The Piercy Aquaduct in Wartime

"At first glance there doesn't appear to be anything extraordinary about the bridge, but closer inspection reveals square shapes cut out of the metal at regular intervals along its span. Local people who have little knowledge of what the local Home Guard got up to during the war, must have driven underneath the aqueduct many times without noticing the small rectangular shapes standing out against their dark surroundings. Les was able to tell us that they were in fact made for the Home Guard as firing ports to use in what would have been a token gesture against a possible enemy advance along the Old Walsall Road towards Birmingham, one of the original main routes into the city. It is difficult to imagine that a few rifles thus employed would have been of much worth, but, as part of the greater picture, it no doubt acted as a morale booster for the local Home Guard. The square holes cut out of the metal bridge are about six by three inches in size and at a height which would allow a soldier to fire his rifle lying prostrate on the ground and unseen by the enemy below. "

Les Davies in the Black Country Bugle, 28th October 2004