Verwood Cottages, Forest Road. Pillbox

In preparation for and during World War II, the island went into full defensive mode because of its strategic location. If the Germans were planning an invasion, it seemed probable that they would want to seize it as soon as possible to establish a safe beachhead from which to start their lightning-fast blitzkrieg campaign.

The War Office anticipated this possibility, so it developed a number of defence systems and made preparations at key locations to slow down any advance forces in the event of an evasion. The placement of strategically placed pillboxes was one such tactic used on the Island.

This type 22 pillbox can be seen at Forest View Nurseries; it was purpose-built as a bulletproof structure with three corrugated iron walls and one concrete wall. It would have been equipped with three light machine guns that could fire in any direction.

Each pillbox had its own style of construction, and details of which can been had by following the links in “Sources” tab.

• http://www.pillbox-study-group.org.uk/

• https://www.iwhistory.org.uk/HER/0805pillboxes.htm#MIW4740