Church Fenton Tunnels?
 

When I was instructing at Fenton students mentioned exploring the tunnels which would take flyers across to the dispersed aircraft areas on the South side.
Would anyone with actual knowledge of these tunnels - ie where they start and end, please pm me

Really? Never heard any rumours when I was based there. How exciting..like a Famous Five adventure!

I would think it unlikely. The area is built on Gypsum - the mines there need to be regularly shored up because of the instability of the ground. The land on top of the gypsum can get waterlogged very quickly and the tunnels would also be subject to flooding. (My Great Grandfather used to own the Blacksmith's Arms in nearby Biggin).

I was in that part of the world for years in the '60s. Never heard that story before. Anybody know ?

D.

I did my FTS at Fenton when the old Ops Block was still in the front garden of the Mess; never heard the stories about the tunnels during that period. Went back as an instructor many years later and heard talk of "the tunnels" that supposedly linked the Mess and Ops Block to the south side fighter pens.

Personally think it's just a story that has grown larger than life over time, why would anyone go to the effort of digging such a tunnel? The 1930s and 40s over head photos I have don't show any scaring in the ground (which would surely have taken years to heal) and why would Fenton have been built in such a unique way amongst all the Expansion Era airfields? Maybe one for Time Team??!?

Didn't the Blacksmiths used to do really great steaks and have an anvil outside which if you could lift meant you ate your meal for free?

It's not something that's discussed in the local bars for the 20 years I've lived there. My mates dad did his National Service just after the war at CF, I'll ask him next time I see him.

Roland,


Not heard about the anvil, but as my G-Grandfather sold the pub in 1895..... The notice for the sale used to be displayed in the pub foyer. The pub has seen several transformations over the years including being renamed the "Kingfisher" as a fish restaurant for a while. Last time I was there, it was back to being the Blacksmiths.

Student escape tunnels?

I'm trying to find my copy of the Air Historical Branch's superlative 'Works' history of WWII, published in the mid 1950s. From my previous readings of it, the only 'underground' facilities the RAF Works Branch built were several ammunitions dumps and Command and Group Ops HQs.

As far as I can remember, no airfields were built with tunnels*; all ops facilities were above ground or partly-buried - this was due to standardisation (ie you could build an expansion airfield pretty much anywhere based on standard drawings) and blast-protection. In spite of popular belief, a lot of work went in to designing blast resistant facilities on Expansion Phase airfields, and berm-protected semi-hardened ops facilities (as opposed to fully buried) offered pretty good protection, partly because blast could be allowed to dissipate in air. I recall reading that there were 800 separate air attacks against RAF facilities during the war; post-war OPRE confirmed the soundness of most of the designs - at least against conventional weapons. I could bore fro Britain about the 'clvereness' of the expansion phase design - the modish flat roofs (no loft-space for incendiaries to lurk), the large air-field side windows on C hangars (to dissipate blast), the parapets above the hangar doors - to stop bombs skipping off the roof line), the blast protected tanker sheds, workshops and stores, outside the hangar arc; the dispersed mess annexes (Bomber Command stations, principally)...

* Existing tunnel complexes (eg mines) were used, of course - such as the signals complexes at Box (Rudloe Manor), the ill-fated storage depot at RAF Fauld, etc.

RAF Metheringham was built in 1943 with an underground fuel pipeline which ran for nearly 2 miles from the village railway station sidings to the airfield, although admittedly the airfield did use quite a bit of petrol because the main runway was fitted with FIDO. Could the Fenton "Tunnels" be underground service channels being misconstrued?

Whenurhappy

Eileen Younghusband, in her autobiography 'One Woman's War', states that the Filter Room at one Wiltshire airfield (can't recall which) was entirely underground in a purpose-built bunker 42 feet below ground level.

She goes on to say that there were several miles of connected tunnels beneath the airfield. She doesn't say whether these were preexisting or purpose built, though.

I'm struggling to come up with any good reason why such tunnels might have been constructed at a base like CF, but several not to do so; subsidence, flooding, security and, not least the resources and expense of building and maintaining them.

The only tunnels in Wiltshire that I know of from my research (and years in the infrastructure world) were at Rudloe Manor (shhhh!) and Chilmark Depot (14 SU?). Adjacent to Chilmark there was/is a Regional Seat of Government bunker. The Sector control for the West Country was at Box (Rudloe Manor); principally above ground. The Signals Units were the ones underground...

I stand by to be corrected - there's an awful lot more to learn...

Then there was the 100 Sqn escape tunnel at Machrihanish, back in Canberra days.....:ok:

Another excellent jape from the days when high spirits were still OK....:bored:

I stand by to be corrected - there's an awful lot more to learn...

....such as

Corsham quarries | Nettleden.com

Offered In a spirit of addition rather than correction.:ok:

Jack

There's a whole lot more built underground than the public generally know about. After all, we are a nation of miners from centuries ago.

A lot more information is being allowed into the public domain; Northwood, for example...

Whenurhappy

Just checked the book: RAF Colerne.

"There were vast caves under the camps extending in many directions. Later I learnt that many of our national treasures were stored there throughout the war to protect them from bomb damage. In fact, just 100 feet below the rolling hills of Wilstshire countryside are mile after mile of tunnels, an amazing labyrinth of long forgotten military sites".

From:

More than you think, have a look here.

Home - Subterranea Britannica

I'm aware of that one, thanks.

I've been a member of this* forum for some years, a lot of good stuff here, too.

* 28DaysLater.co.uk

Never seen or heard about any when i have been around at CF, i am sure if you email the new owner he will tell you (nice chap Mr Makin) or he may be on here at some point. RAF Scampton has a underground fuel pipeline that goes to a farm near by.