Roadblock Project

Background to the project

The Roadblocks project is based on a report I discovered in The National Archives in 2008. In it was a full survey of nearly 500 roadblocks in the East Sussex Divisional Area in 1941 detailed down to the number of different types of obstacle at each site.

I decided that a return visit to each location would be a useful way of gaining an understanding of how roadblocks were sited as well as listing what still remains.

Two questions I also want to answer are:

1. How many listed roadblock sites still retain some evidence?
2. Is the presence today of obstacles (eg buoys, cylinders etc) at the roadside a reliable indicator of a roadblock location?

Roadblocks Project
Research	Documentary Desktop Fieldwork
Purpose	To revisit as many roadblock sites as possible and evaluate how they fitted in with the general plan of defence Record what still remains (regardless of location) Investigate how much material remains at actual roadblock locations
Topography	Roadside locations in general terrain
Sites visited	250 as of 30 July 2010 (of 473 sites; 223 still to visit)

Study Method

I started by creating a database from the report; this was a complicated process which is described on the database page.

I then began using the database to generate site data summaries which I printed out to accompany me into the field. These data sheets were invaluable, as they contained all the vital information from the report indicating the types of obstacle that might still be evident. They were also helpful in uncovering data entry errors in the database, which were then corrected.

Site visits were then conducted and remaining evidence recorded.

The numbers of buoys and cylinders evident at non-roadblock locations were also listed, to see if they might have originated from a known nearby block. So far, it has been found that such obstacles that can still be found at the roadside are unlikely to be at a recorded roadblock location.

Site visits began in July 2008 and it is anticipated that I will have visited most of them by the end of 2009. The table above gives visit statistics, and brief reports will continue to appear in my blog.