Post by Catsmate on Jun 2, 2022 11:57:40 GMT
Not as weird as my two most recent locations Orford Ness is still a spot that cries out for game inclusion.
I was reminded of it by recent piece in The Guardian so I dug out my notes regarding this little oddity.
Comments, ideas and expansions welcome.
Orford Ness.
According to Wikipedia:
A ‘cuspate foreland’ is a triangular mass of accreted sand and shingle, extending outwards from the shoreline. Such forelands can change, sometimes dramatically, in size over time.
What's interesting about Orford Ness is it's history of association with secret military and government projects.
The area was controlled by the UK War Office and (later) the Ministry of Defence, which used it as a venue for various secretive military tests, during both world wars and the Cold War, into the 1980s.
Back in 1634 (seven years after the terrible storm of 1637 wrecked 32 ships) the first light beacon was constructed by one John Meldrum under Royal Patent. This was the first of a series of eleven beacons and later lighthouses to be constructed1 in the area, culminating in the 'Great Light' built by Lord Braybrooke in 1792 and acquired by Trinity House in 18362.
The lighthouse that formerly existed on the site (decommissioned in 2013, demolished in 2020) was claimed to have been the source of the flashes of light in the Rendlesham Forest UFO sightings of late December 1980.
During the Great War the area was used for aerial bombing experiments and tests
In the 1920s the site was used for one of the earliest experiments in long-range radio navigation, the Orfordness Beacon, referred to as the Black Beacon.
Slightly later, and using the exiting infrastructure constructed for the radio-beacon, Orford Ness was the site of the first purpose built experiments into a new (and highly secret) system for air-defence, initially called ‘Radio Direction Finding’, later RADAR. Having proved the technology with the experiment conducted on Orford Ness, Robert Watson-Watt and his team moved to nearby Bawdsey Manor and developed the Chain Home radar system in time for its vital role in the Battle of Britain. Though the Orfordness3 station remained active until 1937.
Other than RADAR experiments very little is known about the site during the Second World War. Surprisingly the site was not used for either a Chain Home or Chain Home Low air-defense RADAR installation, with the earlier experimental system being shut down in 1937. Perhaps it was being used for something more important?
However there is a story of a German attack on the site, in 1942, with troops delivered by (accounts vary) torpedo boat, submarine or trawler to the tip of the peninsula near Shingle Street, before being repelled with a “wall of fire”.
Official sources denied that any such attempted raid took place. There was a mysterious evacuation of the civilian population of the nearby village of Shingle Street that year. Curiously the official records on the "Evacuation of the Civil Population from Shingle Street" were sealed after the war for 75 years. When they were opened in 1992 here turned out to be nothing top secret in them.
But don't let that stop you, it's the perfect place for experimental super-weapons, aliens, inter-dimensional incursions and Nazis to battle it out. Certainly there were rumours of tests of chemical and biological munitions on the site.
In the 1960s (into the classic UNIT era) an experimental Anglo-American military system called ‘Cobra Mist’ (AKA AN/FPS-95 and System 441a), an early over-the-horizon radar, was built on the peninsula.
The construction of the system took at least two-and-a-half years, into 1970. Officially when activated Cobra Mist was plagued by radio-frequency noise problems, the origin of which could not be established, which proved impossible to filter, and the project was shut down in 1973.
After Cobra Mist was, officially, shut down in 1973, the site was acquired by the UK Foreign Office for the construction of the Orfordness transmitting station. Officially this was used for transmitting the BBC World Service in English to continental Europe (on 648 kHz MW) from September 1982 until March 2011.
Unofficially it was used by the Foreign Office for transmitting messages to agents in Europe (the UK Secret Intelligence Service, sometime MI6, is part of the Foreign Office). During the 1980s the site was transferred to the BBC, though there was a FO presence on the site until at least the 1990s.
Another, perhaps more alarming, user of Orford Ness was the UK Atomic Weapons Research Establishment who maintained a separate base on the site, used (allegedly) for environmental testing of nuclear weapons components. This programme led to the construction of the distinctive pagoda buildings (used for testing elements of the 3D shaped explosive charges used for implosion fission bombs) still visible on-site4.
The Bomb Ballistics Building is now a bird viewing site.
There are also accounts, unconfirmed, of tests of nerve agents in the area in the 1960s and 1970s.
Today the site is open to the public, sort-of. There's a once-a-week National Trust ferry service (often too small to accommodate the number of potential visitors). Local wildlife includes multitudes of hares (surprisingly tame) and sveral types of deer (no shooting allowed, to the disappointment of one US visitor) along with various birds and plants. And signs about hazards, including unexploded munitions. There are designated walkways and viewing sites5.
Human visitors include birders, nature lovers, installation artists, conspiracy theorists, urban explorers and heritage enthusiasts.
As the Guardian piece says, it's a bit Midsomer Murders6
1. Which might be handy for someone displaced through time, perhaps by a lingering pocket of temporal energy.
2. More of the history of the lighthouses, including the theft of the furnishings by French privateers in 1707, can be found here. The lighthouse itself no longer stands.
3. The spelling is somewhat variable.
4. They appeared in the music video for Jamiroquai's Automaton.
5. And a curious number of people standing around watching the visitors.
5. There have been no acknowledged deaths on the site.
I was reminded of it by recent piece in The Guardian so I dug out my notes regarding this little oddity.
Comments, ideas and expansions welcome.
Orford Ness.
According to Wikipedia:
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Weir Point, opposite Shingle Street.
It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore drift along the coast. The material of the spit comes from places further north, such as Dunwich.
It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore drift along the coast. The material of the spit comes from places further north, such as Dunwich.
What's interesting about Orford Ness is it's history of association with secret military and government projects.
The area was controlled by the UK War Office and (later) the Ministry of Defence, which used it as a venue for various secretive military tests, during both world wars and the Cold War, into the 1980s.
Back in 1634 (seven years after the terrible storm of 1637 wrecked 32 ships) the first light beacon was constructed by one John Meldrum under Royal Patent. This was the first of a series of eleven beacons and later lighthouses to be constructed1 in the area, culminating in the 'Great Light' built by Lord Braybrooke in 1792 and acquired by Trinity House in 18362.
The lighthouse that formerly existed on the site (decommissioned in 2013, demolished in 2020) was claimed to have been the source of the flashes of light in the Rendlesham Forest UFO sightings of late December 1980.
During the Great War the area was used for aerial bombing experiments and tests
In the 1920s the site was used for one of the earliest experiments in long-range radio navigation, the Orfordness Beacon, referred to as the Black Beacon.
- Unless it had a different purpose entirely of course, such as communicating with Sea Devils or experimenting with the then fashionable 'death rays'
Slightly later, and using the exiting infrastructure constructed for the radio-beacon, Orford Ness was the site of the first purpose built experiments into a new (and highly secret) system for air-defence, initially called ‘Radio Direction Finding’, later RADAR. Having proved the technology with the experiment conducted on Orford Ness, Robert Watson-Watt and his team moved to nearby Bawdsey Manor and developed the Chain Home radar system in time for its vital role in the Battle of Britain. Though the Orfordness3 station remained active until 1937.
Other than RADAR experiments very little is known about the site during the Second World War. Surprisingly the site was not used for either a Chain Home or Chain Home Low air-defense RADAR installation, with the earlier experimental system being shut down in 1937. Perhaps it was being used for something more important?
However there is a story of a German attack on the site, in 1942, with troops delivered by (accounts vary) torpedo boat, submarine or trawler to the tip of the peninsula near Shingle Street, before being repelled with a “wall of fire”.
- Probably one of the Petroleum Warfare Department’s gadgets. The were very enthusiastic about flame fougasses and similar devices.
- For a twist perhaps the attackers weren't German. Is there a Sea Devil nest anywhere offshore?
Official sources denied that any such attempted raid took place. There was a mysterious evacuation of the civilian population of the nearby village of Shingle Street that year. Curiously the official records on the "Evacuation of the Civil Population from Shingle Street" were sealed after the war for 75 years. When they were opened in 1992 here turned out to be nothing top secret in them.
But don't let that stop you, it's the perfect place for experimental super-weapons, aliens, inter-dimensional incursions and Nazis to battle it out. Certainly there were rumours of tests of chemical and biological munitions on the site.
In the 1960s (into the classic UNIT era) an experimental Anglo-American military system called ‘Cobra Mist’ (AKA AN/FPS-95 and System 441a), an early over-the-horizon radar, was built on the peninsula.
- Cobra Mist was part of the ‘Cobra’ network of (alleged) OTH RADAR systems. Officially only the UK site was actualy constructed…
- But what was the system really used for? Nascent orbital surveillance system in the wake of the Shoreditch Incident? Testing experimental Directed Energy Weapons?
The construction of the system took at least two-and-a-half years, into 1970. Officially when activated Cobra Mist was plagued by radio-frequency noise problems, the origin of which could not be established, which proved impossible to filter, and the project was shut down in 1973.
- Anyone for a crossover with The Avengers?
After Cobra Mist was, officially, shut down in 1973, the site was acquired by the UK Foreign Office for the construction of the Orfordness transmitting station. Officially this was used for transmitting the BBC World Service in English to continental Europe (on 648 kHz MW) from September 1982 until March 2011.
Unofficially it was used by the Foreign Office for transmitting messages to agents in Europe (the UK Secret Intelligence Service, sometime MI6, is part of the Foreign Office). During the 1980s the site was transferred to the BBC, though there was a FO presence on the site until at least the 1990s.
Another, perhaps more alarming, user of Orford Ness was the UK Atomic Weapons Research Establishment who maintained a separate base on the site, used (allegedly) for environmental testing of nuclear weapons components. This programme led to the construction of the distinctive pagoda buildings (used for testing elements of the 3D shaped explosive charges used for implosion fission bombs) still visible on-site4.
The Bomb Ballistics Building is now a bird viewing site.
There are also accounts, unconfirmed, of tests of nerve agents in the area in the 1960s and 1970s.
Today the site is open to the public, sort-of. There's a once-a-week National Trust ferry service (often too small to accommodate the number of potential visitors). Local wildlife includes multitudes of hares (surprisingly tame) and sveral types of deer (no shooting allowed, to the disappointment of one US visitor) along with various birds and plants. And signs about hazards, including unexploded munitions. There are designated walkways and viewing sites5.
Human visitors include birders, nature lovers, installation artists, conspiracy theorists, urban explorers and heritage enthusiasts.
As the Guardian piece says, it's a bit Midsomer Murders6
1. Which might be handy for someone displaced through time, perhaps by a lingering pocket of temporal energy.
2. More of the history of the lighthouses, including the theft of the furnishings by French privateers in 1707, can be found here. The lighthouse itself no longer stands.
3. The spelling is somewhat variable.
4. They appeared in the music video for Jamiroquai's Automaton.
5. And a curious number of people standing around watching the visitors.
5. There have been no acknowledged deaths on the site.