Hawthorn, Wiltshire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hawthorn, Wiltshire, also known as Corsham or TURNSTILE, is an immense nuclear bunker in the United Kingdom. The complex was built 120ft below RAF Rudloe Manor, Corsham, in Wiltshire from the 1940s onwards to the 1960s. Until at least the early 1990s it contained the emergency government command centre (Central Government War Headquarters).

The facility began life as an underground aircraft factory in the Second World War, and by the 1950s was developed as a command bunker housing the British government (including the Prime Minister and the Cabinet), commanders of the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and British Army, as well as providing accommodation and work facilities for some 4,000 civil servants and military personnel. The facility was intended to be self-sufficient and provide a safe refuge for the government and military commanders, allowing them to continue to govern the country and direct British armed forces in the event of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

The complex is now largely abandoned, and may never have been fully operational due to maintenance and construction costs. The codename BURLINGTON was first used in 1961 and in 1963 was changed to TURNSTILE. Before 1961, it was known as SUBTERFUGE. While the site was being built, it was referred to as STOCKWELL. More recently the site has reportedly been known as "Site 3".

1 Facilities
2 Details
3 Controversy
4 Current status
5 Trivia
6 References
7 See also
8 Further reading
9 External links
10 References

[edit] Facilities

The 35 acre complex was accessible by a private railway station, with a private line connecting to the main British rail network at Box Tunnel. In the event of imminent nuclear war, it was assumed that the government would be evacuated from London by rail or helicopter, as the roads would be jammed with refugees trying to escape London. The underground sections of the facility were reached by a large lift, with a double escalator providing access at the facility's more secret western entrance.

Living facilities included accommodation for nearly 4,000 people, with dormitories, industrial-sized kitchens, a bakery, a canteen, one of the largest laundries in the world, a large and well-equipped hospital with dental surgeries, and even a pub, named the "Rose and Crown", a facsimile of a pub in Whitehall popular with civil servants (this may be an urban myth). The bakery and canteen would be staffed by carefully selected civilians.

Communications were provided by a public address system, a giant telephone exchange, and dozens of pneumatic tubes. There were even BBC studios. Dozens of offices were built, including teleprinter rooms and a radio room. Over 3,500 1953 swivel chairs were included. The entire facility was self-sufficient, with its own electricity generators, water purifiers, and air ducts which could be sealed against gas or radiation using immense steel gates.

In addition to providing accommodation, the facility was also designed to store the United Kingdom's stores of gold bullion and precious artifacts from museums and art galleries across the country, which were to be sent to safety in the bunker in the event that war seemed imminent.

Some sources suggest that accommodation was provided for the Royal Family, though this is doubtful, as the high-tech Royal Yacht Britannia, built in 1953, was intended to be used as a mobile refuge for the Royal Family. Most of the site was laid out on a grid plan.

[edit] Details

The complex comprises a series of tunnels and caverns in the stone quarries of north Wiltshire. In the 1940s an underground aircraft factory was constructed in the tunnels at great expense. After the war, no doubt reluctant to entirely discount the enormous investment, various government and military units were stationed in and above the excavations. These included the Royal Observer Corps, signals units and supply depots. From the 1950s if not earlier provision was made for a government command centre in the event of London being untenable. The acquisition of thermonuclear weapons by the Soviet Union led to increased interest in the site. Over the course of the 1960s rooms were apparently provided for the Commanders-in-Chief Committee, for the Prime Minister and War Cabinet, and elements of the higher civil service.

It is believed that doubts about the safety of the site led to the development of plans for a reserve bunker, possibly in Wales, but this is not thought to have been completed. By the early 1990s, and the end of the Cold War, civil defence spending was slashed by the British government, and Corsham proved no exception. The site is now largely decommissioned, though some capacity for revival and use may survive. The recent upsurge in terrorism has awakened interest in the survivability of the government, but it is unknown whether this will lead to any revival of Corsham's fortunes. As of 2006, the British government's emergency bunker is located beneath Whitehall, in the PINDAR Crisis Management Centre.

[edit] Controversy

The TURNSTILE facility attracted much controversy in the 1960s and again in the 1980s, as analysts debated whether or not it was actually useful. Many military analysts in the 1960s argued that building the complex was a waste of money and resources, as the chances of getting the government out of London in the event of war were slim. If the British government had been expecting war with the Soviet Union for some days, then the necessary preparations could be made to move to the bunker. However, the chances of an immediate surprise attack were considered to be far greater. If the Soviets attacked using bomber aircraft, the government would have around twenty minutes to evacuate London before the bombers came within range, but if a missile attack was launched, much less time would be available. Although Fylingdales radar station could identify incoming Soviet bombers around twenty minutes before they reached Britain, a missile attack would be much faster: missiles coming directly from the USSR would only be identified two or three minutes before they hit London, and missiles launched from Soviet submarines in the North Sea would hit London within twenty to thirty seconds after being picked up on radar.

This problem — the four minute warning — meant that the military would have only three or four minutes, and possibly as little as twenty seconds, to get the necessary personnel out of London before it was hit by a nuclear missile. Military analysts argued that it was more than likely that the government would be destroyed in London in the event of a surprise Soviet missile strike, and that the construction of TURNSTILE was therefore a waste of money. However, the government continued with construction, arguing that a safe refuge was still necessary for the new government which would replace those killed, and that the Prime Minister and military commanders stood a chance of escaping from London by helicopter. Of course, the bunker would serve a vital purpose if the government was given more notice of incoming Soviet missiles, and had enough time to get to the bunker before British cities were hit.

[edit] Current status

In the 1990s, the British government offered the facility for sale. As of 2005, it has a population of four maintenance staff.

The Times [1] reported on October 31, 2005, that it was for sale.

"A formerly secret Government underground site near Corsham in Wiltshire, which was a potential relocation site for the Government in the event of a nuclear war, was declassified at the end of 2004"^[1] and is now up for sale.

"The Ministry of Defence is seeking new tenants for a secret underground city, built to shelter the Government in the event of nuclear war, which is now surplus to requirements. The site at Corsham, Wiltshire, is large enough to house 4,000 government personnel. Completed in 1961, it covers hundreds of acres and is connected by ten miles of tunnels. As well as two railway stations and a reservoir, the sunken suburb 120 ft (37 m) below ground even has a pub."^[2] "Property developers looking for the ultimate place to get away from it all need not apply. The site has a notional value of £5m but there is a catch. It is available only as part of a private finance initiative that involves investing in the military base on the surface above. Already two uses are being considered: a massive data store for City firms or the biggest wine cellar in Europe.

More outlandish ideas put forward include a nightclub for rave parties, a 1950s theme park or a reception centre for asylum seekers. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ruled out any suggestion of using it to store nuclear waste or providing open public access because of the dangers that still lurk below."^[3]

The "dangers" are of a natural rather than a man-made form. The tunnels of which the complex is comprised are carved out of relatively soft stone - the whole area began as an underground quarry. Much of this tunnelling was rough. The second phase of development was the construction of the ammunition depots and aircraft engine factories, which also did not result in a uniformly high standard of civil engineering, hurried as it was by the exigencies of war. The net result is that much of the complex is damp, prone to falling roofs, and quite unsuitable for long-term use.

[edit] Trivia

The walls had photos of the Queen and Princess Margaret, as well as of Grace Kelly and other celebrities, placed by construction workers and maintenance staff.
The address of one (unspecified) key feature was 3 East Second Street.
The facility contains many murals from its days as an aircraft factory, including a bizarre painting of a Christian missionary being cooked in a pot by cannibals.

[edit] References

Peter Hennessy, The Secret State: Whitehall and the Cold War. Penguin Books, London, 2002.

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

McCamley, Nick (2000) Secret underground cities : an account of some of Britain's subterranean defence, factory and storage sites in the Second World War, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, ISBN 0-85052-733-3