Sowley House Searchlight Site
WWII searchlights formed part of a system of aircraft detection linking locator devices, searchlights, and antiaircraft (AA) guns. The locators sent electronic information to the lights and guns, which in turn tracked the target. Once a locator had “locked on” to an enemy aerial target, the concept was for both lights and guns to be trained on the target so it could be nearly simultaneously illuminated and then destroyed. For this to system to work successfully it required a whole network of searchlights and AA batteries across the country. The New Forest was well covered by searchlights and AA batteries, due to the open ground available and the proximity to large urban areas that were on the front line of the conflict for many years between the fall of France and the build-up to D-Day. Even after D-Day both played an important role in defending against V1 flying rockets.
Many of these sites can still be seen as echoes in the New Forest landscape, but just as many have been removed and leave no trace. Work in the war diaries has led us to be able to accurately map their locations and density across the New Forest.
War diaries will often record little more than codes, locations, daily activity, movements and interactions with other units whilst others can be much more descriptive, with daily reports on operations, intelligence summaries and other material. The diaries do not usually contain information about particular people: they are unit diaries, not personal diaries. Many maps and plans were included in the original diaries but some confidential material was removed before the files were made available. This accounts for the absence of some appendices referred to in many of the diaries. You can explore the war diaries through the National Archives.
The War Diary references for this site follow below:
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/3066 – War Diary of 48 S/L Bn, R.E., 1939-41.
Date: 15/2/1940
Site: Sawley [sic] <526/36>
Unit: 394 Coy, 48 S/L Bn, R.E. (new deployment following relief of 342 Coy by 454 Coy)
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/3066 – War Diary of 48 S/L Bn, R.E., 1939-41.
Date: 28/4/1940
Site: 526/36
Military grid ref.: U815159
Generator: Lister
Projector: Mk.V 90cm
Sound Locator: Mk.IX
Unit: 455 Coy, 48 S/L Bn, R.E. (takes over from 394 Coy on this date)
equipped with W/T
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/3066 – War Diary of 48 S/L Bn, R.E., 1939-41.
Date: 12/5/1940
Unit: 394 Coy, 48 S/L Bn, R.E., returns from practice camp and relieves 455 Coy.
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/3066 – War Diary of 48 S/L Bn, R.E., 1939-41.
Date: 25/5/1940
Site: Sowley House, 526 Area
Military grid ref.: U815160
Unit: 394 Coy, 48 S/L Bn, R.E.
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/2267 – War Diary of 35 AA Bde, 1939-40.
Date: 31/5/1940
Site: Sowley House, 526/35
Military grid ref.: U815160
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/2267 – War Diary of 35 AA Bde, 1939-40.
Date: 25/6/1940
Site: Sowley House, 526/35
Military grid ref.: U815160
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/2267 – War Diary of 35 AA Bde, 1939-40.
Date: 1/8/1940
Site: Sowley House, 526/35
Military grid ref.: U815160
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/2267 – War Diary of 35 AA Bde, 1939-40.
Date: 29/9/1940 (same situation on 31/10/1940)
Site: Sowley House, 526/35
Military grid ref.: U815160
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/2267 – War Diary of 35 AA Bde, 1939-40.
Date: 17/12/1940
Site: Sowley House, TG01//35
Military grid ref.: U815160
Ref.: TNA:PRO WO 166/2290 – 47 AA Bde, 1941.
Date: 13/9/1941
Site: Sowley, TG01/81
Military grid ref.: U815160
Unit: 392 Btty, 48 S/L Regt, R.A.
The name of this site indicates it was on the west side of the stream from Sowley Pond as opposed to the east where a HAA emplacement was situated. It may well be the same Search light site later called Pitts Deep.