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There was an Underground Regional War Room/Bunker at Chalfont Drive but its status was downgraded in the early 1960's to a RSG (Regional seat of Government) when they added an extra 1 and a half levels above ground

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This is my first attempt at writing anything on this site, so I may well be doing it wrong! I found the site a couple of nights ago and spotted a few references to the old underground RAF bunker at

I have to do a quick correction to my earlier posting - the TV programme about the RAF bunker at Watnall has been put back one week, to Wednesday February 12, 8.00pm on Channel Four. Sorry about that

Didn't ExWatnallblokeGerry do well last night on the TV? The challenge that couple have taken on is immense. Hope Channel 4 go back when they've finished it.

Hi, Bilbraborn - I wonder if you were one of the youngsters in there when I paid a visit, many years ago. I took a friend to see the place, and I'd gone on a bit about how it was all top secret. We stood outside the big steel doors, that were very solidly welded shut, and we suddenly heard kids' voices from inside! Someone said they had got in through the air-conditioning system. Was that you?!

When I did eventually get inside, some time later, I was disappointed to see how it had been knocked around (I'm not blaming you!). A lot of the stuff had been pinched, probably for scrap value. I'd have loved one of the wall-clocks - they were marked off in different colours at two-and-a-half-minute intervals, and we chaps who worked at the tables had to keep a constant eye on them and use markers of the appropriate colour so that the controllers (ina big glass-fronted gallery above us) could look down and see which information was bang up to date. Simple idea, but clever.

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I have to do a quick correction to my earlier posting - the TV programme about the RAF bunker at Watnall has been put back one week, to Wednesday February 12, 8.00pm on Channel Four. Sorry about that - they've just told me!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi, Bilbraborn - I wonder if you were one of the youngsters in there when I paid a visit, many years ago. I took a friend to see the place, and I'd gone on a bit about how it was all top secret. We stood outside the big steel doors, that were very solidly welded shut, and we suddenly heard kids' voices from inside! Someone said they had got in through the air-conditioning system. Was that you?!

When I did eventually get inside, some time later, I was disappointed to see how it had been knocked around (I'm not blaming you!). A lot of the stuff had been pinched, probably for scrap value. I'd have loved one of the wall-clocks - they were marked off in different colours at two-and-a-half-minute intervals, and we chaps who worked at the tables had to keep a constant eye on them and use markers of the appropriate colour so that the controllers (ina big glass-fronted gallery above us) could look down and see which information was bang up to date. Simple idea, but clever.

Hi, I was just going to inform everyone it was on tonight, but alas too late, thank God it is George Clarke as I mentioned earlier.

Bilbraborn and I went into the bunker sometime during the winter 1965/66, some bricks had been removed from the air conditioning vent and, crawling along the square steel shaft, a gap had been prised between sections and we squeezed through to find ourselves in the machinery room which was completely intact.

Fortunately we had torches which we had taken with us, the whole point of the hike was to cover the MR branch from Nottingham to Bennington Junction and we knew we had Watnall tunnel to contend with. Finding the bunker was a bonus, we had no idea it was there, firstly we were surprised at the width of the cutting then discovered the 'H' block buildings down there, these were pretty derelict and overgrown but were linked to the bunker with a passage way, I had my camera with me that day and curse not photographing any of this, all I took was the entrance to Watnall tunnel that I put on one of the threads last week.

Whoever had broken in had not done any damage, but the place was empty apart from the huge ops table still in place in the plotting room and a load of documents marked 'Top Secret' in a cupboard which dated from the early 50's and related to aircraft movements, Vampires, Meteors and Canberras, where the hell those have got to I've no idea, I've never been able to find them amongst the piles of old railway documents that I have. Had there been an original sector clock on the wall, that would have gone straight into my rucksack but such fittings had probably been taken when the RAF vacated the place, and I don't know when that was. I did go back again soon after with some other friends, as soon as we got into the air shaft, we could smell burning, somebody had attempted to torch the place, not that there was anything much to burn, but it was clearly recent and the air was still still thick with fumes and smoke, we got out pretty quickly and never went back, apart from trying to unscrew the steel doors from the outside with a very hefty screwdriver, it failed of course.

Perhaps more of the history of the place will be revealed tonight, our George likes to prepare his little scrapbook for the owners, Channel 4 means it will be in HD too.

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you could be the first Nottstalgian to make an early appearance on telly !

Unfortunately not, we had a lady member some years ago that appeared on 'Deal or no deal'.

Name escapes me now.

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Weeeell, not a bad programme, having worked in the planning/building consultancy business for nearly 45 years I would suggest that he's going to run out of money and it will never be completed, I hope I'm wrong.

It frightened me to death when they were in the plant room with that maze of ducting, how Bilbraborn and I got through it intact I'll never know, at least we saw it in it's pre- vandalised state, though the curved glass windows had gone by then, removed officially I suspect rather than smashed.

They didn't actually show the east elevation where the other entrance was linked to the surface block, above that being the vent inlet we crawled into. The place wasn't flooded when we went in, though the cutting always has been whenever I've been there.

It also didn't mention the fact that the site had originally been Watnall Station, the remains of the platform being there when we investigated. I've cobbled together a few web sites relating to this that you might be interested in:-

www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/w/watnall/

www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/routes/bennerley.html

www.airfieldarcheology.co.uk/raf-watnall.html

Picture the Past-Watnall railway station.

Incidentally the flying sequences were filmed locally to me at Duxford ( not 170 miles away from Watnall as stated, much less than that ) only a few weeks ago, I'm surprised that they didn't commandeer one of the unique two seat Spifires based there, I know that one was up and running at the time, probably exceeded Channel 4's budget.

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The owner was interviewed on Radio Nottm yesterday.

Apparently, he's only spent £130k so far, which is well under the budget he set aside. (Perhaps some of the work was done at cost to get some free advertising, e.g. for the drilling company?)

Two of the guest rooms will be 'themed', with one done out as it would have been if Winston Churchill had visited during the war. Copious quantities of alcohol and a great big ashtray?

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The owner was interviewed on Radio Nottm yesterday.

Apparently, he's only spent £130k so far, which is well under the budget he set aside. (Perhaps some of the work was done at cost to get some free advertising, e.g. for the drilling company?)

Two of the guest rooms will be 'themed', with one done out as it would have been if Winston Churchill had visited during the war. Copious quantities of alcohol and a great big ashtray?

But I thought he'd had to borrow 70k from his relatives.

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I think it was mentioned in the programme that was only due to the mortgage company refusing to lend on anywhere uninhabitable. As soon as he was able to move in, they will probably have released the funds to pay for the renovation.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi,

I have just discovered this this site/topic.

Excited to find this. Haven't finished reading/researching it yet.

I worked down 'the hole' as we called it. Arrived there from RAF GAN about October '60, and stayed there until sometime in '62 [posted to ADEN].

These were the best years of my life!

Remember the Royal Oak? The cabin? Spent a lot of happy times there, and the Cherry Tree, The Hand Inn [Parliament St] Yates Wine Lodge, thrown out of The Trip a few times - happy days..

Made some great friends on the camp - would love to hear from anyone who was there at that period.

I worked in FIS and in the control room - waiting for a pilot to have an emergency - and a lot of time in ADNC [Air Defence]. Boy! Things were really paranoid - similar organisations in UK and Europe watching and waiting for the attack! We took it in our stride as young eager guys - but in retrospect it was paranoid!

I would love to hear from anyone who remembers that period. A few names come to mind Pete Brennan - Val Sharp[e] - Roger Gumbrell - Alan Gough - et al

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Did Alan Gough go on to work for the GPO (PO Telephones, later BT)? If so, I worked with him back in the 70s and 80s, but lost touch some years ago.

If it is the same feller, he was once on "Game for a Laugh" when Jeremy Beadle put a drilling rig in his back garden pretending to drill for oil. Alan went absolutely mental!

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ROB

"Game for a Laugh"

I would love to have seen that! Dont know / remember what his plans were. He was a Yorkshire lad, I remember.

I remember a ROY WILMOT from those days.

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Thanks, Michael.

Do you mean there are discussions/comments on 'the bunker' and RAF WATNALL on other threads, or did you mean Nottingham generally?

what does (#90). mean?

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  • 3 years later...

Hi all, first time poster but long term lingerer!

 

i first came to nottstalgia because of a thread from nearly 10 years ago regarding nuclear bunkers of nottigham

 

Firbeck, the gentleman in the post spoke of his uncles house at the side of western boulevard near to the city hospital and I wondered if anyone had managed to pinpoint where abouts this house was? 

 I know some people have said that he might of ment the bunker behind the five ways pub but I don't think he did. The bunker he describes was in a grand house's garden and he later went on to post he had looked on google earth and could still see a mysterious green area in the middle of a housing estate... which I believe could be Larwood grove! 

Has anyone got any more information on this? 

Thank you for taking the time to read my long winded post!! 

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Larwood Grove off Edwards Lane was built almost on top of the bunker behind the Five Ways pub. It is that close it can refer only to the Civil Defence and Auxiliary Fire Service bunker that was operational until April 1968 when both organisations were disbanded, there would not be room or need to have two bunkers so close together.

 

As a member of the rescue teams I spent many hours on the purpose built training ground behind the Five Ways and down that bunker. From the back of the Five Ways going uphill you had the rescue training ground what some people thought of as war damaged houses, then the classrooms in single story wooden huts, then further back still the entrance to the bunker.

 

The entrance was made of very thick concrete with a humungous steel door, this was surrounded by ordinary brickwork and plenty of greenery, I suppose a not very good attempt at disguise. Once inside there was a small landing area that led to the steps leading down 20 feet or so into the bunker itself. This was quite a large affair with sleeping accommodation, communications centre, dining and recreation areas and control centre. Finally as I remember it there was an engineering area containing the diesel generators, air filtration plant etc.

 

Again as I remember it (it was nearly 50 years ago) the plan was that the frontline of both services would go to dispersal points out in the country, leaving only control staff in the bunker and return once the unthinkable had happened.

 

I would suspect but don't know that most of it except the entrance is still there, I heard a rumour that the entrance was demolished and the stairs back filled but have no evidence for this.

 

One final point if you look you will see there is a large expanse between Larwood Grove and Ribbledales Road that is not built on strange when you think about it.

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