Monument record BNC 057 - World War II anti tank ditch.

A World War II anti tank ditch, formed by deepening New Cut, is visible as an earthwork from 1940 extending from Benacre Broad (TM 532830) to Hundred River (TM 533844). The spoil from the ditch is cast up on the landward side except at the northern end where the ditch is actually a modified drainage ditch with its east (seaward) side steepened and raised by spoil dumping. There are two crossings of the ditch, one in the middle and one at the southern end, however, the photography suggests that improvised crossings were made using plank bridges. In 1941, indications of a possible fence line are visible as line of dots along parts of the eastern edge of the ditch (S1-3). By 1943, the eastern edge of the ditch may have been protected by a line of barbed wire and the central crossing point has been restricted with scaffolding (?) (S4). Part of the ditch has since eroded away.
Initially numbered as BNC 029 during pilot survey of intertial area. Re-numbered Nov 2004