Wincobank Hill Gun Stands

[gracie 10]

Does anyone have any memories of the 2 gunstands that used to be on the top of Wincobank Hill ?.One was made of red brick (which you could crawl under) and the other was made of concrete and this one had the word

BLOGGO painted on the front which could be seen for miles around.

Does anyone know why bloggo was painted on and were the 2 stands actually for Anti Aircraft Guns or were they for Searchlights ?.

[nikita 10]

Sorry cant help you with your question but i had a brightside news letter pushed through my door and there is something going off in the upper wincobank chapel, wincobank avenue, near bluebell medical centre, on the 8 may at7.30 it is The natural and local history of wincobank hill from the celts to present day.Maybe that would be of interest to you.

[TFishcake 10]

Does anyone have any memories of the 2 gunstands that used to be on the top of Wincobank Hill ?.One was made of red brick (which you could crawl under) and the other was made of concrete and this one had the word

BLOGGO painted on the front which could be seen for miles around.

Does anyone know why bloggo was painted on and were the 2 stands actually for Anti Aircraft Guns or were they for Searchlights ?.

 

Hi gracie, we used to play up there a lot as kids , the top one made of brick was the gunstand, and the lower one or the BLOGGO stand as it was called was the searchlight stand.

[Timbuck 10]

On windy days we would stand on top of them facing into the wind..Then stretch out our jackets with our hands like to form wings and then jump..... as far as we were concerned , We were flying.

[gracie 10]

Thanks Timbuck , thats exactly what i did when i was a nipper and i also took my two sons up there and taught them how to do it (anyway , it was a good excuse for me to do it again !!). Anyone else have any memories ?.

[Pegasus 10]

There was also a gun stand just off Jenkin Road on the right behind the houses on Ridge View Drive. a friend of mine has a house there and says that if you dig down about a foot in his back garden you hit the brickwork. There's a photograph on the picturesheffield website but I can't find it or I would have posted a link. There's a young lady posing on it with the steel works in the background.

[wendy Lee 10]

Does anyone have any memories of the 2 gunstands that used to be on the top of Wincobank Hill ?.One was made of red brick (which you could crawl under) and the other was made of concrete and this one had the word

BLOGGO painted on the front which could be seen for miles around.

Does anyone know why bloggo was painted on and were the 2 stands actually for Anti Aircraft Guns or were they for Searchlights ?.

 

in1952 my grandma had a cottage at the top of wincobank hill i think there was 3cottages they came under compulsary purchase so they could build new housing estate but dont remember gunstands but then i was only 5 at the time

[Frankie Rage 10]

I certainly remember going up there as a kid and playing on the red brick stand and the concrete stand .. I vaguely remember 'bloggo' too. Must have been the early '60's..

[Grubshifter 10]

I remember the gunstand and searchlight stand on Wincobank Hill. I also remember the ones lower down just off Jenkin Road. I saw a diagram once of ones similar to those off Jenkin and if these were the same they would have been connected by tunnels to an underground ammo dump. If the original gunstands are still there and buried its possible that the tunnels might still exist. Somebody send for Tony Robinson and the Time Team to search the site with ground radar.

I used to know some of the people who lived in the cottages on top of the hill. One was farmer Rabajohn and he had fields on the Brightside side of the hill which were still used in the 1950's before the present Sandstone Estate was built. I was watching with my dad on the Sunday afternoon when the cottages were struck by lightning which caused a fire and soon afterwards they were demolished. I also remember that the cottages didn't have proper sanitation and that an old fashioned side entry bin wagon would go up there and empty the thunderboxes (bin like toilets which were housed under fixed wooden seats) it used to stink terrible. The White family also lived in one of the cottages.

[wendy Lee 10]

I remember the gunstand and searchlight stand on Wincobank Hill. I also remember the ones lower down just off Jenkin Road. I saw a diagram once of ones similar to those off Jenkin and if these were the same they would have been connected by tunnels to an underground ammo dump. If the original gunstands are still there and buried its possible that the tunnels might still exist. Somebody send for Tony Robinson and the Time Team to search the site with ground radar.

I used to know some of the people who lived in the cottages on top of the hill. One was farmer Rabajohn and he had fields on the Brightside side of the hill which were still used in the 1950's before the present Sandstone Estate was built. I was watching with my dad on the Sunday afternoon when the cottages were struck by lightning which caused a fire and soon afterwards they were demolished. I also remember that the cottages didn't have proper sanitation and that an old fashioned side entry bin wagon would go up there and empty the thunderboxes (bin like toilets which were housed under fixed wooden seats) it used to stink terrible. The White family also lived in one of the cottages.

 

i remember the toilets or should i say midins they were at the end of the garden inside a shed with wood across with holes in that you sat on to do your duty there wasnt any bins it just seemed to go miles down into goodness knows where,thats how i remember it.think on e family was called green my grandma was called watson she lived there with my aunty and her baby son the cottage belonged to my grandma which was sold under compulsary purchase for the standon estate around 1953 as i was 5/6 years at the time could have been later im not sure

[Grubshifter 10]

I think the cottages survived until approx. 1960. They were definately still standing after the first bungalow was erected on the top of Jenkin Road but I think they were demolished before the castle/tower which was also at the top of the hill but on the opposite side of the track.