Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Oxton abandoned military base

I remember when we moved to Oxton in '68 there was still a huge abandoned military base on what is now the field in Shavington Avenue. A lot of it was flooded and it was infested with rats. Anyone got any photos ?

Also The Quarry (field behind Aldi - Duck Pond Lane). This used to be much rougher ground and a great place for kids to explore. I remember it having really deep trenches and I was told it used to have pits where kids went swimming in the summer

I dont have any photos but just to clarify where you talking about, is it the old RAF base that backed onto holm lane and the old brick works that used to be on the feild behind Aldi?
Only I have just asked my dad. He used to live in that area and he used to go to both these places as a kid. Unfortunately no photos though I'm afraid. Sounds fascinating though, would love to see some pics.

I'm too young to remember, but I'm sure others on here might.

As ghostly1 said, sounds facinating

Well, I'm old enough to remember, but can't help. Pinzgauer, where are you?

Cheers, Chris

That's right ghostly1. If you have Google Earth, the co-ordinates are:
53 22' 34.26"N, 3 03' 24.10"W
for the field where the base was, and
53 22' 30.16"N, 3 03' 01.92"W
for the other one.

Didn't know there'd been a brick works there though. Always used we called it The Quarry as there had been a stone quarry on the site.

My parents house backed onto what we called the quarry as kids but I think if the truth were told it was an old brick works. If I remember correctly when I moved there about mid 60s they were just filling in the ruins of the brick works. I also remember there were hundreds of small mounds of what I realise now were probably [censored] heaps or waste materials from the brick works. I used to spend all my time playing there.

I think the military base off Holm Lane was part of a local ack-ack unit. In 1956 it briefly held refugees who had legged it after the Hungarian uprising. It was all demolished just before they built the "new" houses in the mid '60's.

The claypit of the other side of Holm Lane was the workings of the old Birkenhead Brick Works Co. I think it finished production in 1958/9. A few classmates and myself went up there one Saturday morning to watch them demolish the large chimney attached to the brick kilns. Couldn't use "bang" due to nearby houses. They cut away the base on one side (the way they wanted it to fall) and proped it up with baulks of timber. Set a large fire going around the timbers. Timbers burnt through and chimney fell in a huge cloud of dust and soot.

Before the dust had settled, one of the team had jumped onto the long pile of rubble and was coiling up the copper lightning conductor with the top crown spike. Obviously it was worth a few bob, even in those days !!

As a child, I lived in Ennerdale Road (off Woodchurch Rd) and used to walk home from school (Woodchurch Rd Primary). A distance unheard of nowadays ! En route home used to play in the claypit sometimes - only to get a right row from my Mum for coming home covered in red/brown gunge !!
The 1 1/2d bus fare thus saved went towards a visit to the sweet shop (Thornley's) in Woodchurch Rd.

Thats a great story. Enjoyed reading that

Thanks Pinzgauer. Very interesting post. I also remember the air-raid shelter on The Quarry. It was right behind one of the houses on Holm Lane.

I went to Woody Road School too for a few years and had to walk. My mum used to take me down the lanes behind The Queens Arms. Bet kids these days wouldn't have it.

On the way home, I sometimes used to get sweets from the little shop which was next to The Queens Arms. Remember that ? There was also a small sweet shop in Oxton village until the 70s. It would've been the first shop you came to on the right as you walked down the hill.

I remember the sweet shop in Oxton village, about 59/60, it was owne by some old deaf guy and when you went in you had to shout to get his attention. Cause when we sagged school we would go to Oxton and steal apples from the houses up the top of Rose Mount. We went there as the people on that side would not have known about Temple Rd so we were pretty safe. Aaaah memories.

My mum and dad lived in Claughton Firs in mid-late 60s. My brother was only a toddler and apparently walked out of the flat one evening by himself. My mum was beside herself with worry looking for him. Turns out he was down the road in the Talbot. lol

Good pub the Talbot so I don't blame him. But he might have been better of going to the lolly shop.

Its was about 10 in the evening - when ppl used to leave their front doors open. I think it was a very hot summer.

Holme lane was an anti aircraft battery that was manned by both men & women,however it suffered a direct hit by a german bomb and the resultant explosion was tremendous due to the shells stored on site. The dead were buried in a mass grave in Landigan cemetery which I looked at many years ago. A very sad story I am afraid. It would be interesting if someone could put a photo up of the headstone.

I've photographed all the war graves in Landican using information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and there is no mass grave that I know of. There is a small military cemetery down the first lane on the left with many graves of Royal Artillery and Cheshires of which some are unknown so possibly they are the ones you are talking about? Each grave is marked individually though. I was led to believe that most of those buried there were from Darleydene in Breck road Wallasey although I stand to be corrected.