Peter Hibbs
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sussexpillbox.bsky.social
Peter Hibbs
@sussexpillbox.bsky.social
Historian & amateur archaeologist recording Second World War features in East Sussex, UK. Long-term sufferer of anxiety & depression.

Defence of East Sussex Project: http://www.pillbox.org.uk
Sussex Military Research: http://www.sussexMR.co.uk
Dummy pillbox is set up for the weekend at the Hellingly Festival of Transport! #swwSussex
August 23, 2025 at 7:44 AM
The dummy pillbox has been test-built and is now on its way to the Festival of Transport showground at Hellingly for the weekend! #swwSussex
August 22, 2025 at 8:31 AM
If you used to follow me in the other place, you'll know what this is - watch this space if you don't! #swwSussex
August 14, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Afternoon at Bodiam Castle, grabbing a few pillbox measurements as part of a project I'm working on. Several people asked what I was doing, so I ended up doing some impromptu guided tours.

Also had a eureka moment that changes what we thought we knew about this pillbox! #swwSussex
August 14, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I decided to open an impromptu museum to display the exhibit, with appropriate labelling... 4/4
December 27, 2024 at 11:21 PM
It's an anchor pin for 'Z1 Scaffolding', assembled along low-lying beaches in the UK as an anti-tank obstacle from December 1940. Z1 stretched hundreds of miles at an enormous cost of steel and labour. 3/4
December 27, 2024 at 11:21 PM
I found this steel pin on the beach near Tower 64 - but what is it? 2/4
December 27, 2024 at 11:21 PM
Boxing day walk across The Crumbles, Pevensey Bay; then and now views of Martello Tower 64 in 1987 and 2024. #swwSussex 1/4
December 27, 2024 at 11:21 PM
How was I able to get access? We were filming for 'Architecture the Railways Built' with @mrtimdunn.bsky.social - thanks to all for a fantastic day! Imagine visiting a bucket-list pillbox and having to keep quiet for 11 months until the programme was broadcast... 6/6 [Thread originally posted 2021]
December 3, 2024 at 2:39 PM
Archive documents show that the pillbox was designed for the Vickers gun; one was mounted here in 1940. I had a feeling there were no gun platforms in the pillbox, so I had brought some buckets and a plank to improvise one! 5/6
December 3, 2024 at 2:39 PM
Entry from the roof is through a small door at the eastern end. I was surprised to find that the 'two' pillboxes are actually a single structure connected by a tunnel! 4/6
December 3, 2024 at 2:39 PM
The pillbox is only accessible via the roof, so scaffolding is required. Amazing to finally get close after longfully gazing up from ground level for years! 3/6
December 3, 2024 at 2:39 PM
Opened in 1938, the station building stands above a railway cutting. It's not immediately obvious that the pillbox actually has four embrasures. I build a 3D model a few years ago to help interpret the layout and siting. 2/6
December 3, 2024 at 2:39 PM
In 1940 Bishopstone Station had a pillbox built on its roof, cleverly camouflaged into the Art Deco architecture. In December 2020 I was granted access; read my blog for more detail! pillbox.org.uk/blog/251798/ #swwSussex
1/6
December 3, 2024 at 2:39 PM
I've lost the past year to my mental health and I haven't been active on social media for ages. As part of my rehabilitation, I intend to get out into the landscape and archives, the results of which I will be posting here! 6/6
December 3, 2024 at 1:56 PM
I'm also one half of Sussex Military Research along with Stewart Angell. SMR promotes the study of Sussex's military history, including archaeological surveys and excavations. More on our website at: www.sussexMR.co.uk 3/6
December 3, 2024 at 1:56 PM
Back in 2006, I began my 'Defence of East Sussex' project (www.pillbox.org.uk), which examines SWW military activity in the county. ['SWW'=Second World War - I prefer it to 'WW2']. I use archive documents with fieldwork and sometimes 3D models to analyse the militarised landscape. 2/6
December 3, 2024 at 1:56 PM