Ryton Willows, WW2 aircraft obstruction ditches

HER Number

1904

District

Gateshead

Site Name

Ryton Willows, WW2 aircraft obstruction ditches

Place

Ryton

Map Sheet

NZ16NE

Class

Defence

Site Type: Broad

Defence Obstruction

Site Type: Specific

Aircraft Obstruction

General Period

20TH CENTURY

Specific Period

Second World War 1939 to 1945

Form of Evidence

Earthwork

Description

Two parallel rows of square pits and mounds running north to south across Ryton Willows. Visible on the ground and on aerial photographs. The warden for Ryton Willows Nature Reserve says that they were defence pits to stop aircraft landing during World War Two.

Easting

415800

Northing

565040

Grid Reference

NZ415800565040

Sources

<< HER 1904 >> Aerial Photograph, T. Gates, 2001, T+W/01/A, frames 62-68