Information for record number MWA9690:
Hunningham Lighting Decoy Site

Summary The site of a lighting bombing decoy installation from the Second World War designed to confuse the enemy into dropping their bombs in the wrong place. Documentary evidence places it 800m southwest of Hunningham.
What Is It?  
Type: Bombing Decoy
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Hunningham
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 36 67
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Hunningham lighting decoy site in the QL programme for the Coventry area. It was set up to simulate the lights of a marshalling yard (parallel railway sidings) and so to protect the Armstrong Whitworth Yards. Lighting decoys were a cheap and successful way of confusing enemy aircraft, and date from 1941. Every site differed, so that they were a sort of theatrical lighting show to mimic some local vulnerable point. An associated shelter would have been built to house the generator/s and other equipment.
2 No evidence of the site can be seen on an aerial photo of 1947.
3 site visit of remaining building which was an engine house for the engines/generators used to power the light, it was noted that the engine room was clean of any sign of use during it working live in World War Two. This report is illustrated with photographs of the remains of the building.
4,
5 Contra
2, elements of the lighting decoy site are visible on wartime aerial photographs. On the 1945 RAF? photographs available on Google Earth, clear lines of lighting runs are visible in fields to the immediate south of the river and to the east. Those to the east, in particular, are parallel and seem to imitate railway sidings, as referred to in
1. The engine house, described in
3 is situated at the extreme south corner of a field to the south, suggesting that the decoy site spread across a significant area.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP36NE
Author/originator: RAF
Date: 1947
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 42/36NE
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Twentieth Century Fortifications in England
Author/originator: Dobinson, C S
Date: 1996
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: III
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: Google Earth Aerial and Street View
Author/originator: Google Earth
Date: 1945-present
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: Hunningham Warwickshire Bombing decoy Shelter revised January 2009
Author/originator: John Brace
Date: 2009
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm. Giles Carey
Author/originator: G Carey
Date: 2009-2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
monument YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. back
monument BOMBING DECOY * A system of lights, controlled fires or dummy constructions, used during WWII to provide a counterfeit target for enemy aircraft. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument RAILWAY SIDING * A short piece of track lying parallel to the main railway line enabling trains and trucks to pass one another. Sidings can also be used to park trains which are not in use. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument ENGINE HOUSE * A building housing an engine. Use specific type where known. back
monument MARSHALLING YARD * A series of parallel railway sidings on which goods wagons originating from different locations can be sorted or re-sorted into new trains before being despatched to their next destination or sorting points. back
monument SHELTER * A structure which protects an area of ground from the weather. back
monument FORTIFICATION * A usually permanent defensive work. Use specific type where known. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument ENGINE * A machine, powered by steam, gas, electricity or other energy source, which produces energy of movement. Use for stationary industrial engines rather than transport use. back
monument AIRCRAFT * An aircraft, either whole or in part. Aircraft often survive as commemorative monuments, gate guardians or crash sites. back
monument SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record