Tag: Radar

Following Banksy’s trip to East Anglia over the past few days, it seems he has now visited Harwich. His latest addition (yet to be proven 19.08) has appeared on the side of an historic building overlooking the river estuary between Essex and Suffolk. His latest canvas is the side of the Extended Defence Officers (EXDO) tower which was an important part in the WWII protection of Harwich and Parkeston. A pair of EXDO towers were installed, one each side of the river, to control the observation mines laid c1941.

If you are thinking about coming to Harwich to see this new work of art, why not pop in and see us in the Harwich RDF (Radar) tower to find out more about Harwich during WWII and how the EXDO tower fitted into the system of defence. We will be open again on Sunday 29th August between 11am and 3pm. Hope to see you there 🙂

The weather stayed kind to us today so we were able to welcome people as they walked up to the tower. A quick head count, note of postcode and a brief introduction and visitors are shown into the tower for a tour. Our furthest today came from Nottingham, so word is getting out about our great location 🙂 Some excellent feedback in the visitors book too:

Mick & Elaine: Very interesting

Elaine & Carl: Fantastic building, if only these walls could talk x

Dan & Jordan: Thank you for keeping this going & sharing. Great Job!!

Mara & John: enjoyed the experience well done on all your hard work 🙂

Looking forward to our next open day on Sunday 29th August between 11am and 3pm. If you are planning a trip to Harwich in September, we will be open for the Heritage Weekend open days on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th between 11am and 3pm on both days. Other attractions will be open too including Beacon Hill Battery, Harwich Redoubt, Maritime Museum and the Highlight (lighthouse). Hope to see you soon 🙂

July ended on a good note, and August began on another. Two back to back open days and a steady stream of visitors has made the hard work over the winter worthwhile. We introduced a visitors book on the 25th July and were pleased with some of the entries:

Dan, Amy, George and Benji – So cool! couldn’t believe the Radar! Very interesting.

Harry, Robert and Levene – Great place, love the radar, Thanks.

Dave, Ben and Alex – Very interesting.

The entries kept coming today too:

Tina and Bob – Very interesting.

Nikola and Gervaise – Absolutely fascinating! Incredibly well-maintained, very knowledgeable + friendly staff, Thoroughly enjoyed this visit.

A big thank you to all those who visited us today, and looking forward to out next open day on Sunday 15th August. Hope to see you there 🙂

Following a low key opening on Sunday 27th June, the interpretation panels were back from the printers this week and we were able to open properly today. Even without all the content, the open day on 27th still attracted 34 visitors from as far afield as Sheffield and Stockport, Manchester. These families were on holiday in the Harwich area, and looked up which attractions were open before coming along to see us. This week we posted on the Beacon Hill Facebook Page which is associated with the battery adjacent to the tower. Word must have spread as we had 54 visitors during the day, again with people from Wanlip in Leicester and Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire. We took the time to speak to visitors as they left, and all had positive feedback which was great to hear.

Hopefully, with further research, advertising and an increasing interest in this little known WWII relic, Harwich RDF Tower will be able to make it’s story known to a new generation. We are looking forward to our next open day on Sunday 25th July, starting at 11am. Hope to see you there.