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This story was submitted by Allen Buckroyd, who compiled ‘Great Baddow Oral History’, published in December 2003. The book contained this contribution from Bert Collis and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the terms and conditions.

The Village in Wartime
Bert Collis — Anti-tank Gun
In Great Baddow there was an anti-tank gun emplacement at the corner of Molrams Lane and Maldon Road where the petrol station is now. It was disguised as a shop (made out of plywood), but built in a concrete bunker. The anti-tank gun poked through the shop window and even had a Wall’s ice cream advert pasted on the barrel to disguise it! There were six soldiers based there, and when they were issued with rifles they managed to get an extra one for my father to use in an emergency. Dad was ex-grenadier guards (and the local Police Constable) and could handle a rifle.

On the plan for defending Essex it was anticipated that the route for invasion would have been from the direction of Maldon and Danbury so this anti-tank gun was pointing that way. All the pillboxes in the area were on a line more or less parallel to the route of the A130 to Southend. At the Molrams Lane gun emplacement the local people used to take it in turns to provide a hot meal everyday for the soldiers. So even the civilians were involved in the war effort. The whole country was on a war footing. Everyone was doing his or her bit.

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