Port War Signal Station - Spurn , UK - World War I Sites on Waymarking.com

"Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent connection to the mainland, but a storm in 2013 made the road down to the end of Spurn impassable to vehicles at high tide.

The island is over three miles (five kilometres) long, almost half the width of the estuary at that point, and as little as 50 yards (45 metres) wide in places. The southernmost tip is known as Spurn Head or Spurn Point and is the home to an RNLI lifeboat station and two disused lighthouses. It forms part of the civil parish of Easington.

Spurn Head covers 280 acres (113 hectares) above high water and 450 acres (181 hectares) of foreshore. It has been owned since 1960 by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is a designated national nature reserve, heritage coast and is part of the Humber Flats, Marshes and Coast Special Protection Area." link

A nearby information board has the following information about the station.

Yorkshire
Wildlife Trust

WELCOME TO THE PORT
WAR SIGNAL STATION

The Port War Signal Station (or PWSS) was a fortified military base that operated as the fire control post for a series of military forts that made up the Humber Area Defence Scheme. These included forts at Kilnsea, Bull Sand, Haile Sand and Spurn Point. The Humber defence scheme was implemented in 1915, in response to a coastal attack by German naval forces the previous winter. The PWSS was the centralised communication hub that would feed commands and information to all other forts. Manned with over 80 personnel and equipped with machine gun posts, the PWSS was an essential lookout post that controlled all of the shipping in and out of the Humber.

If any incoming vessel did not give correct responses to flag, light or radio signals from the PWSS, then the orders would be passed to the various guns on the different forts to open fire and sink it. If the vessel responded correctly it would be ordered to move to the Examination Anchorage. There the vessel would be boarded and checked at close gun range before being allowed through the barriers and into the river.

The information board faces the remains of the signal station which are open for access but are down some steep steps.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust own and maintain the area around Spurn Head. The area is freely accessible to the public with good footpaths, however part of the site can flood at high tide so it is vital to check the tide times.The only charge is £5 for car parking. Cycle hire is also available or alternatively a 3 hour guided trip on a military 4 wheel drive vehicle.

This web site has full details of the area including tide times. link

Type of Historic Site: Military Site Address of Building, Object, or Site: Port War Signal Station Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Reserve Kilnsea, East Riding of Yorkshire United Kingdom HU12 0UH Website: [Web Link] Admission Prices: 0.00 (listed in local currency) One a Scale from 1-5, How Vital was the Site in WWI?: Posted Coordinates Location: The remains of the signal station.

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