SN6311 : Front of Pillbox on Argoed Road
taken 11 years ago, near to Betws, Carmarthenshire/Sir Gaerfyrddin, Wales
This is a hexagonal concrete pillbox right beside the single track Argoed Road in Betws, Ammanford. Its location seems odd in that it does not defend the junction on the mountain road 300m to the east but faces down a relatively inaccessible steep hill in an area that has always been wooded to some degree since before even the first world war. There is evidence of a levelled track traversing the hillside just below the pillbox but this has never been significant enough to feature on any map.
There are no internal structures inside the box. The window slots (known as "loopholes") look wider than most other photos of similar pillboxes that I can find.
The flat roof has accumulated enough organic debris to support young trees growing on it. The inside is filling up with leaves and rubbish (both litter and fly-tipped bags) such that most of the doorway at the rear is blocked.
This pillbox seems to be a well kept secret. It was not included in the 2006 updated Defence of Britain Archive and at the time of submission seems to be unknown in either of its more official successors: Dyfed Archaeological Trust's Archwilio database or the Royal Commission's Coflein database. Nor does it appear in the Pillbox Study Group's December 2013 Extended D.O.B database.