Dover Cold War tunnels to have rare public opening
A World War Two bunker under Dover Castle, which was on standby for use during the Cold War, is to open for two rare public tours. In the early 1960s the government selected the cliff top site as one of 12 Regional Seats of Government in the event that London was bombed.It was known as Dumpy Level and housed office and communications facilities as well as a BBC Studio from where hourly broadcasts would be made.As part of Cold War Heritage Weekend the site will open to limited number of pre-booked visitors on Sunday and Tuesday.
The complex was sealed against contamination and given air filtration in order to stop pockets of bad air from gathering.It was never used.Kathryn Bedford, curator for English Heritage which now manages the site, said: "Everywhere you walk down here you can hear the constant sound of the air conditioning."People who worked here said it was never silent. It also helped with damp and it's not cold."The site was decommissioned in the early 1980s and most of the equipment removed.Ms Bedford said: "When you look at sites like this it's often the paintwork that tells you where things would have been."In the main planning room, it's a double-storey space with a curved ceiling. "The paper is peeling off and the floor is hollow where a giant map would have been."
Wooden covered ducts along the floors would have housed communications cables.The idea was not that people would live in Dumpy for any length of time, but they would co-ordinate life above ground for when it was safe to return.There was also a BBC Studio from where a wartime broadcasting system would operate, playing out tapes of comedy shows to keep spirits up."There would be an on-the-hour announcement asking people to stay in their homes and to continue to listen to the radio for further news but to turn it off between times to save batteries," said Ms Bedford.Radio Four newsreader Peter Donaldson recorded the last warning announcement and it was played at his funeral in 2015.The studios are now mostly empty.Modern safety regulations mean that Dumpy Level cannot currently be permanently open to the public.
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