felt endless. On a lighter note, the topic of debate suggested by Elliot Wragg was "Wellies or Boots?". Both having pros and cons when working on a muddy foreshore, it was easy to see why the considered opinion is evenly divided.

Lorna Richardson explained the role and importance of digital media in the project. From the usual social network suspects (Facebook, Twitter) through to imagery (Flickr, Vimeo) on to contributor based 'pedia (Riverpedia) and finally interactive spatial information database systems. All have a role to play. All the talk of citizen involvement in this session was of key interest to our technical guru, Roger. One of the results is this very blog entry!

In the final session of the morning, TDP Project Director Gus Milne gave an overview of the key zones and sites that will form the basis of 2010 season activity. Plenty of lively anecdotes and examples of the destruction caused by tidal wear and tear made this a fascinating session that many a lay person would have appreciated.

The afternoon saw attendees form four groups each of which attended three practical sessions:

1. timber analysis and recording (timber being defined as 'worked wood', I am now able to differentiate between work done by an axe and an adze - I even now know what an adze is!)

2. site recording (Chris, Roger and I - together with interloper Glenn Calderwood - cornered Guy in to being our leader for this session as we explored in fine detail the floor of the UCL south cloisters)

3. finds recognition (this helped attendees to make sense of all the priceless artefacts found when wandering the foreshore; a bonus was that the session's findings are equally applicable on dry land!)

A key point is that the aim of the FROG is to observe and record structures over time - certainly not to dig up and remove them so losing context and possible further discovery as the tide does its work. The finds recognition session explained how understanding what (and where) objects are found on the foreshore can help understand where structures may lie and what they may have been used for.

Aside from a full and informative TDP folder, we were each presented with a free, promotional TDP mug. A practical freebie that is different from the usual pen (although Chris would have appreciated the latter on Saturday!).

The session spawned (sorry!) a raft of educated and enthused tadpoles that after the practical day will become fully certified FROGs.

Richard, Theresa, Roger, Chris, Odette and I would like to thank Nathalie and her team (including our own Guy) for an extremely informative and interesting day.

More information of the activities of the TDP and FROG can be found at: http://www.thamesdiscovery.org/.

DDA Blog embraces web 2.0

2010-02-23T18:59:00.001Z

Have you something to contribute?

Over the next few days and weeks this blog will take on a new shape, with contributions expanded to include other members of the team and interested folk who are working in related fields. If you have been involved in any of the activities of DDA, or are doing something that is in a similar field and would like to use this blog to publicise it, please let me know and I will invite yo to be a contributing author.

These are exciting times for the web and for the free, public dissemination of academic, research and historical material. Please do let me know if you would like to be involved.

Thanks

Roger

9 February 2010 Canterbury Museums in Danger from Canterbury Council

2010-02-09T15:08:00.003Z

A few days ago we blogged an example of how broad based community activism on the part of people who cared about their environment and the heritage of their community, saved the Steeton Pill Boxes. Now there is another aspect of our Heritage which is in danger from what might be seen as cultural ignorance and political short termism which you might be able to help save.

In addition to its main site Canterbury City Council operates two unique small museums, The Roman Museum, a third century Roman Town House, complete with tessellated pavements, discovered as part of Sheppard Freere's pioneering campaign of urban archaeology in the late 1940's and the West Gate Towers, Canterbury's last remaining City Gate and containing a small museum of the defence of Canterbury and one of the earliest examples of ports for firearms in the UK dating to around 1380. Both are much loved by the local people and the "Roman Pavement," in particular has operated as a terrific educational resource allowing children, including mine, hands on contact with genuine Roman artifacts and the sense of actually walking around a real Roman House and street.
Now Canterbury City Council, who are, lets remember, custodians of a UNESCO Listed World Heritage Site [WHS], are showing how much respect they have for that privileged status by threatening to close both museums with no prospect or guarantee they will ever re-open; as well as making the Herne Bay Museum only available for Educational Groups [presumably because people only want to visit museums when they are taken along on organised trips, so tough on Mum and Dad when the kids want to show them what they did at school].

Here is what Paul Bennett of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust has to say about the proposal...

"We are justifiably proud of the Canterbury World Heritage sites. The city and its archaeological assets, most specifically its museums, form part of the WHS ‘buffer’ zone and therefore the loss or erosion of such assets, close to the Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey and St Martin’s Church, will reflect badly on Canterbury.
It is the very combination of museums in different locations that with greater engagement ought to provide added value to the Canterbury experience. We should be exploiting Canterbury’s heritage assets more fully at this difficult time, not considering closure of the best of them for potential re-use as a retail outlet. Canterbury is not just a provincial town, its name is known all over the World for its heritage and it is therefore irrational, even in difficult times, to chip away at what is the main basis upon which visitors come to the city in the numbers they do."
Paul Bennett
Director, Canterbury Archaeological Trust

Not surpisingly, there is a growing campaign to protest at this proposal. An on line petition already has nearly 2500 e-signatures, but more support is needed to show the Council that this move will be both a huge PR Blunder and cost them votes.

You can find information about the campaign at...
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/news/100209-canterbury

...and on the SAVE CANTERBURY'S MUSEUMS own campaign website...

http://savecanterburysmuseums.wordpress.com/

The on line petition plan is at...

http://www.petitiononline.com/Museums1/petition.html

...and there is a public protest on Saturday 13 February meeting at Noon outside the Roman Museum in Butchery Lane, Canterbury. If you are within striking distance of Canterbury do try to go. Details here...

http://heritage-key.com/event/rally-protest-against-closure-canterburys-roman-museum

On a personal note I cannot believe I am having to write this. I grew up just outside of Canterbury and I was bitten by the archaeology bug in Canterbury, in part because I was able to visit a real Roman House and hold a real musket in the West Gate Towers. This is a City which sells itself on its 2000 years of Heritage and to threaten to wilfully toss aside two of what should be its prize assets and deny today's young people and visitors those experiences beggars belief.

Unfortunately, although most museums could be kept open for the price of a small percentage of Fred the Shred's pension, they are often seen as a soft target when Councils are under political or ideological pressure to make cuts, particularly as they do not form a statutory provision and most are under promoted. This appears to be what is going on in Canterbury.

In the end if these Museums are lost to visitors and more importantly the future generation of young archaeologists and historians, it will be that much easier for the next short sighted Council looking to save a few quid and the Museum to close might be yours.

As for Canterbury there is much time left to try and turn this around. The decision to close has already been made by the Council Executive and goes to a Full Council Meeting on February 18th.

5 February 2010 - DIGGING DAD'S ARMY SITREP

2010-02-07T16:10:00.011Z

Seventy years ago the Phoney War was about to turn into what is probably the most momentous period in modern British history and Digging Dad's Army will be marking the anniversary with a programme of research work and events themed to commemorate the events of 1940, the people who lived through them and the archaeology it has left. We hope to include more surveys and excavations in the Shooters Hill area as well as some exciting new sites in Woolwich and elsewhere.

In a new departure we also hope to be starting some work in the archives looking at the often forgotten but absolutely vital issue of Civil Defence during the Blitz. In the Dad's Army TV Series Warden Hodges is an officious nuisance who often gets humiliated by Captain Mainwaring and the Platoon, but we must never forget that the real ARP Service, not to mention all the other uniformed support services not only risked their own lives just as much as members of the military, they also saved thousands of lives. We will report on that in the near future.

In addition and as always, there will be opportunities to get involved in DDA's work on the excavations and surveys, as well as at open days and other events aimed to bring the archaeology to as wide an audience as possible.

As we say, "A People's Archaeology for a People's War."

More details on all of this soon so watch out on the blog and our Facebook Group...

"DIGGING DAD'S ARMY PROJECT"

Meanwhile...

Community Action Saves a Nationally Important Group of Pill Boxes

It is wonderful to be able to begin this year of research and commemoration by being able to say congratulations to Andy Wade and a group of local community based historians, archaeologists and living history reenactors in Steeton, near Keighley in West Yorkshire.

Just before Christmas they succeeded in getting three WW2 Pill Boxes, which had been threatened by a housing development, listed Grade 2 by English Heritage. The Pill boxes form a group and were designed to defend Royal Ordnance Factory No 22 Steeton in West Yorkshire.

ROF STEETON Type 24 Variant Copyright Andy Wade

Steeton was a satellite site to the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich and incidentally, was used as a location in John Schlesinger's 1979 film "Yanks."

During WW2 the factory made 20mm and .5 calibre brass cartridge cases and projectiles which would then be filled in specialised filling factories. The output from Steeton mostly went to the Oerlikon Light Anti Aircraft Gun used by the Royal Navy and its close relative the Hispano Suiza Canon used by aircraft in the RAF including later Marks of both the Spitfire and Hurricane.

The factory also carried out research and development work, in particular metallurgical analysis and you can read a comprehensive and fascinating account of the life of a scientific worker at Steeton, including an account of the Factory Home Guard who manned the Pill Boxes, in Alec Lovell's reminiscences on the BBC People's War Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/97/a8900697.shtml

I found out about the Steeton campaign thanks to our DDA colleague Tim Lynch and it is great to be able to report on what is a classic example of local people recognising the potential worth of some visible WW2 Heritage to themselves and their community and then campaigning constructively to ensure it is preserved in its proper context.

Now the community in and around the site will have the chance to view a visible link with the past of WW2 and use the Pill Boxes as a resource for education and a focus for community events.

If you want to find out more the Pillboxes have been discussed in this thread on the Keighley and District Local History Society Forum:

http://keighleyhistory.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=events&action=display&thread=862&page=1

There are pictures of them here, on Photobucket:

http://s657.photobucket.com/albums/uu297/KeighleyHistory/Steeton-Pillboxes/

There are also three videos on YouTube which Andy took during the campaign:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49vZmHRAlKs

You can read the English Heritage Inspectors Advice report here...

http://www.menofworth.org.uk/steetonpillboxes/AdviceReport.doc

Now the Pill Boxes have been saved, why not go and see them if you are in the area?

Archaeology 2010 Conference- 26-28 February
Winter and Spring is the Season for Archaeological Conferences and one of the most wide ranging and inclusive is Archaeology 2010 promoted by CurrentPublishing, publishers of Current Archaeology and Current World Archaeology and held this year at the British Museum.

What makes Archaeology 2010 so compelling is that it is comprehensively multi period and draws its audience equally from Archaeological Professionals and the thousands of people who have a vocational interest in the subject.

This ability to talk to the widest of audiences means the conference can attract some of the most senior academic and field archaeologists working today and address some of the most interesting and contentious topics.

Sessions this year include, Clive Gamble and Chris Stringer on Human Origins, Mike Parker Pearson and his colleagues from the Stonehenge Riverside Project and Mary Beard and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill on Pompeii and Herculanium.

The conference does not shy away from controversy with sessions on Archaeology and Climate Change including Brian Fagan and doyen of tree rings Michael Baillie and, one I am particularly looking forward to, Commercial Salvage versus Marine Archaeology with the rare chance to hear Greg Stemm the CEO of Odyssey Marine Exploration, the Florida based company which the British Government has commissioned to salvage the probable wreck of HMS Sussex. A project currently on hold because of legal objections from the Spanish Government.

Significant anniversaries also supply the theme of two of the sessions. The meaning of AD410 will be explored by, among others, our own Neil Faulkner and Andrew Birley of the Vindolanda Trust. Does AD410 represent the end of Roman Britain, the Fall of the Roman Empire and therefore the end of civilisation and a new dark age? As part of the session one Terry Jones will suggest that, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more; there might be an alternative "Barbarian" view of the period.

Truely a case of "Romani ite domum!"...or perhaps not?

The other significant anniversary marked by a session is AD1940 The Battle of Britain, the Blitz and Operation Sealion, the invasion that never was, made the Summer of 1940 the most momentous period in recent British history and had things turned out differently the world we live in today would be unrecognisable to us. I will be kicking off the session with an overview of the archaeology of 1940 and why we think it is so important to study and where possible preserve it. Completing the picture Gabriel Moshenska of UCL will be describing the Archaeology of the Blitz and George Nash of Bristol University will describe an aspect of keeping the war effort going, at Royal Ordnance Factory Featherstone in Staffordshire.

You can see the session plan and book tickets here...

http://www.archaeology.co.uk/london-2010/london-2010.htm

...but be quick as a number of the sessions are already sold out, or overflow room only.

Later on in March there is a chance to debate one of the most important and contentious issues in modern archaeological practice.

The Council for British Archaeology and Newcastle University are promoting a conference on the future of Metal Detecting in archaeology and the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

'Portable Antiquities: Archaeology,
Collecting, Metal Detecting' conference on 13th and 14th March 2010.

This event is co-organised by the CBA and Newcastle University's
International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, and takes place
at Newcastle University and the Great North Museum: Hancock.

The papers at this conference offer perspectives from a range of
different interest groups, look at recent research, present case studies
from around the UK and beyond, and ultimately offer views about what the
future may hold for portable antiquities management. Much debate is
anticipated at this timely event.

All details, including the conference outline and booking information
are available via the www.britarch.ac.uk/cba/events/portants2010

For further information please contact Suzie Thomas at the CBA
(suziethomas@britarch.ac.uk) or Catherine Todd at Newcastle University
(Catherine.todd@ncl.ac.uk)

Where ever you stand on the spectrum of views about Portable Antiquities and Metal Detecting, if you have a view do go along and make that view heard, because, as the conference notice says, this event is timely and necessary. The cooperation of ethical metal detectorists on archaeological projects, particularly on Battlefield and Conflict sites, is increasingly important. While the issue of Nighthawking, illegal detecting, often on scheduled sites, was highlighted by the recent controversial report compiled on behalf of English Heritage by Oxford Archaeology.

Views among both archaeologists and detectorists are, to say the least, varied and contrasting so it is really important we try to talk to each other and understand the various positions before we come to any decisions about the future direction of our relationship...

You can download the Oxford Archaeology Report and a summary here...

http://www.helm.org.uk/upload/pdf/Nighthawking-survey3.pdf?1265351238

http://www.helm.org.uk/upload/pdf/NIGHTHAWKS2.pdf?1265355439

You can see the Code of Conduct and Constitution of the National Council for Metal Detectorists as well as more of their views and guidence notes here...

http://www.ncmd.co.uk/index.htm

The views of the Federation of Independent Detectorists are here...

http://www.detectorists.net/news4.html

Once again, make up your mind then make your voice heard.

...And if you read this Blog and are visiting any of the above events do come and say hello and tell us what you think about Digging Dad's Army.

DDA return to Eaglesfield Park and Oxleas Wood

2009-11-09T18:57:00.007Z

This is a retrospective bit of blogging as we had problems with our broadband connection last night and I couldn't upload any material.

So here is an upsum for the weekends activity at Eaglesfield Park and Oxleas Wood.

We opened up the trenches on Friday while our colleagues from Archaeophysica and their Certificate and MA students from Birkbeck College, were still working on the Geophysical Survey of the south east quadrant of Eaglesfield. This was as part of a training course, but designed to complement the DDA Research Programme by extending the survey which proved so fruitful last year. We also wanted to show the Birkbeck students that the work they do has a result in real world research driven archaeology.

It was also a real bonus that Roger Ward was able to come down on Friday afternoon and show the students how Ethical Metal Dectorists [EMD's to borrow Roger's acronym] working under archaeological supervision can make a valyuable contribution to fieldwork. Metal Detecting is after all just another Geophysical Technique.

DDA's intention was to check the Zig Zag Trench we identified from a crop mark and in the Geophysics and try to confirm its dimensions and whether it had a formal, step down enterence. We also wanted to check the relationship between the Zig Zag and the north south linear crop mark running across the Park and which was even more clear in the wetter soil conditions and low angle sun light of November.

With those research questions in mind we opened up two trenches at either end of the Zig Zag supervised by Chris at the east end and Cat at the west end of the feature.

We will be reporting on these properly in the Archive Report for Eaglesfield, but like football [and we won't talk about the Charlton Athletic Northwich Victoria result in the FA Cup] it was a game of two halves and here I should also say the archaeology at Eaglesfield is tricky to dig with most of the contexts consisting of redeposited local sand and gravel where it is very hard to pick up features.

Chris's trench produced no clearly recordable slit trench at all, however there were some colour changes in the section and a post hole packed with Victorian period London Stock Brick. After we re-checked the Victorian mapping for Eaglesfield we suspect the linear may be a Victorian Field Boundary which may have been fenced or hedged, hence the crop mark. On the whole though, the relationship between these features and the precise nature of the linear is still debatable.

Cat's trench on the other hand produced- well the trench, or at least one clear edge of it and probably the base. There were clearly identifiable dumped deposits of foreign material from the back filling of the trench and some interesting vignettes of WW2 life in concrete. Namely the concrete moulding of the base of a tin bucket and a concrete coping stone with the remains of an iron rail which seems to have been cut off with a gas torch, possibly during the salvage campaign early in WW2. We also found more batteries, steel ropes and elsewhere on the site, one copper alloy ring which may be from the handling system of the Barrage Balloons.

We were also able to do some field walking around the site with a view to setting out some future research targets and that produced some interesting discussion, especially when we were joined on Sunday afternoon by Victor Smith from Kent County Council and New Tavern Fort, Gravesend and his colleague Phillip who has been researching the defences of the north west Thames Estuary.

It is beginning to look as though Eaglesfield was possibly employed as an anti tank stop on Anti Invasion Stop Line B in 1940-42. The Natural Topography, coupled with some human interventions such as the terracing in of the road leading to a c3m Fall between the road surface and Eaglesfield Meadow, lends itself to this function and we know from contemporary documents that when the Stop Line system was laid out natural obstacles were used as much as possible. If this is what happened then we will be examining the latest Geophysics with great care, because such obstacles would only be useful if covered by fire from the defending Regulars and Home Guard which could well mean prepared trenches and gun positions across the north south axis of the Park.

All in all it has been a really useful weekend and we were also lucky with the weather, particularly on Saturday, which helped moral. Also good for moral was the steady stream of people, young and old, who came over to talk to us and share information. By a happy accident of TV scheduling the Time Team programme Rod and I were involved in making in 2007, Blitzkrieg on Shooters Hill, was shown again on Channel 4 last week so the whole subject was again fresh in the mind of the wider Shooters Hill community.

So as ever David Thorpe and I want to place the credit where it is really due...

Thanks to the Trench Supervisors: Cat and Chris.

Rod: Safety Officer and Photography.

The Fieldwork Team: Michael, Stuart, Sam, Odette [finds and food] and James, not to mention Martin [Chris's Flat Mate who came by to help us back fill].

Guy sorted out the Standing Buildings aspect of the weekend which means we will now be able to report on an interesting group of surviving air raid shelters and an interesting very early Cold War Civil Defence Bunker.

Steve Maguire of our friends at the 10th Essex, brought his stove and provided coffee and sustenance [especially welcome to the carnivores on the team] and was joined on Sunday by son Robbie.

...and of course we have to thank the London Borough of Greenwich Parks and Open Spaces Department for letting us work at Eaglesfield in the first place. This whole project and its various related spin offs are showing again and again what a fruitful partnership can be made when we as archaeologists share ideas and work with all the people who have a commitment to an area a landscape and a shared history.

Now we have the results from this weekend we can complete the archive report on this years work at Eaglesfield which we will post this as soon as it is available; as well as lodging copies with the various public archives. In the meantime please keep in touch with us via the Blog or the Facebook Group.

Our colleagues from the Great Arab Revolt Project including a number of the DDA Eaglesfield Team, are off to Jordan next week to carry out this years season of Fieldwork on sites associated with the WW1 campaigns in the Jordanian desert involving the Arab tribes, the Ottoman Turks and the British Army and RFC including T E Lawrence. We would like to wish them a safe and successful trip- you can follow their activities on the GARP Blog which you can link to from this site.

DDA on Facebook and news...

2009-10-19T17:46:00.002+01:00

You might like to know that DDA has joined the Social Networking Revolution and now has a Group on Facebook.

If you are already a member of Facebook just log in and look for the....

Digging Dad's Army Project

If not it is a really simple Registration Process.

The site content is open to the public and group members can upload photos and videos as well as take part in discussions.

If you do find us please tell your friends- it's all about friends- as we hope to use the Facebook site as another part of our DDA Project Outreach effort and to publicise Fieldwork Schools and other research. Most importantly, we want to try to get a dialogue going with other people who are interested in the subject.

Of course we need things to talk about and we are also looking forward to again working at Shooters Hill in November. We plan to finish surveying the three Air Raid Shelters in Oxleas Wood and hopefully at least one new one which was notified to us while we were on site in June.

Our Colleagues from the Great Arab Revolt Project are also off to Jordan in November so we'll look forward to hearing about this years research along the line of the Hijaz Railway.

Reminding you that, closer to home there is the Post Graduate Conference in Conflict Archaeology at the University of Bristol this Saturday [24 October] with contributions from Dr Nick Saunders. GARP/GWAG's John Winterburn, No Man's Land's Martin Brown and yours truely as well as a number of other colleagues working in the field. It should be a fascinating day- details from John Winterburn at Bristol...

John.Winterburn@Bristol.ac.uk

...and there is a conference programme and blog at...

http://bristol-arch-post-grad-conf.blogspot.com/

Looking ahead to November this looks like being a very interesting and important conference and is highly recommended- particularly as again, amazingly in these days of rocketing prices for some academic courses and conferences, it is free...

SYMPOSIUM ON THE MANAGEMENT, SCIENTIFIC STUDY AND CONSERVATION OF BATTLEFIELD ARTEFACT ASSEMBLAGES

Friday 13th November 2009

University of Bradford, UK

Specialists in battlefield archaeology of the pre Industrial period and of the 20th century, together with others specialising in finds analysis and conservation, will lead a series of session. Contributors will also include several representatives from the national organisations responsible for management of historic battlefields in the UK.

The meeting represents and important step in a project run this year at Bradford, led by Rob Janaway and funded under the AHRC/EPSRC Science and Heritage Research Clusters Scheme, which has the objective to promote the development of an integrated approach to the management, scientific study and conservation of battlefield artefact assemblages. Further details on the project are available at: http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/battlefieldsuk/periodpageview.asp?pageid=844&parentid=199

We would like to encourage all those with a practical involvement or professional interest in the subject of battlefield archaeology, relevant finds analysis and conservation, or management of the sites themselves, to take part. There is no fee for attendance.

For further details and to indicate a wish to attend please email Glenn Foard: g.r.foard@leeds.ac.uk

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend Dr Tom Buchanan's inaugural lecture for the Basque Children of 37 Organisation at Kensington and Chelsea Library. It was a fascinating afternoon with an audience ranging from Ninos themselves and their families, to those whose relatives were involved in the efforts to Aid Spain and the Spanish Refugee Community and authors such as Nick Rankin who you might have seen on last years D-Day anniversary coverage on the BBC and has published books on the press coverage of Guernika and "Churchill's Wizards" about the scientific and deception campaigns in World War 2.

It was clear from what Dr Buchanan had to say that once again, for a subject which is still within living memory there is still much research to be done and conflict archaeology could make a real contribution. Particularly in the fields of standing buildings and community based research. I hope we will have some news on this aspect of the project in the very near future.

Andy B

SS Mendi and the SA Native Labour Corps

2009-10-09T12:58:00.017+01:00

Some of you might have seen the story of the sinking of the SS Mendi and the survey of her wreck by Wessex Archaeology in the March/April 2008 edition of British Archaeology. It is one of those stories which brings home what the words "World War" really mean, but which, until recently, has been scarcely known in the UK, unlike in South Africa where the men of the Mendi are remembered and celebrated. It is the Black South African equivalent of the Sinking of the Birkenhead.

Southampton City Museums Archaeological Society are hosting a talk about the SS Mendi and the South African Native Labour Corps this Tuesday 13 October as part of their Black History Month programme, so if you have any interest in World War One, Black History, Maritime Archaeology, Forgotten and Overlooked Histories, or just want to find out more about a resonant and tragic episode do and you are able to be in Southampton on Tuesday evening do try to get along to St. Joseph's Hall.to St. Joseph's Hall.

The details...
13^th October 2009
John Gribble

‘The wreck of the Mendi and the SA Native Labour Corps: A Forgotten History’
The lecture will tell the story of the sinking of the Mendi off the Isle of Wight in February 1917 whilst she was carrying black South African labourers to France. The lecture will use the wreck of the Mendi to highlight the forgotten history of the South African Native Labour Corps (to which those aboard belonged), the Foreign Labour corps, and the larger British Labour Corps and will discuss some of the background issues to the formation and history of the SANLC.

Lectures are free to members and £2 per visitor. All lectures will take place in St. Joseph's Hall, unless otherwise stated, and start at 7.30pm (and generally finish by 9.00pm). Tea and coffee is served from 7.00pm. Please join us after the talk in The Duke of Wellington pub.

For further information e-mail archaeoanna@yahoo.co.uk or phone: 0781 285 1095

Standing Building Recording Course report

2009-09-25T17:47:00.002+01:00

21 September

Another weekend of work behind us and once again I think we can show the need to record this kind of archaeology on the ground. We have yet another example of what appears to be the case is not actually being the case once you look at it closely...

We have been looking at two apparently identical, rectangular, brick and concrete blast shelters in Oxleas Wood, Shooters Hill. Sited only some 30m apart, superficially they seem identical but...

Built we think between 1939 and 1942, they were situated in the grounds of on e of the large Victorian Houses which lined the Oxleas Wood side of Shooters Hill Road [now the A207] and it puzzled us why there seems to have been such an over provision of Shelter for what was a a relatively sparsely populated part of Shooters Hill, in particular why these two large buildings, which seem to be of a type most often found in public situations like streets and schools are literally down at the bottom of a, now very over grown, garden.

We still cannot answer that question over provision- more work in the archive is needed- but we can at least say that the two buildings are not actually built to identical specifications, with what we call BS1 [Blast Shelter 1], being a couple of courses of bricks higher than BS2 [Blast Shelter 2] its companion to the east. So they are close together, built on roughly the same north/south orientation, with doors on the northern end of the western elevation and an escape knock out panel in the southern elevation but they are not built to identical plans; why?

We have to admit we cannot answer that one yet either. One possibility is we are dealing with provision for staff in buildings requisitioned by the Armed Forces, Local Authority, or another organisation. Indeed, we have anecdotal information that at least one house in the immediate area, Summer Court, seems to have been requisitioned for Woolwich Arsenal Drawing Office personnel and our shelters may fall within the land take for that House. However this needs to be checked.

Anyway, leaving those tantalising questions hanging, as ever thanks to my fellow co-ordinator Guy Taylor and to the weekend's recording team; Richard, Theresa, Brian, Stuart, Tim, Claire, Stefan and Michael and as ever to LB Greenwich Parks and Open Spaces Department for letting us do the work.

Look out for an interim report on the survey coming soon.

24 September

This is a heads up for some forthcoming events which I hope will be of interest to the Digging Dad's Army Blog community...

DDA SITREP: WHAT'S ON

3 October 2009

Basque Children of 37 Inaugural Lecture

"The Basque Refugee Children in Britain 1937-1939: Personal Memory and Public History" Time: 14.30
Place: Kensington and Chelsea Library Meeting Room, Philimore Walk, London W8 7RY
Dr Tom Buchanan will talk on "The Basque Refugee Children in Britain 1937-1939: Personal Memory and Public History"
This is bound to be fascinating as, not only is Dr Buchanan an excellent speaker, his subject ties in exactly with DDA's research on the Colony at Shornells and the influence of the Spanish Civil War on politics and local activism in south east London. Do go if you can.

Saturday October 24th 2009

Post Graduate Conference: Conflict Archaeology of the Modern

Time: 9:30 am to 5 pm

University of Bristol
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
43 Woodland Road
Bristol BS8 1UU

The conference scene is set by our own Dr Nicholas Saunders and Speakers include Martin Brown of No Mans Land, Jonathan Berry of CADW and John Winterburn of Bristol University and the Great Arab Revolt Project. I am presenting a paper on the methods we have been using to research urban WW2 Stop Lines here at Shooters Hill and other subjects include, Battlefield Archaeology in Belgium, Albanian Bunkers, the Stop Lines around Bristol and the use of Bone to produce Trench Art. All in all a terrific cross section of research in one easily digested day.

Do come if you can because this subject will only live and grow if we meet, talk and argue, with each other.

There is no delegate fee but prior registration is recommended as places are limited.

To register and to receive further details please email:
John.Winterburn@Bristol.ac.uk

For further information please visit the conference Blog site at
www.tinyurl.com/conflict3

November 2-6

Geophysical Survey Techniques- A one week practical course at Eaglesfield Park, Shooters Hill.

This course is designed as a module on the Birkbeck MA Archaeology Course but is also open to non-MA students. It is led by our colleagues from Archaeophysica and I will be introducing the site and helping with the interpretation and local liaison.
The course is very hands on and introduces the range of geophysical techniques currently used in archaeology. Using these techniques, you will collect and process data with the aim of providing information about the location and nature of buried features on archaeological sites.
Thanks to our partnership with Birkbeck, Geophysics has been central to our work at Eaglesfield and we expect more exciting results this November. The work is also informing a proposed Eco development at Eaglesfield Park [so you will be helping the local amphibian population] and there will be the usual Open Afternoon for visitors [details later].

Mon 2 Nov-Fri 6 Nov 2009, 10am-5pm
5 meetings
£200 / £230
Martin J Rosevearne BSc, MSc, MEAGE
FFAR037H4ACB

For anyone undertaking formal study the course is worth 15 CATS points at Level 4

To find out more and enrol...

tel: 020 7631 6627/6631
fax: 020 7631 6686
email: archaeology@fce.bbk.ac.uk

Course website
www.bbk.ac.uk/ce/ archaeology/

...and another reminder that the excellent Forgotten Frontline Exhibition at Whitstable Museum runs until 16 November.

Digging Dad's Army Standing Building Recording day 2

2009-09-20T20:24:00.000+01:00

The recording course continued today with the team developing and using the techniques and skills introduced yesterday. Both of the blast shelters were measured and recorded using traditional, proven methods.

Digging Dad’s Army: Blast Shelters and the Bagnold Bunker An Introduction to Standing Buildings Recording.

2009-09-19T20:19:00.030+01:00

September 1 1939

At 04.45 Local time the German Pre-Dreadnought Battleship KMS Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish fortifications at Westerplatte on the Baltic signalling the commencement of hostilities in Europe.

Later that morning, in London and other cities considered vulnerable to Air Raids, tens of thousands of children, my mother her twin brother, then aged five and their older sister included, not to mention their teachers and many parents, particularly pregnant and nursing mothers, assembled in their schools and at Stations and bus stops, ready to participate in "Operation Pied Piper," the largest organised mass movement of people in British history.

Seventy years after the platforms of London's Main Line Railway Stations were packed with crocodiles of children with no idea where they were going, the Evacuee Re-union Association [ERA] held a 70th Anniversary commemoration of Operation Pied Piper at St Pauls Cathedral.

I went to St Pauls to see the members of the ERA emerge into the late Summer sunshine and it was impressive and rather moving to see hundreds of people, now for the most part in their seventies, united by remembrance of a shared history and for many a sense that theirs is a simplified, romanticised or even untold story. Not that it was going to remain untold that day. There was a considerable media presence and to its credit the ERA had managed to get extensive coverage in much of the print and broadcast media.

It is also interesting that the ERA has reclaimed the simple expedient of a Luggage Label being turned into an identification tag, as symbolic of their organisation and of the event it recalls. The Luggage label is now just as much a part of the Heraldry of 20th Century Total War and just as resonant as an RAF Roundel on a Spitfire, the Lightning Runes of the SS, or a yellow star of David.

I also found myself noting how complex our relationship with these anniversaries and this war is- and perhaps that is as it should be? Watching an impromptu rendition of "There'll always be an England," complete with Union Flags, I couldn't help reflecting on both the joy of the singers in the song and their togetherness, but also the questions that also come with such anniversaries and sentiments- Which England and Who does it belong to?

Such thoughts were pertinent as I had just spoken to a member of the crowd outside the cathedral, who was politely protesting about the treatment of the Albanian minority in Greece and suggested that in his view, the kind of racism and ethnic discrimination WW2 and European Union was supposed to have ended was still endemic.
.

We must also remember that,on that Friday War was not inevitable, at least, some people still believed it was not. Even as the children were being evacuated and the members of the services were going to a War Footing, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stood up in the House of Commons in the afternoon and made a statement suggesting that, if German armed forces left Polish Territory, then, in spite of the aggression, it would be diplomatic business as usual. While Hitler himself still expected this was still going to be a localised dispute. As we now know it was not to be.

When Chamberlain sat down he realised he had lost the House of Commons with this suggestion of an Appeasement too far. As Labour Deputy Leader Arthur Greenwood stood up to reply Tory MP Leopold Amery Amery's was heard to say "Speak for England." Faced by a Cabinet rebellion Britain issued the ultimatum which Hitler would reject that Sunday morning two days later.

In a reflection of the impact of the war he supported Amery's two sons would both serve what they regarded as their cause; Julian as an Officer in the British Army serving as an SOE Liaison Officer with Albanian Partisans and the other, John, would be executed for treason on 19 December 1945, having made Propaganda broadcasts from Berlin and attempted to recruit British Servicemen into a British Frei Korps. The irony of such a history is even richer when you consider Leopold Amery's mother came from a family of Hungarian Jews.

On the way home I called in at Whitehall and walked past the Admiralty Building and across Horseguards Parade, glancing across to downing Street and the site of the Cabinet War Rooms. Seventy years on the Sandbags of 1939 have been replaced by barriers against suicide car bombs, but wars are still being planned and fought here and British Armed Forces are still serving overseas, sometimes because of the legacy of events which can be traced back to at least 1939 and decisions made in these same buildings.

September 3 1939

At 11.00 Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcast to the United Kingdom and gave the news that many had been expecting. The German Government had failed to respond to an ultimatum to begin withdrawal from Poland and that "consequently, this Country is at War with Germany."

As many people who heard Chamberlain's broadcast recall, immediately the broadcast ended the Air raid Sirens went off. Chief of the Imperial General Staff [CIGS] Lt General Sir Henry Pownall remembered that morning...

“The War Office staff left their offices for
the basement as the sirens sounded.
The slamming of doors sounding down
the lift shafts, convinced many in the
basement that an air raid was in
progress.”

Lt Gen Henry Pownall recalled by his step son.
[The Old War Office Building A History: MOD 2001]

What is seldom heard is the last part of Chamberlain's very short broadcast. It does not end with the chilling words, all the more chilling for their cool matter of factness "Consequently this Country IS at War with Germany." but with a reminder to members of the Armed Forces and Civilian Support Services to carry out their Call Up instructions.

Britain was already on a war footing and seventy years on, it is now up to us to reflect and research just how this community responded.

I think we should also remember a phrase which was quoted a number of times on the anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two in Europe particularly when the painful complexities of war lead some to question whether this kind of remembrance is healthy and why should we remember....

"Never Forget. Never Again."

12 September

I spent this afternoon visiting Whitstable on the Kent Coast. In particular I was visiting our sister project The Forgotten Frontline which is led by Mark Harrison. Mark and his team have spent the last five years researching the Coastal Crust Defences around Whitstable on the north east coast of Kent and today, in glorious sunshine Mark was leading a walk around the town to interpret their findings to an audience of over 50 people.

We were shown a cross section of the defences of the town including the remains of Anti Tank Cylinders at the head of the beach and the site of a Petroleum Warfare device in the harbour as well as the sites of bomb damage and civilian structures such as a Blast Shelter in a school playground and an Auxiliary Fire Station.

It was particularly enjoyable as the tour was joined by many of the local people who have provided information to the project team. We were also able to look at some of the large collection of documents and photographs located by or donated to the project. Many of them are the strictly illegal at the time, but oh so valuable, private photographs of people going about their war work including some rare images of the Observer Corps, a vital and often overlooked, element of the Command and Control system of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.

You can see something of the team's work on line at...

http://timescapes.spaces.live.com/

...and the work is the subject of an excellent exhibition at Whitstable Museum which runs until November. Do go and see it if you get the chance- and enjoy Whitstable while you are at it. Fascinating history, good shopping and excellent seafood...it is much more than the latest Brighton wannabe for refugees from London.

"The Forgotten Front Line" exhibition runs until 14 November 2009 and is free.

Details from the Whitstable Museum and Gallery, 5a Oxford Street, Whitstable.

CT5 1DB. Telephone: +44 (0)1227 276998.

www.whitstable-museum.co.uk

NB: Unforeseen results of War

This week Dame Vera Lynn became the oldest person to have a Number One Album. On September 3 She was quoted by the BBC as saying her first thought on the outbreak of war was "Bang go's my career."

17 September

The anniversary of the start of Operation Market Garden- the Bridge Too Far operation

17 September 1944 was also a Sunday morning and my father was back in Dover having been evacuated to South Wales. Along with thousands of others in southern and eastern England he watched the spectacle of some of the 1500 Transports and 500 Gliders heading east across the channel. In the case of Dover people were watching the American 82nd and 101st Airborne heading for Eindhoven and Nijmegan and what would become known as Hell's Highway.

NB Unforeseen results of war

The failure of Operation Market Garden to end the war by Christmas led directly to the "Hongerwinter," Hunger Winter in occupied Holland. The Dutch Government in exile called a strike on the railways and the Germans retaliated by embargoing food supplies until November, by which time a particularly harsh winter set in leading to the adult ration in cities like Amsterdam falling to around 1000 calories per day.

It is estimated some 18,000 Dutch civilians died in the Hongerwinter famine while the privations experienced by expectant mothers led to studies which showed the effects of malnutrition on the developing foetus such as an increased risk of diabetes and even schizophrenia. Low birth weight babies often went on to have low birth weight children themselves- an example of the issues of one generation having an impact on the next.

The Dutch Famine Birth Cohort study which carried out this work investigates the health of men and women born in the Wilhelmina Gasthuis in Amsterdam in the period between November 1943 and February 1947 and you can find out more at ...

http://www.hongerwinter.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26

...it is a unique and fascinating study and a timely reminder of how the effects derived from what happened in the period 1939-1945 are still being played out today, even at the very personal level of the health people who were not even born until years after World War Two ended.

In this year of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two in Europe, those of us working on DDA believe we have the perfect opportunity to look at the impact of Total War through the microcosm of south and east London. Thanks to the work we have already done we know that on that Friday morning in September seventy years ago Plum Lane Schools [now named Plumcroft School] were evacuated via Woolwich Arsenal Station, [one of the local evacuees ended up in the Kent countryside near a place called Biggin Hill] while on top of Shooters Hill a series of Barrage Balloon sites had been identified by the Air Ministry and would be operated by a locally raised a Barrage Balloon Squadron, No 901 County of London with its HQ at No 1 Balloon Centre at Kidbrooke.

The London Borough of Woolwich had built Blast Shelters across the borough and had the basic infrastructure of the ARP Service in place while, as a reminder of the previous blitz, a few inches under the surface of Eaglesfield Park the concrete emplacement of a 3" Anti Aircraft Gun lay almost forgotten, except for the children playing football who occasionally tripped over its remains.

We are also discovering that a surprising number of families had the vision and the considerable amount of cash [at least £35.00 at 1939 values], to build their own Air Raid Shelters. However, as so often in research, we are discovering that the more we find the more there is to find, in the archive, in the memories of local people and in the ground.

That is why this weekend we have embarked on an "Air Raid Shelter Census." We have a team of DDA regulars and students recording a group of Surface Blast Shelters in Oxleas Wood as well as re-visiting the highly un-usual "Bagnold Bunker," which was investigated during the "Time Team," programme we made here in 2007. More about the work we have been doing this weekend tomorrow, but suffice to say we are trying to record the buildings for the Historic Environment Record and find out why this part of Shooters Hill was so heavily provided with Shelter accommodation [we know of at least three large shelters, while the bulk of the local population was several hundred metres away on the other side of the A207.

This work is a prelude to a full on appeal for information about Air Raid Shelters in Shooters Hill and Woolwich. For something which was both a fact of life and something of an iconic image of World War Two, Air Raid Shelters, have been subject to surprisingly little published research. The seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of war seems like the perfect cue to look at them again and ask what were shelters like to spend time in, how many types were there, how many people built private Shelters, and how Shelters were and are, used. As we are discovering in the twenty first century, as in the 1940's, discussing some of those uses requires the archaeological equivalent of an 18 Certificate in the Cinema.

We are working at Oxleas tomorrow- 20 September so do come and visit us if you are in the area. At 2pm I will be leading a guided tour of the Shelters and other WW2 sites on Shooters Hill.

And if you have any information about Air Raid Shelters and the people who built, organised or spent time in them in our area, please contact us. The more information we get the better the story we can tell.

Workshop Details
This weekend workshop, which is designed to study a series of air-raid shelters in the Oxleas Wood area of Shooters Hill, began today.

After introductions the morning began with Guy Taylor describing the background and rationale for the systematic recording of buildings of historical interest of all types and then specifically in the context of military buildings. This was followed by Andy Brockman explaining the formal levels and reporting methodologies currently in use and the tools we would be adopting this weekend in recording the shelters.

We then moved over to the main practical site area at Oxleas Wood, with Andy giving a terrain briefing and putting the general militarised local landscape in its context.

The afternoon was spent looking at the two blast shelters within the wood and examining the general structure, location, access and other characteristics of each building.

Finally today we moved over to the 'Bagnold Bunker' and again examined its general structure, location and main features.

Tomorrow the main focus will be to begin to actually record each building in turn and to develop the skills associated with accurately completing this task to a technically accurate and competent level.

Farewell Harry

2009-08-07T08:12:00.003+01:00

I am writing this having just watched the TV coverage of the Funeral of Harry Patch in Wells and as soon as I finish I am off for two weeks holiday in Belgium and Germany and what an illustration of the trajectory of the 20th Century. from a generation forced to go to war to a generation which can go to the battlefields of the Western Front and Ardenne as tourists.

I was at the Kent Messenger War And Peace Show when the news that Harry patch had died began to seep through the site, thanks to the wonder that is Wi Fi. Ironically I was talking to our friends of 10th Essex Living History Group who cover the Great War at the time. Immediately plans were made to stand to with reversed arms and flags went to half mast. There was the real sense personal loss- most of the Essex lads had met Harry and Henry Allingham on their trips to the Western Front and of an end of an era.

It is also worth recalling that it was really only in their hundreds that Harry, Henry and the others began to bear witness to things that had not really been talked of for three quarters of a century with another World War intervening. It is surely no co-incidence that Conflict Archaeology has come about within a very similar time frame.

I began the month with a trip to the South Bank for the annual commemoration of the International Brigades Memorial Trust, a gathering of relatives, friends and supporters from all over the world including the USA, Germany and Sweden. Guests of Honour were two of the few surviving British veterans including Sam Lesser, who trained as an Egyptologist at University College London under Sir Flinders Petrie before ending up in the University District of Madrid, taking part in the bitter fighting to turn back the fascist advance on the City in 1936.

International Brigade veteran Sam Lesser at the International Brigade
Memorial Trust Commemoration.

Petrie did some of his first field work here in north west Kent and there we have some of the fascinating and unlikely human links which make this subject so moving and rewarding to work in and why we must work to put the human stories front and center of our Conflict Archaeology, while we still can.

The International Brigades Memorial on the South Bank by County Hall in London.

Salud Sam and the Cameradas.

and we salute Harry and the lost generations of all nationalities of the Great War as he wanted.

As they sang at the service- "where have all the flowers gone?" indeed.

Andy Brockman August 2009

Post dig 2 - Up Wrap? Up Sum? Uphill Struggle? Something like that...

2009-06-23T15:36:00.008+01:00

This is my last entry on the blog for the time being so I suppose it is time to do the up sum as they say on Time Team.

I will start with the archaeology which has been, in its way, spectacular. This is true of even the smallest items, such as the delightful and thought provoking piece of Trench Art which Roger reported on last night.

I won't pre-empt the interim and full report [which would offer too many hostages to fortune and be a bit of a breach of archaeological etiquette], but I can say that we have some fascinating material to report on and we have been able to hit the nail as far as a number of the research questions go.

In particular we have located a well preserved, probably multi phase WW1 AA Gun Position which is situated in a publicly accessible location and which could be presented to the public if Greenwich Council chooses to do it. If they do it would be a first.

We also have an assemblage of material [OK 1940's rubbish] from the latter half of WW2 which sheds light on the life of the Barrage Balloon site.

We have also built up a much more detailed picture of the nature of the occupation and exploitation of the landscape on the Eaglesfield site than hitherto existed. This will all go the the London Borough of Greenwich to assist them in promoting and preserving the Park for people to enjoy in the future.

Finally, we have show that by using Geophysics in conjunction with a little military know how and some technically skilled archaeology, it is possible to recover ephemeral military features such as trenches, which slipped through the Defence of Britain Project net and offers huge promise as we research 20th Century Military and Civilian sites in future.

Away from the Field Archaeology, I think we have also shown the efficacy and importance of involving the local community in such research. Just one example among many...Even after we finished work back filling and were unwinding in The Bull on Sunday evening, we were introduced to one of the local people who, not only was the son of a Captain in the local Home Guard, but was a relative of the former editor of The Daily Worker, William Rust, who wrote the first major book about the experiences of the British Battalion of the 15th International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. A subject which forms another strand of the Digging Dad's Army Project.

That thought just re-enforces what the Digging Dad's Army Project is all about. It is a Peoples Project about the People's War and whatever we do is on trust for the community who care about it, lived it, remember it or heard about it from those no longer with us. A particularly poignant thought as this weekend the Normandy Veterans Association held its last march past in Whitehall.

Credit where it is due...

I like to show the complexity of a modern archaeological project by crediting the people who have been facilitating the project, advising on finds and doing the sheer hard work on site. At Eaglesfield 2009 they were, in no particular order and with my grateful thanks and abject apologies to anyone I have left out...[let me know and we will add your name to the list]...

Neil Faulkner, David Thorpe, Odette Nelson, Roger Ward, Lisa Corti and family, Alison Baldry, Guy Taylor, Fiz Altinaluk, Catherine Edwards, Anna Gow, Richard Buchanan, Martin and Anne Roseveare and the team from ArchaeoPhysica [particularly Thomas], Rod Scott, Bev Bailey and Martin Brown of No Mans Land, Richard Finch, Richard Emmett, Theresa Emmett, David Gill (for coming on the last day only and helping with backfilling!), Keith Martin, Stewart Dickson, Tim Lynch, Brian M Powell, Neil [Rock] Webb, Tim Lynch, Graham Dixon, Chris Clarke, Dave Holden, Dr Richard Burt, Steve Maguire and the 10th Essex Living History Group, Chris Gosling, Kirstie Shedden and the A/S Level Archaeology Group from the Negus Sixth Form Center Plumstead Manor School [including James who came back for the rest of the week], James from Barnes, the staff and children of Plumcroft Primary School, Jeremy Shearmur, Locksley Douglas and Jonathan Bangs at the London Borough of Greenwich Parks and Open Spaces Department, Kathy Bagnall at Shrewsbury House, Martin Baker, Pip Pulfer and members of the Bexley Archaeology Group and Nick Saunders of Bristol University and Robert Whytehead and the team at the English Heritage Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service, including Mark Stevenson, the Archaeological Advisor for Greenwich.

What's Next?

As to the future, next on the DDA agenda is a Standing Buildings Course which will be held over a weekend, most likely in the Autumn, when we will be conducting a survey of surviving Air Raid Shelters in the Shooters Hill area [two previously un-recorded examples turned up while we were at Eaglesfield] and we will also be reporting on the excavations. Watch out on the Blog and The Digging Dad's Army Website, which should go live in the next month or so, with more background material and information about the excavations and the DDA Project in general. We also hope to publish versions of thse excavation reports on line.

We will also continue to Recce other sites with a view to recording them, either with the existing team, or, where appropriate as part of a Course.

From November 2nd to November 6th we will be back at Eaglesfield with ArchaeoPhysica, to carry out another Geophysics Course on behalf of Birkbeck College, looking at the other half of the Park. If you want to take part details are available from the Archaeology Desk at Birkbeck. If the results are half as good as last year it will be fascinating.

Here is the link to the Course Details

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/ce/archaeology/awards/XSCAR006.html

Nearer home this Saturday, 27 June 2009, ArchaePhysica are working with me on another Community Project at Shrewsbury Park, Shooters Hill, just down the road from Eaglesfield. I will be leading tours and you will see the site of another of 901 Squadron's Barrage Balloon beds and a surviving Gas Decontamination Building, as well as having the chance to try your hand at Archaeological Geophysics. It is all in the aid of The School In the Park Party, which aims to locate and celebrate the site of London's first permanent Open Air School which opened 101 years ago this July. This was a landmark in progressive, child centred education for children with special health needs and still informs education and paediatric care today.

Digging Dad's Army was a twinkle in our eye in the Museum Tavern just before Christmas, it was born in that seminar at Shrewsbury House at the beginning of March and now in June it has become a robust toddler charging off in all directions. It is certainly growing up and going places.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped along the way.

See you soon.

Andy B

Click on images for larger versions. All pictures today C Andy Brockman.

Archaeology without recording is vandalism - Richard Emmett recording the Gun Emplacement

Dr Faulkner sections the cake but will he over cut it

The Revolutionary Cardre of Back Fillers

Dr Faulkner applies the traditional Solstice Libation

The Gun Emplacement in its final excavated state

You would never know we had been there!

Post dig 1 - Very interesting find confirmed!

2009-06-22T19:33:00.000+01:00

A few days ago this interesting piece came up from just below the turf surface within one of our test trenches. After a quick hand clean it looked like it might be a worked coin, and on further investigation it became clear that the edges of the metal appeared to have been filed cleanly.

It is in fact a French coin - the remains of the words égalité, fraternité can be seen along the bottom edge. It also looks like it has been deliberately cut in the shape of a silhouette.

On that thought, I sent a picture of the object to Dr Nick Saunders of Bristol University Department of Archaeology & Anthropology to ask if he had seen anything like it before. Nick is an expert in the field of 'Trench Art', which is 3-D memory objects that embodied the different experiences of war for makers and consumers between 1914 and 1939 (i.e. soldiers and POWs, and refugees and internees).

I am delighted to say that I received an email today from Nick confirming he had seen something similar before in France or Belgium, and that our find was indeed 'trench art', likely dating from WW1.

So now we have a story to unfold! One theory is that it was a lucky charm, made and carried by someone who had served in France and then later became a member of the Home Guard. Perhaps it was during this duty whilst serving at Eaglesfield Park in Shooters Hill in the defence of London that the piece was lost, only to be turned up by metal detector last week.

In any case it is a fascinating find, and if anyone knows of any other similar items please do get in touch and let us know.

There will be more finds reports over the next few days and weeks, so please keep checking back.

Roger Ward

Click on the image for a larger version
Who is the silhouette of?

Day 9 - The Final Day!

2009-06-21T20:59:00.006+01:00

A day spent in the blazing sun with both the core team and the students (and two volunteers, one of whom was celebrating his birthday) furiously finishing off. The drawn record of all of our trenches was completed during the morning prior to the unenviable but inevitable backfilling of them all and replacing the turf.

The phasing was completed and double checked in the ack-ack trench, in spite of the fact that one very senior archaeologist had a minor headache. In the other trenches experienced team members completed the final recording and with it this week's training of our very keen. enthusiastic and able students.

Our photographer Ali rounded off many hundreds of technical photographs taken this week with some establishing site shots and final images of the trenches from an elevated position, before recording the small finds with close-ups. These photographs, together with the drawn record, plans, maps, measurements and notes will together form the archive of the work carried out by us during our time at Eaglesfield Park.

In the afternoon the team managed to overcome a week's tiredness and we set about returning everything to the condition it weas in before we started. This meant putting all the earth back in the, by now, somewhat large and deep holes, and relaying the turf. A brilliant effort by young and slightly less young alike, together with a seemingly unending variety of jokes and quips meant this was achieved by about 5.00pm, which was a fantastic effort. Top marks to our excellent finds keeper Odette for bringing in a huge chocolate cake, pictured below, which was devoured by the hungry shovellers.

A huge thankyou to everyone who made this dig such a success from pre-planners, directors, volunteers and students to the wonderful local folk who have attended and chatted with us throughout.

From my bloggers perspective - this was the first UK based dig that I have been involved with from the initial ideas stage through to planning and actually undertaking and completing the work. At times it wasn't clear exactly how, or indeed whether at all, this would all come together and be successful. Chatting to team members and students during the week of digging itself it has become clear to me that the overall success of ventures like this depends on the bunch of people that end up in the mix, and how they interact and work together. I have to say in this respect the experience has been fantastic, and a big thankyou to everyone who made the time fly and the work such great fun.

What's next? Well, the blog won't end tonight. Over the next few days, weeks and months I will be blogging more about some of the spin-offs from the week, with articles on the finds themselves, excellent reports from Gabe (is that the right spelling? - sorry Gabe!), our oral historian of the stories he has been told, more images and other information about the development of the project as we grow. Keep checking back, or why not Follow or Subscribe to the blog for automatic updates. Please see the links at the top and bottom of the page.

Until next time.

Roger Ward

Some more images from yesterday

Day 8 - Open Day

2009-06-20T21:35:00.005+01:00

Today's Open Day included displays by the Friends of Eaglesfield Park, two World War 1 British Tommy's, and an RAF sergeant, (World War two of course), with a collection of vintage armaments.

We were pleased to see large numbers of local residents come along during the day to find out about what we have been doing during our time here. Guided tours of the trenches and excavations were held throughout the day. The level of interest was fantastic and very welcome, with a real sense of community interest and involvement in the project. Indeed, several people indicated they would come along and help if ever we were to be back again, which is great.

Meantime work continued within the trenches themselves. Debate continued to rage regarding the sequence of events surrounding the site of the anti aircraft guns. The pit full of World War 2 rubbish continued to become deeper and wider and we found more interesting items. The zig zag trench back filled with sandbags also proved very deep and, despite much mattocking and hard work, no bottom was found. We also found that the presumed Home Guard firing position sited at the lower end of the park turned out to have been back filled with sand from sandbags at some stage.

Among the most exciting finds today was a large portion of a military vehicle tyre. This was excavated in the rubbish pit, but the fragility of the remains meant that it had to be recorded in situ. Fortunately however after excellent painstaking work by Anna in that trench she did manage to lift a fairly large section intact.

Beside the World War 1 gun platform we excavated an extent of armoured copper wire believed to be of World War 2 date. The possible line and direction of this was identified by metal detecting and about 45 metres down the hill was found to change direction. The new line was found to directly correspond with cable that had been previously found and photographed by the previous Time Team dig.

A great day and many thanks to all the organisations and their representatives who gave up their time to make it such. And a big thank you to the people of the locality who turned up in number to share the experience of Digging Dad's Army with us.

Tomorrow it's final bits of digging and patient recording of everything we have exposed before the daunting prospect of putting all the dug material back and returfing the site. All part of the archaeological experience!

Neil F/ RW

Not much to say tonight as I have been in PR mode all afternoon. The Open Day saw a great response from local people which just re-enforced the rationale behind DDA- it really is a people's project.

Our friends from 10th Essex WW1 Living History Group and Chris Gosling added period atmosphere and we joined our colleagues Sarah and Rebecca from Groundworks and Froglife in explaining the plans for the old Lily Pond/Quarry Pit at the south end of the Park to be turned into an environmental area and amphibian habitat. Archaeology and Ecology in tandem- after all we are all in the same game of understanding and improving the environment.

Clive Efford our local MP and Denise Hyland our Counsillor also visited us and stayed for the tour. It is really good to see this kind of work recognised in such a supportive but low key, no fuss way.

More on the archaeology tomorrow.

Andy B

Some images from today - more to follow

Day 7 - Pressed for time

2009-06-19T22:22:00.004+01:00

Crashing towards the end of digging time now. More unearthed every minute, and time running out. Also welcome visitors from the local press have been busily interviewing us and taking pictures for the newspapers all afternoon.

Arguments rage! But obviously in a purely consultative archaeological fashion.

Why? No-one, including the directors of the project, the supervisors, the students and volunteers, has been able to agree on what on earth the Royal Navy and British Army engineers were doing when they put the 1915-1916 ack-ack battery in place. We now have so many unanswered questions about what seemed to be a relatively simple archaeological area.

When was the big lump of concrete put there?
When was the very large area of smooth concrete put there?
What is the phasing of the different elements of the gun emplacement?
(As one local asked - Why are we digging up an old children's roundabout?!)

The pit, if indeed it is one, has now produced almost perfect dating evidence ... coins from 1942 and 1943. It doesn't get better than that.

And, may we suggest, the man that edits this blog found potentially one of the great finds of the site ... more tomorrow ...

David and Lisa

19 June 2009

Today has been about consolidation and PR in about equal measure. We have not opened any more trenches but the ones we have open are beginning to resolve themselves.

The Rubbish pit has now been dated by a contextualised coin to 1943 or later which ties in very nicely with the material we are getting out of it, which today included a very well preserved woman's shoe, possibly ATS of WRAF issue, various bits of ironmongery including what is probably a screw down contact from a Field telephone and a spectacular chromed hub cap- yet to be properly identified.

It is clearly very large and we have not been able to either find an edge or bottom it out so the question remains is it a feature of another kind which was then used as a dump before being back filled?

Rock and Lisa's trench is looking more- well- trenchy. Now we know what to look for and that the Sand Bags are the give away it is clear it is a narrow trench running sometimes straight, sometimes in shallow traverses [Zig Zags] up the hill. It may link up with the T Shaped trench Rod's team have been digging.

The T shaped trench is also looking very interesting. It is a known Home Guard/Infantry Section Trench Shape and covers a strategically important approach along Eaglesfield Road had any attacking force attempted to Flank the known position at "The Bull," on the summit of Shooters Hill.

It also covers a pronounced break of slope between Eaglesfield Road and what is known as Eaglesfield Meadow. The road is terraced in and a concrete revetment means there is a drop of around 2m + to the meadow which would make a perfect tank trap. The Royal Engineer and Royal Artillery Officers who planned this part of Stop Line Central knew exactly what they were doing.

It has however been commented that to have the Home Guard Battalion HQ in Lowood, the Shooters Hill Golf Club, Club House, which is on the forward slope of the Hill facing the likely axis of attack, made less military sense. The consensus among the Soldiers and ex Soldiers on the DDA team was that as a military position it probably had a very good cocktail cabinet.

The WW1 Gun emplacement just continues to amaze and provoke, passionate, discussion. The team have done a great job cleaning it back and we know have most of the key elements but the phasing of it is proving controversial- some argue that the screeded floor and mounting ring in situ is Phase One from 1915, while others take the view that it is the roughly cast second mount which came first. I know what I think but I will keep that for tomorrows blog. What is clear is that this is a unique structure and, as far as first World War Archaeology goes an important one.

We had a steady stream of visitors today and we ran a couple of tours of the site as a dress rehearsal for tomorrows Open Day. Pat Greenwood and Brian her photographer, also visited to cover the Dig for Greenwich Time a local newspaper and I got accused of a Gordon Brown moment when I asked for some additional token women to take part in a group shot. Problem was, with the exception of Filiz the team on the trench, was all male and I had just gone out of my way to explain to Pat that Conflict Archaeology is not an exercise in Boys Toys, but involves many women today who reflect the many women who took on active roles in the two World Wars, not to mention on the Home Front.

We also had a visit from Steve, Robbie and Tony from the 10th Essex Living History Group and Historic Military Vehicles Trust. The Lads from 10th Essex are putting in an appearance at the Open Day tomorrow and if you haven't seen them before, or are interested in top quality Living History do come and meet them. We will also have another excellent living history presentation from Chris Gosling representing the RAF personnel who crewed the Barrage Balloon site. Living History and Preservation groups like the HMVT, are just as much a part of the DDA Team as Academics and Field Archaeologists

We are there all day and the Open Day Proper is from 12.30-4.00. Come if you can as it is the last chance, for a while at least, to see a fantastic piece of publicly accessable Great War Archaeology.

One last note- Martin and Anne Roseveare dropped in tonight and I was happy to stand them, as ArchaeoPhysica, a drink. First because Thomas a member of their team, was back again with a Total Station, taking locations and levels on all the trenches, but also because their Geophysics at Eaglesfield, and interpretation of it, was right on the money. Thanks everyone.
Andy B

19 June 2009

And just to re-confirm. Tomorrow is our community open day. From 12.30 members of the team will be available to walk the site and explain what we have been doing and what we have discovered. Please come along and have a look and a chat.

Some images from today

Day 6 - Visitors abundant

2009-06-18T22:19:00.001+01:00

Today has been one of contrasting and equally enjoyable visits, made the more enjoyable by the fact that our other, less welcome visitors, had not returned and there was no repeat of the petty vandalism of Tuesday night. The Shooters Hill Neighbourhood Police Team and Alan Pett who is in charge of Parks Security have both offered advice and as much practical help as possible in terms of a visible presence in the evening when the site is most vulnerable. That is much appreciated as is the support of the local Neighbourhood Watch.

On site we first we welcomed our colleagues from the English Heritage, Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service [GLAAS] and were able to give them a tour of the site and discuss our approach to the archaeology and how we might take things forward.

Robert Whytehead and his team have been really supportive of DDA and it was great to be able to show them the results on the ground of something that, only a few months ago, was an idea being discussed around a table in the Great Court of the British Museum.

Our other principle visitors were more of the children from Plumcroft Primary School, including Miss Wilson and Mrs Mamut's Year One classes who enjoyed telling stories about who might have left all these things in the park a long time ago. The team thoroughly enjoyed having them on site and the children's obvious enjoyment of the visits just re-enforced our view that, when it comes to education, there is a way into archaeology for everyone, whatever their age or experience. In fact, at the other end of the educational scale, one of the students from the Negus Sixth Form Centre who came yesterday was back again today to work as a volunteer.

In terms of the archaeology the WW1 Gun Emplacement becomes more fascinating by the day. What we had thought was an attempt by London County Council to demolish the site post war now looks like a wartime phase where the site was possibly up-gunned.
Also the team have had difficulty trying to make the geometry of the base work.

All in all, it is clear that once again, in order to understand them, we just have to dig these things. Even analogous sites like One Tree Hill or Monkhams Hall just do not exhibit the same form as we have at Eaglesfield. They are all different and that is only being revealed by the archaeology.

In the other trenches, what we had thought might be a WW1 latrine, later back filled as a rubbish pit and turfed over, now appears to have at least a WW2 phase if not being an entirely WW2 feature.
Meanwhile, Gabe, Lisa and Rock have been struggling with a Clear Crop mark and Geophysical Plot which had been refusing to reveal itself as the trench we suspected it to be. However, even that is beginning to resolve itself with sand bags or fragments of sand bags in situ, probably dumped in as fill when it was abandoned.

Down at the eastern edge of the site by Eaglesfield Road Rod and his team may have a T shaped section trench relating either to Stop Line Central or the defence of the Barrage Balloon site. Hopefully that too will resolve itself tomorrow.

We know from the 901 Squadron Operational Records Book that the Balloon sites were issued with Rifles in the Summer of 1940 as a defence against Parachutists.

Now the commercial...

Tomorrow Friday, we have a Press Call at 2pm and guided tours at 11am and 3pm. Do come along if you can. This is a rare opportunity to see this kind of site.

On Saturday from 12.30 to 4pm we have an Open Day with Living History, more tours of the site and a chance to look at the ecology of the Park as well as a chnce for you to Dig Dad's Army in our Peoples War Peoples Trench. We are sharing this event with our colleagues from the Friends of Shrewsbury Park and the LB Greenwich Parks and Open Spaces Department, as we ar promoting the use of the Park as an ammenity for leisure and education.

We also still have a few places on our standing buildings course on Saturday and Sunday, recording an unusual group of Air Raid Shelters in Oxleas Wood. The course costs £60 [£40 concessions] and you can join by ringing Andy on 07958 543518, or e-mailing andy.archaeology@virgin.net

Lastly I must correct a grievous error in a previous Blog entry- The Bull serves a halfway decent pint of Abbot, not Adnams, [and Harvey's and Sharps...]. (Andy Brockman)

Some images from the work of the past few days...

One of the most rewarding things about archaeology is witnessing the enthusiasm of the young.

Today we were shown this beyond measure. Over 100 five to seven year olds visited the site, laughed, were intrigued, handled bits of 90 year old poo, laughed again, asked questions only Stephen Hawking could answer, and rejoiced in our collective heritage.

At about 10.30 am, a young man came panting and sweating up the side of Shooter's Hill wearing an AK-47 t-shirt. One of the A/S archaeology students from yesterday. Classes finished for the day; could he help? Only 1/2 an hour to spare. Six hours later he was still there, recording the gun emplacement and learning the difficulty of maths on an archaeological site. Thank you J.
(Anna, David and Lisa 18 June 2009)

Day 5 - Gun ring and visitors

2009-06-17T21:57:00.001+01:00

The middle day of any dig is known as ‘the flag’, because everyone is flagging. It is also the day that if anything can go wrong it will and that’s how the day started. Arriving on site we found that two of our trenches had been vandalised, nothing serious but an annoyance anyway. And then we dispelled the flag day theory…

The trench with the gun emplacement turned into one of the great WWI archaeological finds in Britain; the refuse/latrine pit extended and threw up more surprises; the other two trenches produced conundrums that will only be solved with further digging.

Today the excavation of the refuse/latrine pit feature continued. More glass, more battery cells and more rubber, but also bricks and metal rods as well. We are not yet at the bottom and we have not yet found the edges. The investigation continues!

So, the Great War Ack-ack battery is there in its entirety (minus of course the gun). It is now beginning to tell it’s own story. A huge polygon plinth has emerged with, at it’s very centre, the footings for the gun pedestal itself. Have any more of this type ever been excavated in the UK before? (No! At least, we don't think so. Anyone know any better?)

Yet more pupils invaded our trenches today. Another Primary School class arrived in the morning for a site tour and a dig in our ‘student trench’. And in the afternoon six A/S level Archaeology students dug with us. Is this the next generation of field archaeologists?
(Anna, David and Lisa 17 June 2009)

Going back to the original premise - some did indeed flag today. But only as a result of extensive and brilliant hard work! Well done to all of the team who have been battling with turf, soil pits, concrete and earth so successfully.

Day 4 - Digging Deeper

2009-06-17T00:52:00.001+01:00

Today we found what is almost certainly the emplacement for the anti aircraft gun that we knew was stationed on Shooters Hill during World War 1.

In addition to a large and well built concrete base we have found the iron ring which acted as a mounting for the gun still in situ.

Lines of such guns, in conjunction with searchlights, were used to defend London against raids from Zeppelin airships and Gotha aeroplane bombers.

The guns rarely hit anything, but they were good for civilian morale and they had the effect of causing Zeppelins to hover over the edge of London where they might be intercepeted by aircraft from 39 Squadron, who were known as the Zeppelin Killers.

In another trench we seem to have found a temporary military latrine subsequently resused as a rubbish pit, containing an interesting collection of debris from the First or Second World Wwar, including batteries likely to have been used to power a field telephone.

Members of the public frequently pass by and stop to ask about what we are doing, and we are happy to explain and show them some of the digging in progress and the finds we are making. There wil also be an Open Day on the site on Saturday June 20th, when team members togerher with the Friends of Eaglesfield Park will be available to continue to do this and encourage others to become aware of and involved in theis community based project.

Day 3 - First Full Day on Site

2009-06-15T21:31:00.000+01:00

First day on site with a full team including students. And what an opening day!

Rod Scott of No Mans Land kicked off with Health and Safety overview of the types of explosive devices typically in use by the Home Guard.

Showing and describing some harmless examples of decommissioned devices the dangers of handling anything similar that might be found during our work here were discussed. Although the likelihood of finding any such device is almost infinitesimally small on this site, what to do in such an event was explained.

Then the dig proper commenced. It didn't start particularly auspiciously: four trenches open (and even the project director working furiously) and before lunch -- NOTHING.

And then, the archaeology started to play its trump cards.

- what had looked like a tree-root bowl became a WW1 (?) rubbish pit with the usual delights of broken CBM, glass and ... a dry-cell battery (probably for use with an early phone), collapsed aluminium alloy, and a rivet bolt for a Great War military installation.

- WW1 concrete firing position with associated military inlet. Is this our Aak-Aak position? Do we have a replica of Monkham's Hall anti-aircraft/anti-Zeppelin battery.

As is often the case early on in digs like this we are producing more questions than answers.

Throughout the afternoon some team members were given the opportunity to learn how to use a metal detector in field work of this type. Although no substitute for painstaking conventional archaeology, in the right hands the metal detector can be a valuable tool in site surveying and location of significant metallic features and artefacts. The first two students who tried their hand turned were successful and found a 1942 threepenny piece and, significantly in terms of this project, two pieces of driving band from WW1 shells.

We look forward to tomorrow and further finds and theories from this fascinating site.

WW1 Shell driving band fragment. (Pound coin for scale)

And from Andy Brockman:

I rang Martin and Anne at ArchaeoPhysica earlier to say that if they were here with us at Eaglesfield I would be standing them a Pint [or Beverage of choice]. We had the first full day on site today with the whole team in place and it was a treat. Even the weather held off until this evening so we got in a full day of archaeology and more to the point, features in every trench that ArchaeoPhysica had given us the Heads Up on.

In terms of the research Project the headline is probably the beautifully laid concrete floor and a rather more manky set of concrete with military grade 2" bolts in situ, from Cat's Trench. This is almost certainly the holdfast from the WW1 anti aircraft battery and to get it on the first afternoon is a real bonus. We will extend the trench tomorrow to half section it and see if we have any of the pit surround in place. This was probably brick if Eaglesfield is like its sister battery at Monkham's Hall. We also want to see if there is evidence of more than one phase as it may well be that the Battery was "Up Gunned" in the course of its active life.

We also had a trench with some dry cell batterys which could be of the type used in equipment such as field telephones in WW2 while Roger Ward and Teresa Emmett located one of the concrete mooring points from the ring which encircled the Barrage Balloon Bed.

So we have had hard evidence of the use of the site during both WW1 and WW2, exactly what we wanted hoped for and pointed up in the Project Design.

Almost my favorite find of the day though was a fragment of, probably early, porcelain with a delightful image of a well turned out couple in Regency dress, which came out of Rod's trench.

The other real thrill for me has been the response of the public to the work. We have had had a steady stream of people visiting the site, all interested and some with some really useful information, including the suggestion of the probable billet for WRAF Personnel from the Barrage Balloon site [we suspected it had female crew later in the life of the site but this is the first evidence]. Another man gave a lead on a possible feature which had been on the Golf Course and may be part of Stop Line Central. We even got overheard in the Pub after work by another local who had done building work in the House next door to The Bull. He told us that he had been told the house had been an Army billet in WW2. It is right next door to the Pill Box at the Bull and overlooks the "Killing Zone at the summit of Shooters Hill so if we can stand this one up in the documentary record it may be that we have evidence for the garrisoning of the Stop Line.

We have also had an enthusiastic response to the invitation to visit the site sent out to local schools. Plumcroft Primary are bring nine classes from Year 6 down to Year 1 and the Negus Sixth Form Centre are also bringing a group of AS Level Archaeology students.

It all goes to show what I and I know many of the DDA Team believe. Give people a chance to see and enjoy archaeology and they will respond with interest and enthusiasm and they have a real sense of ownership of this kind of community based archaeology which is about a story in which virtually everyone has a stake through family memory and experience.

All that and a decent pint of Adnams- a good day and job well done by everyone.

Day 2 - Preparation continues

2009-06-14T21:30:00.000+01:00

Andy Brockmann gave the DDA students a walk round tour of the main site features at Eaglesfield this morning, explaining the rational for siting of the trenches on the basis of Aerial Photographs, maps and geophysics.

Meanwhile the team continued to begin the opening of the trenches previously marked out by staff from Archaeophysica. GWAG team members also joined by Bexley Archaeological Group including Chairman Martin Baker mucked in wholeheartedly. We look forward to together with more members of their group joining us again next weekend.

During the afternoon Neil Faulkner gave an al fresco talk to the students on the First Blitz Project, which, together with Andy Brockman's earlier work on Shooters Hill, has given rise to the Digging Dad's Army Project now underway.

The First Blitz Project looked at the archaeology of German air raids and British Air defences in the First World War, mainly on the North East Edge of London.

Subsequently the students visited the nearby Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum, based in the historic Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, the birthplace of the Royal Artillery which was founded there in 1716. Firepower tells the story of the men and women - more than 2 million of them - who have served as Gunners in the Royal Regiment of Artillery since it was founded.

Day 1 - Introduction and background to the Project

2009-06-13T21:27:00.000+01:00

Digging Dad’s Army proper kicked off today with an introductory session based at Shrewsbury House in Shooters Hill. The program consisted of a series of background lectures throughout the day whilst some seasoned diggers began preparation of the main digging site at Eaglesfield.

During the morning after welcome and introductions the three speakers covered the following topics:

Andy Brockman set the scene describing the context of Conflict Archaeology and its relationship with Battlefield Archaeology in various theatres and historical contexts. Guy Taylor, our very own archive ferret, then gave an insight into the extent and use of archive materials underpinning the activities of modern day archaeology. Rounding up the morning session, David Thorpe, with some assistance from members of the GARP team in the audience, gave an enthusiastic overview of similar archaeological endeavour undertaken on the long term Great Arab Revolt Project in Southern Jordan.

After lunch the topics moved on to areas in post-conflict analysis. Dr Richard Burt of the McWhorter School of Building Science, Auburn University, Alabama, explained the influence of bombing on post war redevelopment and discussed the question of whether and how to memorialise the victims of bombing in the contemporary landscape.

Subsequently Rod Scott of No Mans Land discussed ammunition types as a research tool in conflict archaeology and the British Army's relationship with Archaeology going back to the 19th century.

Throughout the day the diggers were preparing the site itself. Covering the areas identified by previous investigations together with new geophysics the turf was removed from the sites and stacked nearby. The cleared areas were then cordoned off to preserve their integrity and also to make them safe for members of the public passing by, prior to the main digging activity commencing over the nest few days.

Digging Dad's Army begins

2009-06-12T08:35:00.001+01:00

The first Digging Dad's Army Dig starts at Eaglesfield on Saturday and I went down there tonight to take some photographs to show you what the site looks like and also why Shooters Hill was so important during WW1 and WW2.

From the top of Eaglesfield looking east, you can not only see across into Kent, but also along the Thames Estuary as far as Dartford and into Essex. This was an exit route for Zeppelin Commanders heading back to the east coast after looping around the City and Westminster and it was Route One for the Luftwaffe's bomber force in 1940 and 41. Turn around and you see houses and trees and just a glimpse of The Gerkin and Nat West Tower in the City. The commercial heart of London and the British war effort.

Although the skyline in the first half of the twentieth century was very different, it is still scarily easy to imagine a dusk when, unlike last night, that fiery glow in the sky wasn't caused by a summer sunset.

In fact today, 12 June is the anniversary of the first V1 attack on London. The No 7 ZAA Battery on Shooters Hill had received intelligence about potential attacks by Pilotless Aircraft but when you read the war diary entry for that night there is a palpable sense of chaotic drama behind the clipped military prose.

The V1 anniversary won't receive the coverage of last weekends D-Day commemoration, but we should remember it because just as there seemed to be some hope of an end to the war in Europe, the civilian population of London suddenly found itself once again on its own front line while many of its fathers brothers and sons were fighting hedge to hedge in the Bocage.

We don't know yet what happened on the Barrage Balloon site at Eaglesfield that night, however, chances are in a few days it would be abandoned and the crews would be on the move, but that is a story for next week.

A team from Archaeophysica are going to lay out the trench array today [Friday]. I have just sent the method statement to English Heritage and we have our first booking from a school for the education programme, so it is all coming together. The next report will be from the excavation proper and that is quite a thought.

I can't help thinking of that old military adage though- "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." We have all done enough archaeology to know very few project designs survive first contact with what is actually under the ground either. But sorting that out is half the fun of it.

Andy B

DDA SITEREP

2009-05-20T14:00:00.001+01:00

We are now just a month away from the start of Digging Dad's Army proper so this seems like a good opportunity to send the DDA Project Blog rolling and to bring you up to date with a short "Situation Report," on the Digging Dad's Army Project and the Summer Fieldwork Programme which we have planned.

The idea is that we will produce a full DDA SITREP on the Blog from time to time, to keep you up to date with the development of the big picture, while adding other peoples thoughts and comments on anything and everything to do with DDA as and when...

COURSES AND FIELDWORK THIS SUMMER

We now have enough bookings for the Introduction to Conflict Archaeology, the Eaglesfield Dig, and Standing Buildings Course to make them financially viable, but we can continue to take bookings so please continue to publicise this through your contacts and if you are thinking of taking the plunge why not go for it?

It is really gratifying that people are interested both interested in the subject of Conflict Archaeology and willing to trust us to show them the way into it. The hope is that, in due course, the people signing up as students this Summer will come to be colleagues developing their own research as part of the DDA Project.

My only disappointment so far is, as might be expected I suppose, the ratio of men to women favours the men...we currently only have two women enrolled. This is a shame, but perhaps in the wider world, Conflict Arch is still seen as a "boys toys," sort of subject in spite of the work of many colleagues like Sarah Newsome at English Heritage, Renata Peters' forensic conservation at UCL and the women involved in our sister project, the Great War Archaeology Group, not to mention the vast contribution of women to the war effort and Home Front. Any ideas for broadening the up take are welcome.

Several people have taken advantage of the multiple booking discount we are offering so in marketing terms that seems to be working.

How we got here - Martin Roseveare of Archeophysica and students from Birkbeck College and the Negus Sixth Form Centre, Plumstead, survey at Eaglesfield Park in November 2008. Copyright Andy Brockman

EAGLESFIELD PARK MOL SITE CODE EFP09

We have outline permission to dig from the London Borough of Greenwich [LBG] and I am in the process of completing a Desktop and Project Design/Method Statement. We will be liaising with Mark Stevenson from English Heritage on this. Mark is the Archaeological Adviser for the borough and EH both at a London and National level have been very interested and supportive on this project. It is important we do this properly as Eaglesfield Park is situated in one of LBG's areas of High Archaeological Importance under its development plan.

We have identified several targets at the northern end of the Park relating to a known WW2 Barrage Balloon site, a known but lost, WW1 AAA Site, and a number of crop marks including a Zig Zag crop mark and a major North South Linear of unknown age and function [and no from the Geophyics it doesn't look like a pipe or service trench....].

Neil Faulkner, David Thorpe and I will be meeting on June 2nd to plan the final dig strategy and we will post it ASAP afterwards.

We will also be meeting LB Greenwich Parks Department on June 2nd, to sort out the housekeeping issues such as making good, health and safety etc, all very important as this is not archaeology behind builder's hoardings, but will in full view in a public park.

Site HQ will be at Shrewsbury House where we will have Mess and washing facilities plus a room for teaching when we need it. Kathy Bagnall, the administrator there, is very helpful in giving us a good deal on rooms and I think it is good for a community based archaeology project like us to be seen supporting an important local community centre. The fact that Shrewsbury House was the ARP Control Centre for Woolwich in WW2 and has a very early Cold War hardened control bunker in the garden is a bonus.

CREEKSIDE

I went back to Creekside in Barking last week and took some photographs of the area of the former Experimental Flying Ground and Airship Shed for the Website and our records. The flat open ground on both sides of the Thames saw a lot activity on the part of early aviation pioneers before the First World War and Creekside is one of the most interesting.

In October 1909, Frederick Handley Page, founder of the first public company in Britain to build aircraft, advertised flying lessons at Barking in "Flight ," magazine. The advert notes the site included "artificial hills for gliding."

Handley Page moved out to Cricklewood in 1912 but the connection between Creekside and aviation was established.

Thanks to Martin Kender's work we have identified the Airship Shed which was built at Creekside, as the location of a store for debris from crashed Zeppelins while it underwent technical analysis, during the First World War.

Quite by accident I also found a map of the area in an overpriced book dated 1924, in the South Bank book market. The map shows a large rectangular building which is almost certainly the airship shed. If the survey was close to the printing date that suggests the shed may have survived for a period after WW1. The factory buildings which now cover the bulk of the site are, as you will see from the pictures, rather Art Deco and probably date to c1930 and what is probably the first wave of redevelopment at the site.

I will post a picture of the map if I can ever get my phone to talk to my computer and we will continue to research the Creekside site to see if it is a viable DDA fieldwork Project. The story of early aviation at Creekside, not least the Airship angle, should certainly be told. For example...

In an interesting comment on official secrecy and air power, that even before the outbreak of the First World War the British Government were very aware of the danger of reconnaissance by aircraft. In 1913 M Julien Lavasseur was arraigned in front of Bow Street Police Court under the provisions of the Aerial Navigation Acts 1911 and 1913, because he had...

"broken nearly every regulation made by the Home Secretary, and seemed to have done everything he ought not to have done."

Flight Magazine July 12 1913.

His crime was to have flown from near Paris to London without having informed the British Authorities in good time, passing over six or seven "Prohibited Areas," in the process. These prohibited areas including Barking Creek and the Experimental Flying Ground and Airship Shed, sensitive on account of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich which is just across the river. Lavasseur was bound over for F1000 and paid £5 5s costs. He apologised profusely and agreed to publicise the English Regulations in France and, if he did see any Weapons, of Mass Destruction or otherwise, he kept quiet about it.

PUBLIC ACCESS AND EDUCATION

It is a core principle of DDA that everything we do is open, accessible and accountable with an accent on education and outreach. In this case we will be having an "Open Day," at Eaglesfield Park on Saturday June 20th to tie in with a community consultation about the Park. We hope to run a tour of the Park, an overview of what we have done and have some attractions such as a public hands on trench and some living history work.

STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

Dig policy on volunteering is the same which Neil has applied elsewhere such as Sedgeford. The only volunteers we are taking between 15 and 19 June at Eaglesfield are those with enough fieldwork experience to work unsupervised [including work with GWAG/GARP] and/or who can bring particular skills to the project i.e. Finds Management, human/animal bones analysis etc. We think that is fairest as we cannot have some people paying for training and others who are not.

We will need volunteers from GWAG and our colleagues at Bexley Archaeological Group [BAG] to help open the site up on Saturday/Sunday 13/14 June and also to work on the Open Day on 20 June. Exact times and numbers TBC by Andy, David and Neil.

Metal Detecting: We expect to use a controlled MD survey as part of the Eaglesfield Evaluation and we will be liaising with GWAG and the Portable Antiquities Scheme on this.

I aim to have the speakers for the Introductory Course booked by the end of this week coming, we have several already and I will post the running order as soon as it is fixed.

WEB SITE AND DOCUMENTATION

Coming soon - the DDA Web Site

Martin Roseveare and Roger Ward have handled the technical side of setting up the website and we have a domain registered and dummy front page in place. We are not live yet mostly on account of me not providing them with content- that I am about to remedy, so we should have things going by the beginning of June and be fully up and running by the time of the excavation so that people can follow the action on a day to day basis.

Roger will act as Web Master.

The website will be DDA's shop window, full of goodies to tempt you in. Everything from information about the latest fieldwork or documentary research to technical and popular reports, sound and video files and, of course, this Blog.

The intention is to also use the site for project admin and place the bulk of DDA's documentation on line to save trees and postage costs- i.e. People can download what they want and we will have a reference hard copy of things like the Health and Safety documentation and Field Manuals and Desktops with the site archive on site. We will create archival hard copies of reports for places which need them like the LAARC.

PARTNERS

One of the joys of working on this project is the chance to meet and work with other people in the field. A few weeks ago I met a Lady called Eli Sanchez, through the good offices of Natalia Benjamin of the excellent Basque Children of 37 organisation. Eli was one of the 4000, Spanish children, most Basques, who were brought to England on board the SS Habana in May 1937, in the teeth of opposition from His Majesties Government [this was at the height of "appeasement" and the shameful policy of Non-intervention which allowed the European Dictatorships a free run supporting in Franco's rebellion] and even some on the Left who favoured isolationism or did not want to be seen supporting a Left Wing Government supported by Anarchists, Communists and Stalin's Soviet Union. It is one of the great stories of grass roots humanitarian activism along with the later Kinder Transport of Jewish Children escaping Nazi Germany and annexed Austria.

Natalia and I interviewed Eli on Camera and she also showed us some terrific photographs of her time as a refugee from the Spanish Civil War as well as pulling us up short with some of her recollections- such as the Fascist Secret Police knocking on the door in the middle of the night searching for her father who was a Carpenter with the Republican Army. Eli and her siblings lived at the Co-Op owned Shornells House in Abbey Wood from 1937-1944 and she is the last survivor of the 20 children who lived in the Shornells "Colony" still living in England.

One thought growing out of this contact is to make Refugee and Evacuee Children a core element of the DDA study and outreach programme as this is a way we can tie historical study very much into the present day as a community and citizenship issue- the Boroughs DDA is focusing on have large populations of Refugee people and Asylum seekers.

One possibility we are currently exploring is a Training Day and Resource Pack for Teachers looking at Refugee and Evacuee Children Past and Present. It is often forgotten that the evacuations from the bombing by the Condor Legion and that bombing itself, pre-figured and informed the UK Government's planning for "Operation Pied Piper," at the outbreak of WW2 and that early 1939 also saw the Kinder Transport of Jewish Children escaping Nazi Germany and Austria.

We will be researching this over the next few months so watch this space.

We are also going to be working with Crown Woods School, a local State Comprehensive, who are conducting a project looking at Eltham in Wartime, as part of their Key Stage Three studies. We are really pleased to be able to support this kind of innovative cross curriculum work.

FINALLY SOME DDA RELATED EVENTS IN THE LONDON AREA FOR YOUR CALENDER

21 May: 8pm The Shooters Hill History Group: "Past and Future Archaeological Work at Eaglesfield Park"- Andy Brockman. Shrewsbury House Shooters Hill.

31 May Imperial War Museum, London, 2pm: Matt Richards' recent film 'The Brits Who Fought for Spain.'

13-14 June: Zeppelins, Andersons and Ack Ack: An introduction to Conflict Archaeology- Shrewsbury House, Shooters Hill.
Site Preparation at Eaglesfield Park TBC.

15-19 June: Eaglesfield Park Training Excavation. Visitors Welcome at anytime but please let us know in advance The main site mobile will be Andy Brockman's [07958 543518].

20 June: 09.30-18.00 Eaglesfield Park Open Day and Making Good [possibly continuing into 21 June].

20-21 June: Recording Standing Buildings Training Course: Oxleas Wood. Case Study: The Oxleas Wood Air Raid Shelter Group.

27 June: 13.00-16.00: Friends of Shrewsbury Park Open Day- including Geophy's Live with Archaeophysica, We are looking for the LCC Open Air School but the Park was also home to another of 901 County of London BB Squadron's Balloon sites and Andy B will be mounting an exhibition and leading a walk looking at the history of the Park.

4 July , Jubilee Gardens, London, 1pm: Annual commemoration of the International Brigades organised by the International Brigades Memorial Trust at the IB Memorial in Jubilee Gardens next to the London Eye and County Hall.
Our colleagues from the La Columna Living History Group will be there organising the Aid For Spain Effort at their "Picnic and Protest." This is a more than usually resonant event this year as one of the last British Brigaders, Jack Jones, died a few weeks ago reminding us as to why we need to include and record the human element of Conflict Archaeology before it is too late.

Thanks again to everyone for your interest, support and work on this and as always, your thoughts and ideas are welcome on the BLOG or elsewhere. DDA is a People Project about the People's War and I think DDA is turning into something very exciting indeed.

DDA - June 2009 Dig details

2009-05-10T21:05:00.000+01:00

Digging Dad’s Army

Location: Shooters Hill, Greenwich. Run by: Digging Dad’s Army: the East and South-East London People’s War Project, 1914-1945. Dates: 13-21 June. Cost: £60 for weekend course, £150 for week course, concessions.

Contact: Andy Brockman, 72 Nithdale Road, London, SE18 3PD. Tel: 0208 316 6358, 07958 543518. Email: andy.archaeology@virgin.net Web: www.gwag.org

Digging Dad’s Army is a new multi-disciplinary, community-based research project centred on a study area in the East and South-East London boroughs of Waltham Forest, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, and Greenwich. Building on existing work on First World War air-war sites, mainly in North-East London, and on Second World War sites on Shooters Hill (Greenwich), DDA will use archives, oral/family history, field reconnaissance, survey, standing-building recording, and excavation to explore the militarised landscapes and popular experience of modern conflict in a densely populated urban area. Work this year will focus on both First and Second World War sites on Shooters Hill. There will be courses covering modern conflict archaeology, basic field skills, and standing-building recording.

Digging Dad's Army - Launch

2009-03-19T20:16:00.000Z

Forget Captain Mainwarning and the Warmington-on-Sea Home Guard. In the summer of 1940,
one and a half million men joined the Home Guard, a training school was set up by Communist
veterans of the Spanish Civil War, and the British were preparing to turn London into a
grim urban guerrilla battleground.

Launch Seminar for a new archaeological project:
Saturday 7 March 2009 from 11.00-13.00
at
Shrewsbury House
Shooters Hill
Woolwich
London SE18

Welcome to Digging Dad’s Army.

Digging Dad’s Army: The East and South-East London People’s War Project, is a new multi-disciplinary, community based research project centered on a study area in the south east and east London Boroughs of Greenwich, Barking and Dagenham, Waltham Forest and Newham, and supported by the Great War Archaeology Group.

The project was launched at a Seminar on Saturday 7 March which explored aims and research questions and discussed the creation of an effective structure to deliver the Project.

The Seminar was open to Archaeologists, Historians, members of the Museum and Archive Sector, Educationalists, and representatives of existing National and Local Research Groups and Learned Societies. We also be invited people with an interest in interpretation such as those working in historic military vehicle preservation, building recording, preservation and interpretation and Living History/Costumed Interpretation.

The Seminar took place at Shrewsbury House, Shooters Hill, now a community centre but in WW2 the ARP Control Centre for Woolwich.

The seminar ran from 11.00am to 1pm. In the afternoon, for those interested, Andy Brockman lead a tour of sites related to WW1 and WW2 on Shooters Hill including those related to Anti Invasion Stop Line Central as described in the most recent edition of Current Archaeology.

A privately built Second World War air-raid shelter in Ashridge Crescent, Shooters Hill, South East London.
Two middle class families pooled resources to build this two-roomed, double-access facility,
complete with escape shafts and built-in lighting. Copyright: Andy Brockman.

Entrance to Second World War air-raid shelter in Ashridge Crescent, Shooters Hill, South East London.
Copyright: Andy Brockman.

Aims of the Digging Dad’s Army Project

The term ‘people’s war’ is often used of 20th century wars (as on the BBC website of the same name), but is seldom defined and hardly ever explored archaeologically. The East and South-East London People’s War Project (ESELPWP) aims to create a multi-disciplinary but essentially field-based project that will explore all aspects of the experience of modern conflict in a densely populated urban landscape.

The ESELPWP will use research into official and community archives, oral history, and archaeological reconnaissance, survey, excavation, and recording to explore the militarised landscapes and popular experience of modern conflict between 1914 and 1945.

The study area will extend from the Eltham/Shooters Hill area in SE London, through the Woolwich Arsenal/Creekmouth area, to the Wanstead Flats area of E London.

The choice of this study area (the precise limits to be left open) reflects the following:

1. An established project at Shooters Hill
2. A planned project at Wanstead Flats
3. Provisional interest in First World War air defences at Creekmouth
4. The size and importance of the Woolwich Arsenal arms research, production, and distribution complex during the first half of the 20th century, including both world wars and the start of the Cold War.
5. That the area corresponds to the Second World War anti-invasion Stop Line B.
6. That the area corresponds to a First World War air-defence line (with two known balloon-aprons, one at Creekmouth, one at Wanstead Flats), and AAA positions at Woolwich Garrison, Shooters Hill, One Tree Hill, and elsewhere.
7. That an area of this size is manageable yet large enough to encompass the geographical spread of interrelated air-defence installations.
8. That, in relation to the 20th century air-defence of London, the River Thames was a giant navigational aid rather than a barrier, necessitating north-south, rather than east-west, axes of defence.

A composite of air photos taken on 7 August 1944 showing Shooters Hill

and Stop Line Central. Copyright: English Heritage.

Current research interests

This project arises out of previous work by leading participants, and constitutes a logical development of their evolving research interests as field-based modern conflict archaeologists. Of particular relevance are the following current research interests (though this does not in any way preclude the development of new ones):

1. The development of British air-defences in 1915-1918, both in response to Zeppelin raids (1915-1918), and later to Gotha and Giant raids (1917-1918).
2. The development of British ‘stop-line’ anti-invasion defences in a heavily urbanised environment in 1939-1945.
3. The development of British air-defences from the mid 1930s to 1945.
4. Popular experience of, and participation in, the militarisation of East London during the Second World War, particularly in the context of working class politics and popular fascism and anti-fascism; specifically, alternative conceptions of the war rooted in political differences, e.g. in relation to the Home Guard.
5. The culture of commemoration and remembrance, from the personal (e.g. ‘trench art’ and family photos), through the collective (e.g. war memorials), to the official (e.g. the listing and preservation of wartime buildings) as well as the interpretation of the subject to contemporary audiences in Museums, through the Arts and at public events such as Living History/Costumed Interpretation events.

A 3pdr, quick-firing anti-aircraft gun of First World War vintage. This one is a mobile lorry-mounted gun,

but many were were in fixed positions, including two already investigated by GWAG,
one at Monkhams Hill, and one at One Tree Hill. We suspect another at Shooters Hill,
and will be digging for the foundations as part of the new project.

Planned Fieldwork in 2009

A field reconnaissance of the Creekmouth area to explore a) the site of a former airship shed where Zeppelin crash-debris was stored during the First World War; and b) the site of a balloon bed from the First World War.

A field project with training school to be based at Shooters Hill (but with the possibility of some work at other places) from 13 to 21 June 2009. This to comprise:

1. A 2-day Introduction to Modern Conflict Archaeology course (13-14 June)
2. A 5-day Basic Excavation and Recording Techniques course (15-19 June)
3. A 2-day Standing-buildings Recording course (20-21 June)

The field project will be directed and taught by Andy Brockman and Neil Faulkner, with other specialist tutors. Features for investigation and recording will include: a barrage-balloon bed; the debris of a balloon site; a zigzag trench; a possible World War One AAA gun-site and public and private air-raid shelters.

Fighter airfields were established on the fringes of London during the First World War. This is the
Royal Naval Air Service airfield at Chingford, which was investigated by GWAG as part of the
First Blitz Project in 2006. The new Digging Dad's Army Project is really a development of GWAG's
work on First World War air defences in NE London and Andy Brockman's work on Second World War

remains at Shooters Hill in SE London. But the aim now is to build something much bigger and broader.

Looking ahead

ESELPWP is keen to ensure that this project leaves a practical legacy and lays the ground for further research. In order to achieve this the project will:

1. Actively develop means of archiving and disseminating ESELPWP data to ensure its preservation and accessibility to other researchers as soon as possible after collection.

2. Conduct a training workshop aimed at developing a core team of skilled community-based team members who will work in such areas as oral history and local archive research.

Other fieldwork may take place as opportunities are identified.This document has been compiled after preliminary discussions involving Dr Neil Faulkner, Dr Nicholas Saunders, Martin Kender and Andy Brockman.

H G Wells predicted that hostile airmen would shower gas from the skies on defenceless cities,
and Britain's Second World War ARP service prepared for this eventuality with buildings such as the
Furze Lodge Decontamination Centre shown here. The centre was divided into male and female areas,
and the driveway allowed ambulances to deliver casualties and leave without having to turn around.
The building is now used as flats. Copyright: Andy Brockman

Digging Dad's Army

Discovering Churchill's underground army

Aside - an essential tool..

DDA After Action Report: Summer 2010

Modern Conflcit Archaeology Conference

Sutton Green Air Raid Shelters (re-)Discovered

Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy's poem marking the deaths of Henry Allingham and Harry Patch

Last Post by Carol Ann Duffy

Segdeford Aerodrome places still available for 2010 season

GARP places still available for 2010 season

Places still available on GARP 2010 dig - see main web site for info.http://www.jordan1914-18archaeology.org/ or click below for the prospectus http://www.jordan1914-18archaeology.org/prospectus/Prospectus%202010.pdf

Thanks

Roger

DDA SITREP - The Summer 2010 Programme

Introduction

Modern Conflict Archaeology

Mighty FROGs from little tadpoles grow

DDA Blog embraces web 2.0

9 February 2010 Canterbury Museums in Danger from Canterbury Council

5 February 2010 - DIGGING DAD'S ARMY SITREP

"DIGGING DAD'S ARMY PROJECT"

DDA return to Eaglesfield Park and Oxleas Wood

DDA on Facebook and news...

SS Mendi and the SA Native Labour Corps

Standing Building Recording Course report

3 October 2009

Digging Dad's Army Standing Building Recording day 2

Digging Dad’s Army: Blast Shelters and the Bagnold Bunker An Introduction to Standing Buildings Recording.

Farewell Harry

Post dig 2 - Up Wrap? Up Sum? Uphill Struggle? Something like that...

Post dig 1 - Very interesting find confirmed!

Day 9 - The Final Day!

Day 8 - Open Day

Day 7 - Pressed for time

Day 6 - Visitors abundant

Day 5 - Gun ring and visitors

Day 4 - Digging Deeper

Day 3 - First Full Day on Site

Day 2 - Preparation continues

Day 1 - Introduction and background to the Project

Digging Dad's Army begins

DDA SITEREP

DDA - June 2009 Dig details

Digging Dad's Army - Launch

Places still available on GARP 2010 dig - see main web site for info.
http://www.jordan1914-18archaeology.org/

or click below for the prospectus
http://www.jordan1914-18archaeology.org/prospectus/Prospectus%202010.pdf