R.A.F Speke defences.

[Red Tom]

I am attempting to unearth whatever info I can re the army units stationed in Speke,Liverpool (Lancs) during the war. One relative recalls locals having servicemen billeted in her family home,(and another formed a relationship with one soldier which led to an illegitimate child).Obviously,there must have been defences,but I can only find mention of R.A.F.units. Any hints as to where to begin would be gratefully accepted.

[Elwyn Soutter]

I am not an expert on military matters but at one airfield I know of it was the RAF Regiment that was responsible for the defences and security. That was in the 1970s so don't know whether wartime was the same.

[Ruskie]

Like you I have found that any googling of Speke and WW2 only gives information related to the RAF.

Might any army bases that your relatives recall have been elsewhere in the area rather than Speke itself?

[Red Tom]

Like you I have found that any googling of Speke and WW2 only gives information related to the RAF.

Might any army bases that your relatives recall have been elsewhere in the area rather than Speke itself?

No Ruskie, there is no doubt that the family recollections are accurate, at least two different sites in Speke have been mentioned,both near to the Rootes plant,which makes sense.

[Red Tom]

I am not an expert on military matters but at one airfield I know of it was the RAF Regiment that was responsible for the defences and security. That was in the 1970s so don't know whether wartime was the same.

Thank you Elwyn.

[Ruskie]

I don't know if there is a way to ask on here if anyone has memories of army sites in Speke in WW2:
http://www.spekeliverpool.co.uk/

[MaxD]

Liverpool was defended by a multitude of Royal Artillery anti-aircraft units of  33 (Western) Anti-Aircraft Brigade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33rd_(Western)_Anti-Aircraft_Brigade and 53 Light Anti Aircraft Brigade.

I use the term multitude because each of the regiments that made up the brigades had a number of batteries comprising usually four individual gun sites so if you do the sums from the organisation you get an awful lot of candidates. Many of the men (there were women too) were indeed billeted with local families if there was no barracks nearby.

Finding out which gun sites were deployed where would be, I suggest, mission impossible.  One would have to comb each battery's war diary which in any event may not show such information.  As to finding out who was manning each gun, definitely not possible.

However, the likelihood that the men were members of the Royal Artillery is very high indeed (after all, their motto is Ubique (Everywhere)).   

maxD

[MaxD]

http://www.anti-aircraft.co.uk/HAA_gun_sites_map.html has been posted on another site. A discussion on that site provides the information that Liverpool had 51 Heavy Anti-Aircraft sites in April 1941 and acknowledges that finding out where each was situated was "not easy" and that was a researcher speaking.  I don't know whether a similar map exercise has been attempted for Light AA and SL (Searchlight) batteries, I'll enquire.

maxD

[Red Tom]

I don't know if there is a way to ask on here if anyone has memories of army sites in Speke in WW2:
http://www.spekeliverpool.co.uk/

Thank you Ruskie,but I have previously sought information re the subject on that site,to no avail,but I appreciate your help.