Monument record SOL 041 - World War Two military training site on Fritton Decoy

December 2013. Lothingland, Lowestoft and North Suffolk Coast and Heaths National Mapping Programme.
Evidence of World War Two military training activity is visible as cleared and disturbed ground, small earthworks, tracks and structures on aerial photographs of Fritton Decoy (S1)-(S4), centred at TM 4812 9988. As visible in 1944, it includes small jetties or similar floating structures adjacent to both the south (centred at TM 4761 9970) and north side of the lake (centred at TG 4753 9985, within Norfolk). A cleared area at TM 4818 9990, mapped by extent, was occupied by what appear to be lozenge-shaped mounds of material, with possible covered structures at their western end. To the east, at TG 4838 0010, there are further structures and very recently disturbed ground (the latter also mapped by extent). The Norfolk Historic Environment Record for Fritton decoy (NHER 13527) records that as part of the training tanks were ‘swum’ across the water and that one still lies at the bottom of the lake. A possible launching area on the north side of the lake, again visible on aerial photographs, has been recorded previously (NHER 43356). It is likely that remnants of the earthworks and structures could still survive on the ground but this has not been verified on the consulted aerial photographs.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 3rd December 2013.

November 2014. Lothingland, Lowestoft and North Suffolk Coast and Heaths National Mapping Programme.
Ground survey work at this site during 2013 (S5) has confirmed the survival of substantial structures and earthworks at this site and has allowed a detailed plan of the camp and associated structures – largely obscured by tree coverage on the aps – and not mapped in detail as part of the NMP. See (S5) for detailed discussion of the function of the individual areas and structures at the training site and camp. As part of this work the site has also been allocated the SHER SOL 029. The above recording will need to be combined with SOL 029 at a later date.
S. Horlock (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 14th November 2014.