Note: North Somerset Council's Birnbeck Pier Restoration Project has been made possible thanks to over £44m in external funding secured from the UK Government, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England.
The research that I’m carrying out for the project, which is covering Birnbeck Pier's Second World War history, has been made possible thanks to funding from the council’s social value agreement with its contractor, Mackley.
As the research progresses, I will add more topics to this page.
HMS Birnbeck (1941-46): The Pier Master's Tale When Edgar (Jack) James Wide applied for the job of Deputy Pier Master at Birnbeck in 1937, he could hardly have imagined that, just a few years later, he would play an important role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. What he did know, however, was that he was expected to assume the more senior role of Pier Master as soon as he was able to relieve the incumbent, Mr H.A.Cole - a transition which took place just a few months later. Full story HERE.
The flyers of Birnbeck and Locking (1942-49) As the use of aircraft-laid mines increased, the specialist team at HMS Vernon sought a suitable testing area where mines could be dropped and, crucially, recovered easily. The tidal range of up to 40 feet in the Bristol Channel made the area around Weston-super-Mare particularly suitable. At low water, extensive areas of sand and mud are exposed; a few hours later they are covered by the incoming tide. Full story HERE.
The Bristol Channel Squids (1943-49) Designed by the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development in conjunction with HMS Vernon the Squid (see picture above) was a development from the 'Hedgehog' system. It was a three barrelled depth-charge firing device which linked into the host ship's sonar system. Once a target U-boat was determined to be in an optimal location the Squid would launch three 390lb explosives in a triangular pattern - bracketing the enemy submarine. Full story HERE.
The mystery of Birnbeck Pier's lost HMS Vernon plaque (1949) A while ago I was sent a photograph of a missing plaque which, I was told, used to hang in one of the buildings on Birnbeck Island, Weston-super-Mare. The plaque commemorated a close association between Birnbeck Pier and HMS Vernon from 1942 to 1949. The words inscribed on the plaque speak to a unique period in the life of Birnbeck Pier, for in 1941 the pier, and the island to which it is linked, was requisitioned by the Admiralty for secret war time weapons testing. Full story HERE
The Woodspring Bay wrecks (1944) A couple of years ago I spent a fascinating few hours with three farming friends in the village of Kingston Seymour on the North Somerset coast. We were exploring the history of two Second World War era wrecks which had been deliberately sunk in Woodspring Bay by the so-called 'Wheezers and Dodgers', a group of scientists and Admiralty personnel based at Birnbeck Pier. Full story HERE
