Prime Minister Winston Churchill was after a location for a new, secret, Army Battle Headquarters and came across the perfect location in Reigate; an old chalk quarry with easy access by car and a vantage vantage point on top of the tunnels that has a view stretching miles. It’s also rumoured that some of the houses at the bottom of the hill were secretly armed with guns, whilst others were used for army accommodation whilst they were acquisitioned.
Bernard Montgomery was a senior British Army officer who served in both the First & Second World Wars and was even shot in his right lung by a sniper during the First Battle of Ypres in 1914. His distinguished military career even saw him capture German soldiers at the end of WW2. As a result of his success he was put in charge of these new headquarters which was also referred to as Monty’s Hideout, even on official documents from the time.
A number of underground Battle Headquarters were built towards the end of 1940 with similar ones in Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury.
Newspaper Articles
Whilst exploring with friends Matt & James, we came across some newspaper articles from a 1944 edition of ‘The Herald’. These fantastic relics talk about bombed cities, blackouts in London and of course what Selfridges are selling!
Rest of the site
The tunnels appear to lined with corrugated steel and some sections are smaller with a reinforced lining. As per most large shelters, this one had it own ventilation system.
Sources: Wikipedia, Gracefilby.blogspot.com, Archaeology Data Services, Subbrit
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