MEM22306 - Searchlight installation north of Louisa Gate (Building)

Two surviving nissen huts dating from World War Two were apparently part of a searchlight installation. There are daffodils seen growing in this area that mark the crossing point that soldiers used at the time, which they themselves planted. The field has been ploughed and this has uncovered many 'electrodes', used to generate the illumination in the searchlights. [1] Nissen huts were designed by Peter Nissen, an American inventor who created the hut while serving in the 103rd Field Company of the Royal Engineers in April 1916. The semi-circular design was supposedly inspired by an ice-skating rink Nissen had seen in Canada. Such huts were not constructed in Britain during the First World War, but military hut development continued during the inter-war period. Building programmes associated with the Second World War resulted in construction of huts in great numbers, with c. 3500 created for training camps alone. The word “Nissen” quickly became attached to a variety of temporary hut types, and 52 different variations are known from this period. [2] Further research on individual hut types in use on military sites on Exmoor would be of value.