We’d heard reports of a railway in Hatton, but couldn’t imagine what it was until we were told about the Starfish decoy. During WW2, these decoys simulated the lights and glows from locomotives in the railway marshalling yards. Frames were draped with oil covered cloths and set alight. The idea was to confuse the enemy and encourage them to drop their bombs over the decoy rather than the actual railway. Decoys at Hatton, Arley and Appleton protected Warrington’s marshalling yard. As far as we know, this was one of the few in the country that was successful. The decoy at Hatton was behind New House Farm.
