Stop Lines used a combination of geography and construction to make continuous defences. It would have been quite lonely for some members of the Home Guard stationed in the more remote pillboxes. The Taunton Stop Line was a World War II defensive line in south west England. For further questions, inquiries on your City of Taunton Water/Sewer Utility Bill, etc. I moved to Axminster in 2017 and became intrigued buy the many pill boxes around the area. Learn how to create your own. It was designed to consist of 293 pillboxes and 15 gun emplacements, along with anti-tank blocks, defensive walls, anti … Taunton Stopline “A World War 2 anti-invasion stop line, facing west, built between July and November 1940. Book Format: One of a pair of pillboxes with large embrasures built into hedgerow. The innermost and longest was the GHQ Line. On 25th June 1940, General Paget, Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief Home Forces submitted General Ironside`s anti-invasion plan to the War Cabinet in the form of Home Forces Operation Instruction No.3. The stop line runs for approximately 50 miles from the mouth of River Brue to the mouth of the River Axe in Devon (with some infrastructure in Dorset). Road and rail blocks were an important aspect of the Taunton Stop Line. This map was created by a user. This is an excellent account of the Taunton Stop Line, detailing its geography and structures and relating it to the broader military landscape of WW2. Pillbox embrasures, Large, on the Taunton Stop Line at Downs Farm near Donyatt, OS reference ST342139. The Taunton Stop Line was a World War II defensive line in southwest England. There are well over 500 anti-tank posts near Chard Reservoir. The Taunton Stop Line was one of more than 50 similar defensive lines that were constructed around England, all designed to compartmentalise the country to contain any breakthrough until reinforcements could arrive. It was designed "to stop an enemy's advance from the west and in particular a rapid advance supported by armoured fighting vehicles (up to the size of a German medium tank) which may have broken through the forward defences.". The Taunton Stop Line was the major line in the South West and ran between Pawlett Hill, near Burnham-on-Sea, to Axmouth...a distance of around 40 miles. Part of a complex of fortifications. Some rear positions were prepared to the E of line. It has been easier to keep some anti-tank walls than try to knock them down! Vickers Medium Machine Gun emplacement with large, stepped, front embrasure and the blast wall which covers the entrance. The Taunton Stop Line was one of more than fifty similar defensive lines that were constructed around England in WWII, all designed to compartmentalise the country to contain any breakthrough until reinforcements could arrive. A Stop-Line would be a continuous anti-tank obstacle, natural if possible, covered by Pillboxes and other prepared positions. It brought back many memories of my own surveys of the Line back in the early 2000s. Specifications. This book looks at the role and locations of the Taunton stop line, a fifty-mile defensive wall’ spanning Somerset, Devon and Dorset, and its lasting legacy that can still be seen today across the idyllic rolling countryside of the South-West. Publisher: Amberley Publishing. please call the Water Division at 508-821-1045 or visit the offices at the Dept. 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