Abbreviations and Glossary

The military sections of Chapter 14 contain a large number of abbreviations and acronyms; only those used more than once or not explained in close proximity are included here.

 AAAutomobile Association or Anti-Aircraft (artillery).
 ADPAutomatic Data Processing.
 ALGAOThe Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers.
 AMSAccelerator Mass Spectrometry. A method of radiocarbon dating technique which directly measures the ratio of 14C to 12C rather than measuring the radioactivity of 14C .
 AONBArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A planning designation with some of the attributes of a National Park.
 BB1Black Burnished Ware type 1. A Roman pottery style produced in the Poole Harbour area and elsewhere in the South West (South-Western BB1).
 BBCBritish Broadcasting Corporation.
 BGSBritish Geological Survey.
 BTBritish Telecom. The privatised GPO.
 BVDBase Vehicle Depot.
 CBACouncil for British Archaeology.
 CRAAGSThe Committee for Rescue Archaeology in Avon, Gloucestershire and Somerset. An excavation unit funded by central government and active in the 1970s.
 DOBDefence of Britain Project, a national project of volunteer recording of defence sites. The results were incorporated into an online database (DOB 2002) but this is not updated.
 EHEnglish Heritage.
 EUPEarly Upper Palaeolithic.
 EUSExtensive Urban Survey. See Section 1.2.4 on page 11.
 FMFrequency Modulation (of radio signals).
 GCHQGovernment Communications Headquarters.
 GCIGround Controlled Interception. Radar used to guide fighter aircraft to their target.
 GPOGeneral Post-Office. The UK postal and telecommunications authority until privatisation. See BT.
 GWRGreat Western Railway.
 HEATHHeathland, Environment, Agriculture, Tourism and Heritage. A project by Cornwall County Council to improve management and understanding of the heaths of West Cornwall.
 HERHistoric Environment Record, see Section 1.2.5 on page 15.
 HFHigh Frequency (radio transmissions).
 HMHer/His Majesty’s.
 HMSHer/His Majesty’s Ship. Also used for naval shore stations.
 HQHeadquarters.
 IPCCIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
 LBKLinearbandkeramik. An early European Neolithic pottey style and associated culture.
 LGMLast Glacial Maximum.
 LNEBALate Neolithic/Early Bronze Age.
 LUPLate Upper Palaeolitic.
 MARISPMonuments at Risk in Somerset Peatlands. A project to assess the current condition of known wooden structures in the peat.
 MHDMilitary Home Defence.
 MLAMuseums, Libraries and Archives Council.
 MPPThe Monuments Protection Programme. An English Heritage programme to identify sites and monuments for statutory protection. Some types (such as industrial monuments) were covered thematically in a series of “Step” reports, proceeding from the general to recommendations for individual monuments. Reaction to intended changes in heritage protection legislation has led to the demise of the programme in an incomplete state.
 MPRGMedieval Pottery Research Group.
 NAAFINavy, Army and Air Force Institute. Providing food and refreshments to the forces.
 NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
 ODOrdnance Datum (mean sea level at Newlyn)
 OISOxygen Isotope Stage. Divisions based on the ratio of oxygen isotopes preserved in deep ice cores which indicate periods of global cooling and warming. Glacial stages are even-numbered.
OS Ordnance Survey. The national mapping agency of Britain.
OSL Optically Stimulated Luminescence. A technique for dating when particles of sediment were last exposed to light.
PHEW Institution of Civil Engineers Panel for Historic Engineering Works
POW Prisoner of War.
PPG Planning Policy Guidance. Principally those relating to archaeology (PPG 16, DoE 1990) and the historic environment (PPG 15, DoE 1994).
SANHS Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society
SWALGAO South West ALGAO (see above).
RAC Royal Automobile Club.
RAE Royal Aircraft Establishment.
RAF Royal Air Force.
RAFVR Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
RCAHMS Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
RCHME Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Now part of English Heritage.
RIB Roman Inscriptions in Britain. A published catalogue (Collingwood and Wright 1965).
RN Royal Navy or Royal Naval.
RNAS Royal Naval Air Station.
ROC Royal Observer Corps.
SPMA Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology.
TA Territorial Army. A reserve force.
TL Thermoluminescence. A technique for dating when certain minerals (often in pottery) were last exposed to high temperatures.
TV Television.
UBSS University of Bristol Spelaeological Society
USAAF United States Army Air Force.
VHF Very High Frequency (radio transmissions).
XRF X-Ray flourescence. An analyitical technique for identifying the elemental composition of an object.
YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association. A charitable organisation which also provided recreational facilities for soldiers.
YWCA Young Women’s Christian Association.

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