Monument record MBC45402 - A Second World War roadside ammunition dump, Padbury.

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 on the A413 Padbury to Adstock road and centred at SP 72651 30216, the ammunition storage area comprises 12 rectangular buildings, each about 5 x 3 metres, with 10 set out in 5 pairs and 2 further single buildings set out in over 94 metres. Four pairs and a single building have long sides perpendicular to the road, with the remaining pair and a single building having long sides parallel with the road. 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).