Monument record MBC45155 - A Second World War roadside ammunition dump, North Lake.

A Second World War roadside ammunition dump is visible on historic aerial photographs and was mapped as part of the North Buckinghamshire Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18304). Located along both sides of the Padbury to Adstock road adjacent North Lake and centred at SP 74395 29439, the ammunition storage area comprises twelve rectangular buildings, each about 5 x 3 metres, with long sides parallel with the road, all laid out over 104 metres. These portable corrugated iron shelters, or hutments, were usually camouflaged and covered stacks of artillery or small arms ammunition. Roadside storage not only made the ammunition easily accessible but dispersed the risk of a large loss of munitions in the event of an explosion, whether accidental or the result of a German air raid. The munitions storage hutments are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1946, but all have been demolished by 1948 (1-4).