It is widely known around here that this brick structure on Percy Rigg was once a World War Two control bunker, part of a secret Air Ministry plan to protect British towns from German bombing raids. The scheme relied on decoys—an unusual mix of science and theatre designed to mislead the Luftwaffe.
Wikipedia devotes a page to Operation Starfish and credits Colonel John Turner as the brains, but a lesser-known source—the Richmond Herald, 1st December 1945—features Squadron-Leader Norman Howard, who claimed a central role. His account is more vivid, and rather less tidy1Sq/Leader Norman Howard’s Story of Britain’s Decoys. Richmond Herald – 01 December 1945. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004049/19451201/103/0010.
At first, the decoy programme used fake planes and factories to trick bombers during daylight raids. But when the Germans switched to night attacks, the game changed. After the Coventry blitz, Howard’s team had to simulate fire-bombed towns using oil drums, tar, and rags. The idea was to draw bombs away from real targets by creating the illusion they had already been hit.
By summer 1941, the decoys became more elaborate. They used lights laid out to mimic entire streets, airfields, and industrial zones. There were devices to fake bomb flashes, and controlled fires to imitate destruction—oil refineries, chemical plants, dockyards. I had always thought some trenches below the bunker were part of the ploy, but this actual decoy site lies 640 metres to the south-east, which is more sensible. The Ministry of Defence would not have encouraged bombs near their own command post2Historic England Research Records. Starfish Bombing Decoy Sf10d. Hob Uid: 1469768. https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1469768&sort=2&rational=m&recordsperpage=60&maplat=54.49850000&maplong=-1.06480000&mapisa=1000&mapist=ll&mapilo=-1.0648&mapila=54.4985&mapiloe=w&mapilan=n&mapios=NZ605118&mapigrn=511881&mapigre=460560&mapipc=&resourceID=19191#.
The blackout was strict and essential. A decoy could only work if the real town remained in darkness. Most locals played along. Villagers and farmers cooperated, though a few landowners did not. Howard recalled watching enemy planes bomb a decoy airfield while he was observing its effectiveness from an unarmed plane. He also told of civilians arrested by the Home Guard for setting up his decoy lamps, mistaken for saboteurs, until he intervened. One retired railwayman, upon discovering that pressing buttons might attract enemy bombs, left his post immediately.
As for here on Great Ayton Moor, though I have been unable to find any record to suggest that it was ever bombed, the wider effort is thought to have saved thousands of lives. Still, if you stumble across a mysterious metal tube in the heather, best leave it alone. It might not be scrap.
- 1Sq/Leader Norman Howard’s Story of Britain’s Decoys. Richmond Herald – 01 December 1945. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004049/19451201/103/0010
- 2Historic England Research Records. Starfish Bombing Decoy Sf10d. Hob Uid: 1469768. https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1469768&sort=2&rational=m&recordsperpage=60&maplat=54.49850000&maplong=-1.06480000&mapisa=1000&mapist=ll&mapilo=-1.0648&mapila=54.4985&mapiloe=w&mapilan=n&mapios=NZ605118&mapigrn=511881&mapigre=460560&mapipc=&resourceID=19191#
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