WW2 Anti Aircraft Battery

This World War II heavy anti-aircraft battery was situated to the North of the railway line and West of Blantyre Farm Road. Consisting of six gun-emplacements, command post, magazines and a gun store all still extant, a spoil heap is now encroaching on the site and one or two other buildings are partly buried. The battery was armed with four 4.5-inch guns. As can be seen from this second world war photograph, the site was fairly large and extensive.

Two gun emplacements were added later in the Second World War, though the documents in the National Archives (Public Record Office) do not record this. Designated as part of the Clyde Defences, the documents show that it was equipped with four 4.5-inch guns in 1942-43, but by 1945 had been re-equipped with four 3.7-inch guns. In addtion between 1942 and 1943 a Gl (gun-laying) Mk II radar set was in operation. The battery is visible on an RAF WW II oblique aerial photograph (F309, 3648, flown 6 June 1941), which shows that at this date only four gun-emplacements had been built.

A recent site visit in September 2006 noted that the heavy anti-aircraft battery was still partially there. This formed part of the advance works to prepare and build the new Redlees park, which is now situated adjacent to this field. Today, the site is now almost all grown over, with little sign of the existing setup.

The modern google earth aerial photo shows the field grown over with a rough outline of what once stood there. The picture is evolving fast with Blantyre slowly being built and creeping towards the site. Pictured are the new houses at the exit of Blantyre on to Farm Road.

In late 2012, South Lanarkshire Council announced plans to extend Redlees Park incorporating the battery site which will undergo an expensive makeover ensuring it can be enjoyed by generations to come.