Monument record 4067 - Pillbox at North Rode

This was possibly once a pillbox in the corner of a wood in North rode. Pillboxes are small squat buildings with thick concrete walls, and they normally have an embrasure on every side except the one with the door. Embrasures are small rectangular openings in walls used to allow soldiers defended behind in a pillbox to shoot out at, or observe the enemy. Pillboxes were designed as defensive structures, accommodating a variety of firearms ranging from rifles to anti-tank guns, although this one probably only held light weaponry such as rifles. It was in Western Command Stop Line Number 6, which was a line of defences that would hold up enemy forces in the event of an invasion, and allow the armed forces to move around behind the line and concentrate forces on the enemy. Brick and concrete rubble in the corner of a wood near the railway, close to a road bridge over the railway, marks where it would have been.