WW2 tunnels in Dover’s white cliffs open to the public

A NETWORK of forgotten WW2 tunnels inside the #WhiteCliffsofDover has been opened to the public by the #National Trust. 

The Fan Bay Deep Shelter was carved out of chalk in just 100 days in 1940 on Winston Churchill's orders as part of Dover's connected offensive and defensive gun batteries, aimed attacking German shipping in the English Channel.

At 75ft below the Kent coastline, the 3,500 sq feet of interconnecting tunnels, which are reinforced with iron girders and metal sheeting, accommodated 200 men.

The shelter – which was inspected by Churchill in 1941 – was decommissioned in the 1950s and filled in with rubble and soil during the 1970s.

The National Trust say the well-preserved tunnels are a time capsule, giving insights into war-time life, with graffiti-covered walls, discarded ammunition, and even a football pools coupon found in them. 

Tons of rubble and soil were removed by hand from the tunnels in an 18-month project involving more than 50 National Trust volunteers, archaeologists, mine consultants, engineers, and a geologist.

Jon Barker, visitor experience manager at the White Cliffs, said: ‘This re-discovered piece of the country's Second World War heritage is a truly remarkable find. There has been no public access to the tunnels for more than 40 years, and so they remain much as they were when they were abandoned.

‘We've carried out extensive conservation work to preserve both the natural decay and authentic atmosphere of the space."

The shelter was carved out of the chalk by Royal Engineers from the 172nd Tunnelling Company, and had a hospital, secure store and five large chambers providing bomb-proof accommodation.

Tickets are not available at the tunnel entrance. Book a space at the visitor reception centre before walking the 1.5 miles to the tunnel entrance and the 125 steps down into the network.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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Battery power in sight for Channel ferries?

THE prospect of plug-in electric ferries has been raised to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions. European engineering company ABB suggests technology will become available for ferries doing trips of up to two hours – such as those on some of the English Channel routes – to run purely on an electric charge.

‘Ferry operators on routes between Sweden, Denmark, and Germany are certainly looking to replace the combustion engine in the next generation of ships,’ says Eero Lehtovaara, ABB’s hybrid expert. ‘For Dover-Calais ferries, absolutely we believe electric can do those trips.”

Oslo has ferries doing 20-minute trips on electric batteries.

Ferry operators have questions about the range and recharging time of batteries, but ABB has confidence in the technology.

‘It is a big leap for the operators, but we believe we are on the threshold of migrating to hybrid, and the battery industry is anticipating that threshold, too,’ Lehtovaara said.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37839628@N08/4809652520">P1010271</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)