Outer London Defence Ring facts for kids
The Outer London Defence Ring was a big defence line built around London during the early part of the Second World War. Its main purpose was to protect London from a possible German invasion. It was also part of a larger network of similar "Stop Lines" across the country.
In June 1940, General Edmund Ironside ordered the building of several circles of defences around London. These included anti-tank barriers and small concrete forts called pillboxes. There were four main lines: The London Inner Keep, London Stop Line Inner (Line C), London Stop Line Central (Line B), and London Stop Line Outer (Line A). The Outer London Ring was the strongest and most developed of these. This was mainly because it could be built in open countryside. However, work on all these lines stopped just weeks later. General Alan Brooke, who took over from Ironside, preferred fighting by moving troops around instead of just defending fixed spots.
What Was the Defence Ring?
The Outer London Defence Ring used a mix of natural rivers and man-made ditches. These ditches were very wide, about 20 feet (6 meters), and deep, about 12 feet (3.6 meters). They completely circled London.
North of London, the defence ring followed a path similar to the M25 motorway today. It started near Watford, followed the River Colne, and went through places like Potters Bar, Cuffley, and Nazeing. Then it ran south through Epping Forest, Loughton, and Chigwell.
Where Can You Still See It?
Many of the pillboxes and anti-tank traps can still be seen today along the ring. However, in most places, the original ditch is no longer visible. It has been covered by the M25 motorway or the growing city areas of London.
Images for kids
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A pillbox under the Bushey Arches Railway Viaduct in Watford. It overlooked the River Colne, which was part of the Outer London Defence Line.
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A pillbox in Shenley, Hertfordshire. It is close to where an anti-tank ditch used to be, but that ditch is now filled in.
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Anti-tank blocks near Newgate Street, Hertfordshire. Here, the defence line followed a railway embankment.
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A pillbox on the Lee Navigation Canal near Nazeing in Essex.
More to Explore
- Fortifications of London
- British anti-invasion preparations of World War II
- GHQ Line
- Taunton Stop Line
- Coquet Stop Line
- London Defence Positions - a defence plan from the Victorian times for London.
- Traffic and Environmental Zone - a "ring of steel" set up in the 1990s to help protect against terrorism.
