Скачать или смотреть 'The last line - evaluation of 1940 anti-invasion defences between Guildford & Dorking' by P Ferris

This talk, ‘"The last line"- an archaeological evaluation of the 1940 anti-invasion defences between Guildford and Dorking' by Paul Ferris, was given as part of the Surrey Historic Environment Research Framework (SHERF) 2022 conference on Saturday 26 November.
In less than two months in the Summer of 1940, and at the height of the German invasion scare, thousands of pillboxes were built across Southern England, including on the ‘GHQ Line’; the last significant linear defence before London. Critics of the strategy – at the time, and subsequently – have suggested that it either reflected outdated First World War concepts, mirrored a failed 1930s continental strategy of static defence, that the fortifications were principally designed as a visual deterrent, or even that they were built solely to boost civilian morale rather than being expected to mount an effective defence in the event of invasion. Principally through GIS and a digitised 1940 landscape constructed from modern LiDAR data and period maps, and historic aerial photography, the author’s study examines whether landscape archaeology techniques can assist us in understanding why these Second World War defences in this part of Surrey were built where they were.