Report - Titchwell AFV Range/RSPB Titchwell - 26/05/2023

KyroRetnik · Jun 3, 2023

Now a nature reserve for the RSPB, the Titchwell marshes used to be frequented by a different type of bird... the warplane.

Titchwell Marsh was used during WW2 as an AFV range (Armoured Fighting Vehicle). When the tide is low you can catch a peak at the remains of two Covenanter tanks. It is unknown whether or not they were targets for other AFVs or for aircraft. If you were to walk through the RSPB reserve, you will see a lot of signs that this was an old military installation. There are pillboxes dotted around the reserve and lots of concrete pads in seemingly random places. Once you exit the wooded area that surrounds the reception and cafe buildings, look to your left. You should be able to see two concrete structures, a control tower and a smaller structure. This points to the range being an air weapons range, like RAF Holbeach. Information online corroborates this

"Down on the beach at Titchwell at low tide, it is possible to see the remains of two old Covenanter cruiser tanks that are now rusting away. How much is visible is dependent on the recent weather conditions and how the tides have covered their remains with sand. The tanks are a remnant of World War 2 as during the war Titchwell Marsh was used by the Royal Tank Regiment as a tank firing range. It is thought that the tanks may even have been targets themselves. The tank regiment used a concrete road that is still part of the reserve today and forms part of the Fen Trail.

After the war the Royal Air Force continued to use Titchwell Marsh as a firing range using pop-up targets. Winches were housed in two buildings which are now in ruins and these can be seen in the Volunteer Marsh close to the West Bank path. Down at the end of the West Bank path looking out onto the beach are the remains of an old control tower that the RAF built during the 1950s for their aircraft firing range. Another military control tower can be seen down at Thornham Point." - RSPB | Titchwell Marsh Archaeology and History

"World War 2 tanks buried in Titchwell beach, Norfolk

Between 1942 and 1945, Titchwell was used by the Royal Tank Regiment as a firing range. A special concrete road was built to bring tanks onto the site.

The tank gunners practised by firing blank shells at targets attached to wire cables pulled across what is now the freshwater marsh and the brackish marsh. You can still see some of the concrete buildings that housed the winches alongside the West Bank Path.

More evidence of Titchwell's past as a tank range can be found on the beach. If you turn right off the beach boardwalk and head towards Brancaster, you'll come across two rusting tank hulls that were used for target practice.
Hidden in the sand for decades and first exposed in 1991, these are the remains of two Covenanter A13 Mark III / Cruiser Mark V tanks. According to the Bovington Tank Museum in Dorset, this was arguably the worst tank ever brought into production in Britain. No wonder they were used for target practice!" - World War 2 tanks buried in Titchwell... © Richard Humphrey cc-by-sa/2.0

This link shows you the ATC tower roughly a year before being demolished - RAF Titchwell

This is a post from the RSPB themselves, documenting the reserve's history, and shares some details about the old military site at Snettisham too.

A hastily made report, mainly due to boredom, but also because I thought I could make a report out of this. Thank you for taking the time to read, Photos from the visit enclosed below.