Monument record BOY 024 - A World War II Armoured Fighting Vehicle or tank range and training area.

A World War II armoured fighting vehicle training area and firing range is visible as a number of earthworks and structures on aerial photographs on Boyton Marshes, centred on circa TM39154704, Boyton parish. The 79th Armoured Division were stationed in this area from April 1943 onwards and may have used this facility as part of the Orford Battle area (S1). However, it was predominantly used as a firing range under Eastern Command Control (S2, S3). AFV units would have used the range for basic training and practice before moving the larger War Office controlled AFV ranges elsewhere in the country, such as Castlemartin, Warcop and Kirkcudbright. The training area is made up of a number of components. The armoured fighting vehicles, now more commonly called tanks, would have driven around the triangular trackway centred on circa TM38904752. The triangular track would have provided multiple opportunities to fire at targets from different angles during a single run. They would have fired towards moving targets that were probably pulled along behind protective banks on a narrow gauge railway, by winches that were housed in blockhouses at the eastern end of the banks. These banks are visible roughly 470 and 900m to the south east of the firing point, and are about 10-12m wide and 400 and 500m in length. Two further blockhouses area also visible as earthworks covering concrete structures, at circa TM39214728 and TM38994709. These were used for observation but also housed the mechanism for operating ‘pull up’ targets, that were activated by cables housed in cable runs visible as thin trenches between the blockhouses and large banks. To the east of the triangular trackway, six features that are visible as low banks alongside wide shallow ditches can be seen. It is unclear what function these features served but it is possible that they are also targets or butts for small arms practice. A series of structures at Banters Barn at circa TM38744751 connected to the AFV range by a concrete road, housed a maintenance and service area, and a second group centred on TM38754735 was also probably associated with the tank training area. Four circular features about 10m in diameter are visible centred on circa TM39054729. These features resemble the gun emplacements of a Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery and may be a mock battery forming a target as part of the training area. By December 1943 an additional bank has been built that runs parallel with the sea wall for circa 900m before connecting with it at circa TM38994616 (S4). The 79th Armoured Division may have used this as mock sea wall in their trials of 'funnies', specially adapted tanks that were intended to breach the Atlantic Wall in the D-day landings (S5). This bank is certainly visibly eroded by 1945 (S6).
Site of a Second World War artillery firing range at Banters Barn Farm, with two target railways. More information on the site can be found at The National Archives, reference nos. PRO WO 166/6024A Eastern Command RAC 1942 PRO: WO 165/91 War Diary DF&W PRO: WO 166/10338 HQ Eastern Command RE 1943 PRO: WO 171/856, War Diary of 4 CLY, March 1944 (7)