Searchlight Battery - During WW2 many of the Tyneside searchlights were manned by the 225th Anti Aircraft Artillery (Searchlight Battalion) USA. Their headquarters was at Debdon Gardens in Newcastle (HER 5559). Many of the searchlight sites were used as low security POW camps after the American troops left, accommodating the prisoners who were working on local farms. Until radar was invented, searchlights were the only means by which aimed anti-aircraft fire and fighter interception were possible at night. The searchlights forced the enemy aircraft to fly higher, thus reducing their bombing accuracy. They also guided disabled allied aircraft back to base. During WW1 searchlights were emplaced to defend London and other vulnerable points. In 1916 a searchlight belt was established 25 miles inland from Sussex to Northumberland. In WW2 almost the whole country was covered in a grid of searchlights. A searchlight site would comprise of a circular earthwork around 9.14m in diameter for a 90cm light, a predictor emplacement, at least one light anti aircraft machine gun pit and a number of huts for the detachment and generator. These sites only generally survive as crop marks, unless the huts or foundations survive {"20th Century Defences in Britain, An Introductory Guide", 1995, Handbook of The Defence of Britain Project}.

Searchlight Battery - brick accommodation hut still stands. During WW2 many of the Tyneside searchlights were manned by the 225th Anti Aircraft Artillery (Searchlight Battalion) USA. Their headquarters was at Debdon Gardens in Newcastle (HER 5559). Many of the searchlight sites were used as low security POW camps after the American troops left, accommodating the prisoners who were working on local farms. Until radar was invented, searchlights were the only means by which aimed anti-aircraft fire and fighter interception were possible at night. The searchlights forced the enemy aircraft to fly higher, thus reducing their bombing accuracy. They also guided disabled allied aircraft back to base. During WW1 searchlights were emplaced to defend London and other vulnerable points. In 1916 a searchlight belt was established 25 miles inland from Sussex to Northumberland. In WW2 almost the whole country was covered in a grid of searchlights. A searchlight site would comprise of a circular earthwork around 9.14m in diameter for a 90cm light, a predictor emplacement, at least one light anti aircraft machine gun pit and a number of huts for the detachment and generator. These sites only generally survive as crop marks, unless the huts or foundations survive {"20th Century Defences in Britain, An Introductory Guide", 1995, Handbook of The Defence of Britain Project}.

Radar Station.

Bombing decoy - QL and starfish site. Newcastle's decoys were in place by January 1941. They remained in place until February 1944. Attempts had been made during WW1 to deceive the enemy by using decoy airfields and flare paths to divert bombers and exaggerate the number of operational airfields in France. In October 1939 a decision was taken to commence construction of daytime decoys - "K" sites for all satellite airfields and night decoys "Q" sites for both permanent airfields and satellites. Daytime decoy airfields consisted of tents and dummy aircraft. They were almost all abandoned in 1941. Night decoys consisted of electrical lighting to represent airfield flarepaths. Night decoys called "QF" sites provided mock fires to encourage enemy bombers to attack the decoys rather than the real targets. Night time urban decoys or "QL" sites represented hooded lighting, tram wire flashes, furnaces and marshalling yards. Following an attack on Coventry in November 1940, many major towns were provided with decoys codenamed "Special Fires", "SF" or STARFISH. These sites comprised a variety of effects to represent small fires to major fires. Very little tends to survive of bombing decoys today. The brick/concrete roofed control shelter and generator building may survive. These were sited around 365m away from the decoy. At some "QF" and "SF" sites evidence of the firebreak trenches that surrounded some of the displays may survive as earthworks or cropmarks. The Boldon decoy was lit on 12 March 1943 and drew around a dozen bombings away from Newcastle.

Bombing decoy - a QL site. Newcastle's decoys were in place by January 1941. They remained in place until February 1944. Attempts had been made during WW1 to deceive the enemy by using decoy airfields and flare paths to divert bombers and exaggerate the number of operational airfields in France. In October 1939 a decision was taken to commence construction of daytime decoys - "K" sites for all satellite airfields and night decoys "Q" sites for both permanent airfields and satellites. Daytime decoy airfields consisted of tents and dummy aircraft. They were almost all abandoned in 1941. Night decoys consisted of electrical lighting to represent airfield flarepaths. Night decoys called "QF" sites provided mock fires to encourage enemy bombers to attack the decoys rather than the real targets. Night time urban decoys or "QL" sites represented hooded lighting, tram wire flashes, furnaces and marshalling yards. Following an attack on Coventry in November 1940, many major towns were provided with decoys codenamed "Special Fires", "SF" or STARFISH. These sites comprised a variety of effects to represent small fires to major fires. Very little tends to survive of bombing decoys today. The brick/concrete roofed control shelter and generator building may survive. These were sited around 365m away from the decoy. At some "QF" and "SF" sites evidence of the firebreak trenches that surrounded some of the displays may survive as earthworks or cropmarks.

Bombing decoy - a QL site. Newcastle's decoys were in place by January 1941. They remained in place until February 1944.Attempts had been made during WW1 to deceive the enemy by using decoy airfields and flare paths to divert bombers and exaggerate the number of operational airfields in France. In October 1939 a decision was taken to commence construction of daytime decoys - "K" sites for all satellite airfields and night decoys "Q" sites for both permanent airfields and satellites. Daytime decoy airfields consisted of tents and dummy aircraft. They were almost all abandoned in 1941. Night decoys consisted of electrical lighting to represent airfield flarepaths. Night decoys called "QF" sites provided mock fires to encourage enemy bombers to attack the decoys rather than the real targets. Night time urban decoys or "QL" sites represented hooded lighting, tram wire flashes, furnaces and marshalling yards. Following an attack on Coventry in November 1940, many major towns were provided with decoys codenamed "Special Fires", "SF" or STARFISH. These sites comprised a variety of effects to represent small fires to major fires. Very little tends to survive of bombing decoys today. The brick/concrete roofed control shelter and generator building may survive. These were sited around 365m away from the decoy. At some "QF" and "SF" sites evidence of the firebreak trenches that surrounded some of the displays may survive as earthworks or cropmarks.

A timber shed and radio station masts were built here in 1906-7 by the Amalgamated Radio Telegraph Company, who had formed in 1906 through the merger of the British De Forest Wireless Telegraph Syndicate (Lord Armstrong was an owner) and Poulsen and Pedersen's Danish wireless company. The station was used experimentally to send and receive messages from Denmark. The Amalgamated Radio Telegraph Company collapsed in 1907 when Lord Armstrong became bankrupt, and the site was sold to the Poulsen Arc Company of Debmark, who were forced to operate in Britain by the restrictive Danish broadcasting laws. In 1912 the site was taken over by the GPO, who used Marconi equipment, which resulted in the construction of new antennae, apparently supervised by Guglielmo Marconi himself. The Admiralty took over the running of the station during WW1 to use it as a base for intercepting German radio traffic. In 1916 a new brick building replaced the original timber shed. During the 1920s, when radio technology continued to improve, the arc-gap equipment was replaced by valve transmitters. A second building was constructed in 1926 to cater for the increase in staffing. Little is known about the use of the site in WW2. The site was bombed and the staff were enlisted into the Home Guard. In 1951 new transmitters were installed and new aerials, although the use of the aerials was short-lived as they became unstable and were moved to Hartley in the 1950s. Masts did survive on the site into the 1990s however - the site continued in use as the receiver site for the new aerials, until the need for 24 hour emergency watch for distress calls in morse was discontinued in 1998. It continued as part of the radiotelephony Coast Radio Station service until 1999.

Bombing decoy - QF or QL site - brick control shelter still exists on farmland next to Hollinside Farm. Clever use of subdued lighting and artificial fires mimicked the marshalling yards and coke works at Blaydon - not Consett Steel Works as had first been thought, which had its own site at Medomsley. Simpson and Brown Architects have researched it as part of their work on the Gibside Estate - the brick and concrete control shelter stands in the south corner of the field to the north east of the access road into the estate from Cut Thorn Farm. It was built by the end of January 1941 as part of a nationwide network of bombing decoys. There is a blast wall covering the entrance. The 400mm generator exhaust pipe and air intake pipe or duct for electric cables is visible in the centre of the structure. Inside the generator room has three concrete generator beds. There are fuel supply pipes in the west wall under the exhaust pipes. The stove and expansion chambers have gone. The reinforced concrete roof is intact. The roof is covered by soil and grass. Originally the whole building would have been camoflaged from the air with an earth mound and turf. There is an escape hatch at the east end. The iron hatch is in-stu but the bolts and hinges need to be replaced. The iron escape ladder needs fixing to the wall. The central entrance tunnel is brick. There is no door and it appears never to have had one. There were doors to the two rooms at the end of the tunnel on either side. The concrete ceilings resemble corrugated iron which may have been used as a formwork before the concrete was poured on. There are small concrete and brick structures to the west of the building which may have held the fuel supply. There is a partly collapsed brick structure which may have been an outside store or privy.

Bombing decoy - a QL site. Newcastle's decoys were in place by January 1941. They remained in place until February 1944. Attempts had been made during WW1 to deceive the enemy by using decoy airfields and flare paths to divert bombers and exaggerate the number of operational airfields in France. In October 1939 a decision was taken to commence construction of daytime decoys - "K" sites for all satellite airfields and night decoys "Q" sites for both permanent airfields and satellites. Daytime decoy airfields consisted of tents and dummy aircraft. They were almost all abandoned in 1941. Night decoys consisted of electrical lighting to represent airfield flarepaths. Night decoys called "QF" sites provided mock fires to encourage enemy bombers to attack the decoys rather than the real targets. Night time urban decoys or "QL" sites represented hooded lighting, tram wire flashes, furnaces and marshalling yards. Following an attack on Coventry in November 1940, many major towns were provided with decoys codenamed "Special Fires", "SF" or STARFISH. These sites comprised a variety of effects to represent small fires to major fires. Very little tends to survive of bombing decoys today. The brick/concrete roofed control shelter and generator building may survive. These were sited around 365m away from the decoy. At some "QF" and "SF" sites evidence of the firebreak trenches that surrounded some of the displays may survive as earthworks or cropmarks.

Bombing decoy - a QL site.Newcastle's decoys were in place by January 1941. They remained in place until February 1944. Attempts had been made during WW1 to deceive the enemy by using decoy airfields and flare paths to divert bombers and exaggerate the number of operational airfields in France. In October 1939 a decision was taken to commence construction of daytime decoys - "K" sites for all satellite airfields and night decoys "Q" sites for both permanent airfields and satellites. Daytime decoy airfields consisted of tents and dummy aircraft. They were almost all abandoned in 1941. Night decoys consisted of electrical lighting to represent airfield flarepaths. Night decoys called "QF" sites provided mock fires to encourage enemy bombers to attack the decoys rather than the real targets. Night time urban decoys or "QL" sites represented hooded lighting, tram wire flashes, furnaces and marshalling yards. Following an attack on Coventry in November 1940, many major towns were provided with decoys codenamed "Special Fires", "SF" or STARFISH. These sites comprised a variety of effects to represent small fires to major fires. Very little tends to survive of bombing decoys today. The brick/concrete roofed control shelter and generator building may survive. These were sited around 365m away from the decoy. At some "QF" and "SF" sites evidence of the firebreak trenches that surrounded some of the displays may survive as earthworks or cropmarks.