Hi all, I see a lot of posts on this place are around ten years old now so thought I would provide some newer photography with the nice fat wide angle lens. Not much new to report so this is a fairly quick report, but hopefully of interest anyway.
The History
There's plenty of information already out there, so here is a brief introduction. The bunker was built in late 1940 as the South East Army Command Brigade Headquarters. I'm no expert but I'm assuming this was unlike most military installations on home ground in that it was not a defensive site for use by defensive forces; like the Home Guard or Territorial Army, but an actual command post for the Army themselves who at this time I would think were partially receded to England after Dunkirk as well as being positioned in other theatres. The South East Army Command had other tunnel systems at Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Reigate.
The Explore
This wasn't too difficult to locate, but wasn't the easiest to access. After getting some funny looks from the locals for pulling up in a muddy Mini clearly abused as a Land Rover, we gave the perimeter of the small quarry this was built in a full walk-round to assess the situation. The name of this village is already pretty good, something about those continental French names in Kentish villages that makes you feel like you've travelled further than you have. We jokingly named the explore 'The Sarre Offensive' because it sounded like a battleground. After entering the overgrown quarry directly, we realised this probably wasn't the best way without battling a ton of nettles. We did at least see the remains of three Nissen huts apparently serving an anti-aircraft battery or the same installation. We returned to our previous route to find the best entry route. The space we had to crawl into was not particularly inviting, likened to a Chilean mine collapse. I'm guessing the bunker entrance was once partly demolished and the wreckage thrown into the start of the tunnel, because this didn't look like a natural collapse. We then looked down at the imposing stairs running further underground and descended. The bunker isn't particularly big, nor in the best condition with a few disconcerting chalk avalanches, but on the whole a very well-hidden and interesting site.
Map from Subbrit
The History
There's plenty of information already out there, so here is a brief introduction. The bunker was built in late 1940 as the South East Army Command Brigade Headquarters. I'm no expert but I'm assuming this was unlike most military installations on home ground in that it was not a defensive site for use by defensive forces; like the Home Guard or Territorial Army, but an actual command post for the Army themselves who at this time I would think were partially receded to England after Dunkirk as well as being positioned in other theatres. The South East Army Command had other tunnel systems at Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Reigate.
The Explore
This wasn't too difficult to locate, but wasn't the easiest to access. After getting some funny looks from the locals for pulling up in a muddy Mini clearly abused as a Land Rover, we gave the perimeter of the small quarry this was built in a full walk-round to assess the situation. The name of this village is already pretty good, something about those continental French names in Kentish villages that makes you feel like you've travelled further than you have. We jokingly named the explore 'The Sarre Offensive' because it sounded like a battleground. After entering the overgrown quarry directly, we realised this probably wasn't the best way without battling a ton of nettles. We did at least see the remains of three Nissen huts apparently serving an anti-aircraft battery or the same installation. We returned to our previous route to find the best entry route. The space we had to crawl into was not particularly inviting, likened to a Chilean mine collapse. I'm guessing the bunker entrance was once partly demolished and the wreckage thrown into the start of the tunnel, because this didn't look like a natural collapse. We then looked down at the imposing stairs running further underground and descended. The bunker isn't particularly big, nor in the best condition with a few disconcerting chalk avalanches, but on the whole a very well-hidden and interesting site.
Map from Subbrit
Enter the depths
Two headless explorers
Evidently a few collapses about
Due to collapses, only the northern most entrance survives
Nissen hut interior as a bonus pic
