Opportunity to enjoy "top secret tunnels" in the capital of England

Located 30 metres underground in Holborn, the 8,400m2 underground tunnel system has been kept secret for decades. But now, after the local government approved plans to renovate it.

Just beneath the bustling streets of the British capital there once lay a special world – a maze of underground tunnels that served as a secret World War II base and a top-secret communications hub between the US and UK during the Cold War.

Notably, this place is likely to become London's most unique tourist attraction in the near future.

Located 30m underground in Holborn, the 8,400m2 underground bunker system was kept secret for decades. But now, after the local government approved a renovation plan, it will become a complex: the British Military Intelligence Museum, an interactive World War II memorial and one of the world's deepest underground bars.

Construction of the tunnels began in secret in 1940, when Britain feared a Nazi invasion. The tunnel system consisted of two parallel tunnels, each 5m wide and 400m long, with a capacity of 8,000 men. When the tunnels were completed in 1942, the worst of the bombing had passed.

The British government quickly changed its purpose: turning this tunnel system into a communications center and base for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) – the secret intelligence force under Prime Minister Winston Churchill, famous for its mission to “set Europe on fire.”

One of the naval officers working here at that time was Ian Fleming - the prototype of the talented spy 007 James Bond, famous in the film industry later.

“This is a real-life Q Branch,” said Angus Murray, managing director of The London Tunnels, referring to the 007 weapons and equipment manufacturing centre.

After the war, the system was further expanded and became the national secure telephone centre. Around 200 people worked there permanently, in a closed but fully-serviced space with a cafeteria, bar and even a backup nuclear bunker for the British government.

As telecommunications technology changed, British Telecom withdrew from the site in the 1980s and then sold the vault to Mr Murray in 2023.

The planned renovation project will include a memorial to the more than 40,000 British civilians killed in air raids, cultural exhibitions and an underground bar with a 1960s-inspired style.

The British Military Intelligence Museum, currently located on a remote military base north of London, will move its entire collection, which dates back more than 300 years, here.

The collection includes equipment, weapons, and secret letters of SOE agents; intelligence tools from wartime to modern times.

According to Mr. Murray, the London Tunnels will open in 2028 and are expected to welcome up to 4.2 million visitors each year./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/co-hoi-thuong-ngoan-dia-dao-tuyet-mat-o-thu-do-nuoc-anh-post1046102.vnp