Hungerford Common Anti-Tank Defences

Dunmill Lock, Hungerford Common, Berkshire

 Anti-Tank Defences On Hungerford Common

Situated between the railway line and the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hungerford Common in Berkshire are two FW3/28 Anti-Tank Pillboxes.

Dunmill Lock

Both are positioned back to back on an embankment covering the canal, road and railway from a vantage point.

Dunmill Lock

The twin Type 28 close to the railway bridge is well known and appears in Henry Wills “Pillboxes” with a two pounder gun and crew set up inside for a BBC television documentary in 1979.

Since I last visited the area, all of the defences have had the entrances and main embrasures sealed with wire grilles now making them inaccessible.

A metal inscribed information board has also been placed close to them.

Dunmill Lock

This gives some welcome and detailed information on the history behind the WW2 defence line and Pillboxes.

Dunmill Lock

A short distance down the road and across the canal bridge at Dunmill Lock is a shell-proof FW3/22. This also has an information board and is sealed like the two previous boxes.

Dunmill Lock

All of these defences have brick shuttering which is now in poor condition.

by Tim Denton