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Convoy of WW2 vehicles to celebrate military history

A radar station and archaeological remains can be found on the North Hill site.

Somerset's rich wartime heritage is being celebrated with a convoy of military vehicles.

The parade will travel from the old hospital site in Minehead to the World War Two tank training grounds and radar station on North Hill.

It is part of a free event being hosted by Exmoor National Park Authority to include displays, activities and a walking tour of the historic site.

"We're fortunate to have this really rich historical and archaeological record here on Exmoor, so it's a really exciting adventure to come and discover," said historic environment officer, Dr Lucy Shipley.

Exmoor National Park Authority A green American World War Two vehicleExmoor National Park Authority
The convoy will include vehicles used by British, American and Canadian troops based at Exmoor

North Hill, on Exmoor, was used extensively for military training during World War Two.

It became one of the country's five tank training ranges for British, American and Canadian troops.

It also had a top secret radar station, one of 244 across the country, and was part of a coastal defensive chain to identify ships and low-flying aircraft.

A small one-storey brick building with metal door on grass with a tree in the foreground and plants to the side
The radar station is the only structure to survive from the time the area was used as a training base

"The radar station, which is the only standing structure to survive, is part of the broader landscape of a military training area," Dr Shipley told BBC Radio Somerset.

"We're so lucky also to have the memories of people who were living in Minehead during the war," she added.

Residents, Peter Batchelor and Dudley Parsons, remembered seeing the vehicles being driven along the seafront.

"The Churchill tanks’ caterpillar tracks tore up the roads and damaged iron railings, and the sound, the firing, was like living in a war zone.

"But this soon became part of everyday life," they said.

Royal Air Force A black and white aerial photograph of the training ground Royal Air Force
An aerial photograph taken in 1946 shows the scars left on the landscape at the base

Exmoor ranger, Tim Parish, said: "It was in the early days of mass tank warfare, and so imagine being someone watching these things unloading from the railway station and clanking their way up through the very narrow streets.

"To get to the top of North Hill must have been quite something for everybody involved," he said.

Visitors to the event on Saturday are being asked to donate to the charity CareMoor for Exmoor.

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