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The concrete pillbox on Bromborough Road was just one of many defences set up around Wirral in
case of an airborne invasion from the Germans during WW2. The pillbox was placed strategically to
defend the road in from the New Chester road and surrounding railway stations. The New Chester
road was itself defended by two separate pillboxes on either side. The Spital pillbox is hidden away
tucked behind an old wall and would have been hard pressed to spot until the soldiers had come
around the corner straight into the line of fire.
This type of pill box is known as the type 22, it is a regular hexagon in shape with an embrasure in five
of the sides and an entrance in the other. The embrasures are suitable for rifles or light machine guns.
Some have a low entrance that allows an extra embrasure above. Each wall is about 6 feet (1.8 m)
long and it was generally built to the bullet proof standard of 12 inches (30 cm) thick, although
'tank-gun proof' versions with walls around 1 m thick were also built (e.g. the granite and concrete
examples on the Cowie Line in Kincardineshire). Internally there is a Y- or T- shaped anti-ricochet wall
(the top of the Y/T nearest the entrance), the internal wall also helps support the roof. The type 22 is
the second most common pillbox type with 1209 recorded as being extant. It is easily confused with the
common type 24 which is an irregular hexagon and the less common octagonal.
case of an airborne invasion from the Germans during WW2. The pillbox was placed strategically to
defend the road in from the New Chester road and surrounding railway stations. The New Chester
road was itself defended by two separate pillboxes on either side. The Spital pillbox is hidden away
tucked behind an old wall and would have been hard pressed to spot until the soldiers had come
around the corner straight into the line of fire.
This type of pill box is known as the type 22, it is a regular hexagon in shape with an embrasure in five
of the sides and an entrance in the other. The embrasures are suitable for rifles or light machine guns.
Some have a low entrance that allows an extra embrasure above. Each wall is about 6 feet (1.8 m)
long and it was generally built to the bullet proof standard of 12 inches (30 cm) thick, although
'tank-gun proof' versions with walls around 1 m thick were also built (e.g. the granite and concrete
examples on the Cowie Line in Kincardineshire). Internally there is a Y- or T- shaped anti-ricochet wall
(the top of the Y/T nearest the entrance), the internal wall also helps support the roof. The type 22 is
the second most common pillbox type with 1209 recorded as being extant. It is easily confused with the
common type 24 which is an irregular hexagon and the less common octagonal.
| Map of roads defended |
| Pillbox front view |
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| Pillbox front rear view & entrance |
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