THROUGHOUT history, the Isle of Wight has always played a leading part in Britain’s defence.

Some of this heritage is well-known, such as the Palmerston Follies, but then again, some historic defences lay abandoned and hidden.

Scroll through our gallery of pictures above to see more... 

Here are six historic defences with fascinating histories:

THE ALAN WILLIAMS ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN TURRET (main image above)

What appears as something which looks as though it has been dropped from the outer space, this turret can be seen situated near the St Boniface to Wroxall footpath number V8, and was probably placed in that area in order to help protect Ventnor Radar station during the Second World War.

BREATHER SHAFT FOR THE OLD VENTNOR RAILWAY TUNNEL

Also in that area, one can see a circular round brick structure and this is the breather shaft.

Although built for railway use, it was planned to figure in any nuclear attack during the cold war period.

Buses were to be parked within the tunnel whereupon schoolchildren were to be placed in the buses to benefit from the protection of the tunnel.

This structure lies close to the Williams gun turret and can also be seen from footpath V8.

SECOND WORLD WAR PRISON OF WAR CAMP

During the Second World War conflict, many prisoner of war camps existed around the British Isles.

However little is known or recorded regarding the one that existed at Hamstead Quay, Cranmore.

Searching the undergrowth however reveals evidence of building structures situated within the area of the camps existence.

Some of the prisoners upon release stayed on the Isle of Wight eventually marrying local woman and taking up residence here.

Isle of Wight County Press: Mulby Harbour. Picture courtesy of David White.

Part of a landing bridge at Woodside, which was destined for the D-Day landings at Mulberry Harbour. Picture courtesy of David White.

MULBERRY HARBOUR AND D-DAY

On the beach, east of Woodside can be found at low tide part of a loading bridge which never made the shores of France.

Now covered in seaweed, it can however on close inspection reveal its intended use.

The shores around The Solent played an instrumental part in the building and assembly of the huge invasion fleet.

Many relics of this gigantic undertaking can still be found around the shores of The Solent.

NUCLEAR FALL OUT BUNKERS

Following on from the Second World War came the Cold War threat.

Around the Isle of Wight plans were made in the event of an attack.

Some of these plans involved the construction of bunkers.

The idea was to construct two man bunkers whereupon in the event of an attack, observers could inhabit these underground buildings in order to monitor levels of radiation etc following such an attack.

A handful were built around the Isle of Wight, and indeed still exist, but mostly on private land.

The example in this article was photographed on the outskirts of Newport at Staplers.

THE MYSTERY STRUCTURE

Laying in the middle of a field bordering the Whitwell to Ventnor main road stands a mystery structure.

This smallish building, which is in an advanced state of decay, can possibly be attributed to the Second World War, but for what purpose?

It has all of the signs of being some kind of shelter/observation post.

Maybe one of the County Press readers may be able to highlight its past use.

Like reading stories about the Isle of Wight in bygone days? Click here to visit our Looking Back section.

READ AGAIN: The captain and crew of an Isle of Wight based Dunkirk little ship remembered