Fields of Deception
Britain's Bombing Decoys of World War II
Colin Dobinson
Foreword by Sir Neil Cossons
An exploration of one of the most secret and least-known aspects of Britain's Second World War defences, and of their surviving remains
During the Second World War a secret department was formed at Britain's Air Ministry to co-ordinate a strategy to defeat German bombing by deception. With the help of leading technicians from the film industry, ingeniously designed decoy airfields, towns and military bases were built throughout the island. This campaign of illusion, masterminded by the charismatic Colonel John Fisher Turner, did more to protect Britain's forces and civilians from the Nazi threat than, at the time, they were allowed to know. This is the first detailed study of Britain's bombing decoys, both at war, through their design, locations and operations, and at peace, through their fragmentary survival as enigmatic features in today's landscape. It draws upon a wealth of new research into wartime documents, and includes detailed maps and data showing the patterns of decoy sites across the country. The first book in the Monuments of War series, compiled in support of English Heritage's initiatives to study and preserve Britain's wartime remains, Fields of Deception explores the history and the legacy of one of the least-known aspects of Britain at war.
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About Colin Dobinson Dr Colin Dobinson was born in 1960 in East Sussex. After studying archaeology at York and Cambridge he joined the Council for British Archaeology doing contract research. The present book arises from his work for English Heritage in their Monuments Protection Programme. He lives near Leyburn, in North Yorkshire and his companion volume in the Monuments of War series, AA command is published in 2001.
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