Monument MPM1633 - Former Pillbox, Southsea Common

Site of former hexagonal reinforced concrete pillbox flanking a searchlight battery site. Constructed 1940-41. [1]

The entry on the Defence of Britain Project database states that the pillbox was located at the junction of Gordon Road (now Duisburg Way) and Western Parade Southsea. However, the coordinates supplied - SZ 6388 9908 - place the site at the junction of Southsea Terrace and Western Parade. [1]

Post-war aerial photographs show a hexagonal structure situated at approximately SZ 6378 9907, c20m east of what is possibly a former radar station (see MPM1635), and these coordinates have been used for the location on the HER record. [2]

<1> Council for British Archaeology, 2006, Defence of Britain Archive [dataset] (Digital archive). SPM136.

<2> Royal Air Force, 1945-1948, Air Photo Mosaics of Portsmouth (Aerial Photograph). SPM290.