Lancashire At War.co.uk
Exploring the hidden history of War sites in Lancashire
Pickering ROC
If you are going to put an ROC post anywhere then on top of a nine hundred year old motte is as good a place as any - nice views of the end of the world. Pickering Royal Observer Corps post is in a superb position and has recently been bought and lovingly restored. We were lucky enough to be invited up and then down.....
According to Pastscape "The ROC occupied the mound from at least 1937-1991". Their earliest Post-War building is still present on the site - a Orlit 'A' prefabricated building. This was superseded by the underground bunker so it is nice that it is still in situ.
BELOW: The "pre-cast concrete panelled structures known as“Orlit” posts, after the manufacturers of the structures Messrs Orlit Ltd" . SEE ROC-HERITAGE SITE HERE
LEFT: The Orlit 'A' can be seen towards the back of the site - an L-shaped enclosure.
RIGHT: The ROC post is on top of a natural hill that has been shaped into a Medieval Motte or possibly "seige castle" (Pastscape).
We were very kindly invited up to an open day for the post by the owner, Adam (See photo BELOW), where we were treated to an in depth description of the workings of an ROC post. If he holds another open day we will advertise it here.
Adam has invested a lot of time and effort to get this ROC post looking as close to how it would have looked in its day. He has even contacted former members of the Pickering Royal Observer Corps who have been very helpful to him, giving him advice, artefacts and stories.
PLEASE NOTE:
There is NO PUBLIC ACCESS TO THIS SITE.
It is all on PRIVATE land
ABOVE: A WW2 pillbox, which Adam told us about. At the bottom of the motte, in somenone's back garden.
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