Woodcroft halt
Encyclopedia
Halt
Halt can refer to:* Train station § Halt, a small train station, usually unstaffed, with few facilities and normally is a request stop* A sign, meaning attention* "Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired" in behavioral addiction recovery...
located in the parish of Buriton
Buriton
Buriton is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England, 2 miles south of Petersfield. It lies just east of the A3 road....
between Rowlands Castle
Rowlands Castle railway station
Rowlands Castle railway station is a railway station serving the village of Rowland's Castle, Hampshire, England. It is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London and Portsmouth ....
and Petersfield
Petersfield railway station
Petersfield railway station is a railway station serving the market town of Petersfield, Hampshire, England. It is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London and Portsmouth ....
on the Portsmouth Direct Line
Portsmouth Direct Line
The Portsmouth Direct Line is the route of a railway service operated by South West Trains which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, England...
.
History
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in 1940 the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
requisitioned Ditcham Park, a nearby country house for use as a convalescent home
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
for sailors (the house is now a private school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
). The halt was built to serve Ditcham Park, principally for trains from the extensive naval
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
facilities in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
about 20 km (12.4 mi) away. Woodcroft Halt, which was also known as Ditcham Park Halt, opened on 4 October 1943, and closed on 1 October 1945.
Because of its naval nature, it was featured on few maps, but some maps did mark it by a little tab without a name.
It was closed in 1945 and subsequently demolished. Today, only a footbridge remains.
Location
The halt was located 59 miles (94.95106 km) from , at which is now marked on the OSOrdnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
1:25000 map as "Woodcroft Farm". The stations to either side were and .
External links
- Information sheet about Ditcham on the Buriton website. Note the "ladies" brought in every Thursday night.
- Ralph W. Hill's war time memories
- Picture of Ditcham Park School at GeographGeograph British Isles projectGeograph Britain and Ireland is a web-based project, initiated in March 2005, to create a freely accessible archive of geographically located photographs of Great Britain and Ireland....
- Location of Woodcroft Halt on navigable 1946 O.S. map