In 1950 an underground "Air Ministry Radio Station" was constructed on 4 acres of land on the cliff top at Beachy Head. It was in fact part of atop secret Early Warning (CEW) system which remained part of Britain’s defence capabilities until it close a decade later. One Sunday in late September 1963, members of the Demolition team of the 21st SAS Territorial Regiment started to clear the surface buildings. The buildings proved to be stronger than first expected so the team packed in more explosives and tried again. Demolition had to be abandoned until the next day when the manager of the nearby Hotel complained that his windows had cracked. The task of clearing the remaining buildings at this stage was taken over by a local demolition company. Not long after I had taken these photographs, the stairwell access behind the guardhouse was demolished and capped along with the emergency exit, humid air exit and the cable shaft. The only way into the bunker was via a small manhole set into the concrete slab placed over the stairwell. Access remained available to the bunker for a while but due to vandalism then final entrance was finally sealed with large tree trunk that was thrust into the hole by a JCB and back filled with chalk. Today tourists stand now upon the mound above the bunker unaware of the secret rooms and tunnels beneath their feet.
