Sizewell

Two massive nuclear power stations, Sizewell A and B, tower over this tiny fishing hamlet which is part of Leiston cum Sizewell. We have so far been unable to find a map showing the boundary between Leiston and Sizewell, so only the parish boundary appears on our map.

Sizewell Hall Club was licensed on May 7th 1962 purely to serve contractors and subcontractors working on the nuclear power station. There's some doubt as to when it closed.

On September 10th 1939, the SS Magdapur was sunk off Sizewell by a magnetic mine, making it the first maritime loss of the war. 75 crew members were rescued by the Aldeburgh lifeboat, Abdy Beauclerk. Tragically, it seems likely that the mine was a British one, since large numbers were deployed in a fairly haphazard manner as the authorities panicked about the possibility of an early German invasion.

There is a monument close to the beach (see gallery) showing a pair of crossed kayak oars, a broken paddle and a kayak. On the memorial is written

In memory of the thirty-two young Dutchmen who tried to escape to England by kayak during World War II to join the Allied Forces, eight of them reached the English coast, only three survived the war. The last living survivor dedicates this memorial to his brothers in arms who were less fortunate. He reached England - and freedom - on this beach on 21 September 1941.

These men were known as Engelandvaarders; the 32 who rowed to Sizewell were among some 1700 Dutchmen who escaped the occupied Netherlands in order to join the fight against the Nazis. (Wikipedia)

With the decomissioning of Sizewell A starting in 2006 the debate over Sizewell C is yet to begin. In former times the Sizewell Gap was a notorious haunt for smugglers, in particular the notorious Hadleigh Gang. Legend suggests there are old smugglers' tunnels running from the cellar of the Vulcan Arms to the beach.