Wick pillbox museum gets 'dazzle camouflage' look ahead of open day events
Wick's World War II pillbox museum has been given a striking new look ahead of two fundraising open days planned for this weekend.
Denny Swanson, volunteer manager of the brick fortress on the north side of Wick Bay, has painted the exterior in bold black-and-white shapes in the style of dazzle camouflage.
This was a technique used in both world wars with the aim of confusing the enemy by making it more difficult to calculate a ship’s size, speed, distance and direction.
The pillbox door now features a soldier silhouette based on the set of plywood figures Denny created a couple of years ago for the town's annual remembrance commemorations.
Denny (84), a former military policeman, has also improved access to the site, halfway up the brae above the North Baths, by installing a metal handrail made from old scaffolding poles.
All the materials for the paint job and the handrail installation were donated by local businesses and organisations.
"I want to thank the contractors who have helped me out," Denny said.
The open days are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 2pm, weather permitting
Donations will be invited to help cover ongoing costs and ensure the facility can open again next year.
Pillboxes were constructed as part of British anti-invasion plans and there are a number of them around the Caithness coastline.
The pillbox museum was established in 2019 after Denny and other volunteers cleared out the structure, dug out the steps and returfed the roof. The project also involved placing a bench, a flagpole and a memorial stone nearby.
Items on display inside include three replica Bren guns, British and German helmets, a sextant, an oscilloscope, a World War II telephone set and lengths of cordite, as well as a compass from a Spitfire that crashed at Wick aerodrome.
There are shell casings from the Isleford, which sank in Wick Bay in 1942, along with artefacts from other ships that came to grief in the local area, including a piece of brass from a three-masted schooner which ran aground at Broadhaven.
During the war the structure was manned by five soldiers 24 hours a day to guard against any German invasion force coming from occupied Norway.
The artefacts will be taken away and kept in storage over the winter, but anyone wishing to arrange to visit the pillbox during the next month or so can find contact details for Denny on flyers in some local shops – or, in his words, "just ask for the pillbox man".
Denny and other volunteers had previously worked on the restoration of the Iron Wellie, a natural spring well located on the North Head path.
