Chris Kolonko-Weet
@ckolonko.bsky.social
Archaeologist specialising in UK's F/SWW Home Front & Invasion Defences. Often mistaken for a palaeontologist, architect, & 'pillbox hunter'. I don't know anything about the Atlantic Wall. chriskolonko.wordpress.com youtube.com/@remembertheregs
As always, while trawling documents for information, I stumble across something that sheds more light on a subject I have already covered. I've discovered what the Home Guard did for the Broads Flotilla in Norfolk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Woi...
Home Defence Battalions follow up: The Real Role of the Home Guard and the Broads Flotilla
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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Time for some Random Ramblings. This time I'll take a little look at the complexity of units within the East Anglia Area in January 1940. youtu.be/YWFelrNyEUA
Random Ramblings 31 July 2026 (No AI)
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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Great to have you joining us @ckolonko.bsky.social! Our question is: what would you say to someone who knows nothing about your specialisation to help them understand why it's so important/why they should be interested?
Just realised it is #askanarchaeologist day. Drop any questions relating to early 20th century military stuff in the UK my way.
Time for me to draw some attention to the Home Defence Battalions. They were not Home Guard. But they were much more important. Let's take a look. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XxJ...
Forgotten Defenders Part 2: National Defence Companies and Home Defence Battalions No AI
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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Quick vid time! How much had the construction of the defences in the UK cost by November 1940? It was a lot! youtu.be/Z1zfn2_XJbQ
How much?!?! The cost of building the defences- November 1940 #NoAI
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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Illicit metal detecting is theft of our Heritage, a loss to our knowledge, understanding and any artefact's provenance. It's damaging not only to the land and environment but to all ethical law abiding detectorists too. 1/3 #HeritageCrime
The 55th Division, responsible for defending Suffolk from mid-1940 have now taken the lead in the 'first place to stop building pillboxes race. Previously it was the whole of Northern Command with a date of November 1940.
I found some time to make a quick Random Ramblings while I melt. Here's a quick look at how intel on German AFVs was shared to Home Forces units, in this case the Norfolk Division, in May 1941. youtu.be/ElNMhfbNWVM
Random Ramblings Enemy Tank Intel May 1941
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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I haven't messed around with photogrammetry for years but have been reminded that I need to write this up. I had a go at using 1940s stereographic aerial photographs to recreate wartime landscapes for further analysis. The results have got better now the software has improved.
And here is the cancellation of the G.H.Q. Line in Northern Command and Scottish Command which eventually came on the 3rd of August.
And Northern Command being Northern Command once again. On the 30th of June 1940, the Commander of NORCO made it very clear that he dislikes the G.H.Q. Line policy, but would undertake the recce work anyway.
General Ironside is often, if not always, criticised for his 'static' defences. But here it is on the 15th of June 1940, in the initial plan of defence under his new scheme, that mobility was a key component of defence.
Let's take a look at Home Guard mythology in the spiritual home of Dad's Army, the Norfolk town of Thetford. This is a case study in why documentary research is needed to properly understand how the UK was defended during the Second World War. youtu.be/9NrxseFHqXw?...
Defending Second World War Thetford: Not Just The Home Guard (No AI)
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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Just got back from IWM Duxford. Haven't been for about 8 years, with this being the first time since ai was 16 where I got to take a proper look around! Really enjoyed the new visual displays for the D-Day USAF briefing and the BoB Ops Room. Was blown away by the sense of tension with the latter.
There are almost no crustaceans in the deep ocean. Not because they would get crushed, but because they would DISSOLVE. The cold & high pressure cause changes to water that make it very corrosive to calcium carbonate shells. But there's one crustacean who solves this problem with ALUMINUM ARMOR.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a pillbox myth blog. This time I’ll be doing a critique of Pillboxes by Henry Wills to look at whether the drawings presented in this book are original, as is often claimed. chriskolonko.wordpress.com/2026/05/23/p...
Pillbox Myths #7
Pillbox myths- Wills’ Pillbox Drawings I’m currently writing a report and academic paper which I would like to outline the origins of the drawings published in Pillboxes by Henry Wills which was pu…
chriskolonko.wordpress.com
And a bonus video looking at what we can learn from a particularly interesting #SecondWorldWar image. youtu.be/U-tAheALdP8
What's in an image? 2-Slit trenches and Sections Posts (No AI)
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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In another tangent, I may have to look into the removal of road signs during the war. I haven't come across any information regarding this in the period documents, as far as I remember. Maybe another case of something implemented in some but not all areas, which has now become a popular factoid.
Kicking off my new series looking at how the UK was defended during the Second World War, I'm going to start by looking at a period before war had even been declared! youtu.be/NmK8S2HV-lA #secondworldwar #secondworldwarhistory #ww2 #ww2history
Part 1: August to early September 1939 Defence Commences
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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What better way to start the weekend than recording a video looking at why the role of the Regular and Territorial Army have largely been forgotten? #SecondWorldWar #History #WW2 youtu.be/yztlRdOGKGw
Why don't we Remember The Regulars but Remember the Home Guard? A Critical Analysis
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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Well, they had plenty of matches for lighting 'molotov cocktails'!
Another unit to add to the the ORBAT and list of 'Units that did stuff the Home Guard didn't do but are believed to have done today'.
Something a bit different. Let's see what an image can tell us about the operation of a 6-pounder anti-tank gun within a pillbox. A moan about shrapnel thrown in for good measure 🤣 youtu.be/LrNkwwujIMA #WW2 #History #Archaeology
What's in an image? 6-pounder anti-tank gun pillbox case study
YouTube video by Remember the Regulars
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It’s nice to get confirmation of how short-lived the construction of the GHQ Line was. Northern Command and Scottish Command were both ordered to no longer develop their respective sections of the line on the 3rd of August 1940.
