Germans wonder why their captives so cheerful; "Are the British so stupid they think so huge a dock could be put out of action by a flimsy destroyer?" https://t.co/y7lJRbUJ3V
Destroyer HMS Campbeltown is lodged in the gates of St. Nazaire's dock- Germans don't know that there are 4.5 tons of explosives, on a timed detonator, hidden under a steel & concrete barrier in her hull: https://t.co/BpsigM9M1G
British raid on St. Nazaire has ended in apparent failure: 215 commandos captured, 169 dead, with little damage to vital German-occupied port. https://t.co/k1DJdKTYsT
As British demolition teams wreak havoc among the harbour installations, trying to disable port, commandos are desperately trying to hold back St. Nazaire's German garrison- they're outnumbered 8-1. https://t.co/iDmulRlD3X
British seaman Thomas O'Leary: "One commando was remarking how pretty the tracer fire, red & green, was. A moment later one blew the back of his head out. I was down below with my tin hat." https://t.co/riZZ4Hh8Wx
In St. Nazaire, most of the commandos' fragile evacuation boats have been wrecked by German fire- British raiders now stranded in enemy-occupied France. https://t.co/uVLpFMylta
Under a storm of coastal artillery fire, destroyer HMS Campbeltown dashes into port, crunching on the target dock- British commandos are pouring ashore. https://t.co/Jt4paiW3nu
British force raiding St. Nazaire are disguised as German warships, broadcasting captured Kriegsmarine radio codes- but RAF bombing, intended to aid raiders, has put German defenders on guard. They're opening fire: https://t.co/3hb28mHfth https://t.co/Qm4kGoGPTF
At least five Australians have volunteered to serve as "human explosives", piloting planes or boats loaded with bombs to crash into Japanese warships. The Australian government has declined these offers. https://t.co/wpDrowpMBs
384 British commandos, in 16 small ships, plan to disembark during the naval raid on St. Nazaire & blow up German military targets. https://t.co/luGBCzneaY
British commandos are launching "Operation Chariot": a raid to destroy the huge Normandie dry dock at St. Nazaire. Obsolete US destroyer HMS Campbeltown has been packed with 4.5 tons of TNT, ready to ram dock gates, then explode. https://t.co/vjy3wS2lCE
Slovakian police arresting Jews are aided by the Hlinka Guard, a volunteer Fascist militia, who have fun with humiliating their prisoners: https://t.co/nmBu7524le
Americans are being urged to buy "Victory Bonds", to fund US government in time of national emergency. US citizens help support huge spending on war effort by lending money to Treasury. https://t.co/JXXdG36LEI
The Site
The surface surrounding the bunker has changed considerably since the War. One of the major changes was the dismantling of the many Nissen Huts and water tanks that existed in the early 1940’s. The other was the erection of the DSS buildings in 1948 to house offices of the fledgling National Health Service.
The area actually on top did used to contain many shrubs and trees (as can be seen from the map) though today it is just grassed over. There is still some greenery that exists on the south side around the concrete mast plinths.
The bunker had two main entrances/exits, on the west and east side for obvious reasons (in case of attack, fire etc.).
The map below shows the site in 1948, as it was at the time.
There was also a generator hut with surrounding blast wall (not shown on map). It could be found at the west side of the compound, close to Ponteland Road just inside the fence.
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- Dropped in to the bunker today for a routine dehumidifier check. All working well and bunker pretty dry now. Had a… https://t.co/QmRmX6v1Ra
- Not posted for a while - been busy elsewhere - found some interesting booklets though. Will, hopefully end up on di… https://t.co/GkOFdiHyOO
- Found another section of the Ejector room door skin and scraped the wimpey dark green off to reveal more original l… https://t.co/Ft7AoQXEWc
- Popped in this Sunday to check the dehumidifiers and decided to have a quick look at the pile of rubbish in the to… https://t.co/NCT130O8jr
- Another Sunday another clean up session and a bit of door sliding. Once again the Vacmaster donated by… https://t.co/giF5OZfChn
Great talk on this the other night. I worked in a Govt block on the site in the late 60s/early 70s and have always wondered what the odd buildings we could see from the windows were for. Rumours were that it was an RSG (Regional Seat of Government) and, though it wasn’t that, it was top secret and had a Cold War use so perhaps the rumours weren’t that far off. Fascinating and suprising that it survives. Many thanks.