As the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain approaches, new attention is being directed toward the 'Starfish' decoy sites—a network of secret locations established across the United Kingdom during World War II. These sites were engineered to mimic the appearance of industrial centers and cities at night, utilizing controlled fires and lighting to trick German pilots into dropping their bombs on empty fields rather than civilian targets.

Recent investigations, including those near Bristol, have begun to document the physical remains of these installations. While the existence of these decoys has been known to historians, the specific mechanics and the scale of the operation are only now being widely explored by the public. The sites were part of a broader British strategy of deception, which included the use of dummy aircraft and false infrastructure to minimize the impact of the Blitz. By creating these 'decoy cities,' the British military successfully diverted a significant portion of the Luftwaffe’s ordnance, potentially saving thousands of lives. Current efforts are focused on mapping these sites and preserving the history of the personnel who operated them under strict secrecy.