Padstow Coastal Gun Battery was built in the summer of 1940 at the northern end of the Bodmin Stop Line to defend against a German invasion of Britain.

It utilised an old military site first established during the War of American Independence north of Padstow overlooking the Camel Estuary and known as Gun Point.

[3][4] The role of the Coast Battery was:[3] i)                   The protection of the port and beaches against attack by sea or landings on the beaches; ii)                  The protection of shipping in the approaches to the port; iii)                To form defended posts against landward attack; iv)                To deal with airborne troops landing in the vicinity; v)                  To engage landward targets.

[3] On the night of 7 September 1940, the battery was at the utmost readiness following the issue of Codeword Cromwell, meaning invasion imminent.

The Resident Naval Officer in overall charge of the defence of Padstow, Rear Admiral Gordon Campbell, V.C., and the officer in charge of the land forces, Lt Dare Wilson of the 8th Battalion Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, kept watch from the control bunker of the underwater minefield laid across the estuary.

[3] On 15 February 1941, both guns fired 10 rounds practice shells together in 3 series at a single Hans Kay target pulled behind a launch travelling at a speed of about 10 knots.

No 2 was built just north of the old northern gun house and its location can easily be found by the ready use lockers that are still extant.

In November 1943, the strength was reduced to one NCO and two men and the ammunition removed to Fort Picklecombe for storage.

[12] Gun Point is referenced in Major Dare Wilson's autobiography ‘Tempting The Fates’, which details his work on preparing the landward defences for Padstow.

Gun Point is also referenced in the historical novel ‘No Small Stir’ by Cornish author Phil Hadley where Major Isaac Trevennel meets Rear Admiral Campbell to discuss the defences of Padstow.