*In advance, this is a shameless post bigging me up*
Last week I posted about some features I'd come across whilst walking in Grovely Wood, west of Salisbury in Wiltshire (14th March, Grovely Wood World War 2 and Grovely Wood). I mused on what they may have represented, I knew they were military, WW2, thought they may have represented storage rather than occupation and that their may be more to find amongst the undergrowth. Also, after finding a piece of American graffiti in the area, suggested maybe an American site.
Well, I did some online research and guess what? Grovely Wood was a massive USAF open bomb/munition storage area, one of 3 in the region. It became active on 2nd September 1943, the site being chosen for its cover and easy access to nearby rail links. As I say, it was a massive site with a 20,000 ton capacity, hence I suppose the need for metalled trackways, that's a lot of ordinance to move about. The cluster of building platforms at the western end of the wood must represent the operation/accommodation area, and I know see the 3 shelters and associated building platforms spread along the main track as on site offices and the shelters to offer the necessary protection for those working on site if the munitions were attacked. Although the scale of the munitions stored here, makes me think even with the shelters you'd be lucky to survive a large attack. The main woodland on either side of the central track saw the larger munitions, the bombs and such like, stored in the open, with the smaller munitions stored in dispersed buildings. I'll be visiting again for a more detailed investigation, with the hope of finding more features and building a better picture of the site as a whole.
Which only leaves me to say, I am *brilliant! (I did say it was shameless)
*Clearly, this is said tongue in cheek
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