Colliding Worlds on the Chalk

How a product of the colliding worlds of World War II is itself consumed by the sea

I made this image on a trip to the Yorkshire Wolds, as it hits the coast, with Paul Moon. I picked Paul up from Warter village early morning and we headed over in my car to the coast intending to work the tide as it fell. Both Paul and I had different agendas for the day. I was looking for material to contribute to a long-term project I have running and Paul was looking to add more Wolds images to his impressive portfolio.

The conditions were lovely when we arrived – cloudy with soft light. As we walked along the beach past this pillbox from World War II, my Colliding Worlds theme immediately came to mind.

Its position in the sea here – like a Trojan Tortoise version of the opening scene of Nolan’s film of The Odyssey – is no accident. The observation posts were erected all the way along the coast at the start of World War II as the colliding worlds and cultures of the Nazi forces threatened to invade the defending British. The pillbox was strategically placed where the chalk gives way to the glacial till and clays as that was the most likely invasion point with the lower softer clay giving easy access for an invading army. This in turn sealed its long-term fate – the collision between the forces of the sea and the soft clay eroded the land and brought the pillbox tumbling onto the beach to be consumed. Worlds colliding.