Underground WW2 Air Raid Shelter at Vickers Factory Brooklands Weybridge
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- In 1990 I got the chance to film inside the derelict Vickers underground Air Raid Shelter at the Sand Pits, Brooklands, Weybridge, after youths had broken in. The video footage was stored away for the last twenty two years, but when I recently got the chance to go there again I wanted to share it with you all.
Background
In July 1939 design drawings were produced (for a vast new underground air raid shelter complex in the 'Sandpits' (a former quarry area) opposite Vickers' Brooklands Rd offices. Late in 1939 Construction started of an air raid shelter capable of seating over 5,100 people and also able to protect them against gas attacks.
As some point after this, construction also started on a Bellman hangar at the Southern end of Sandpits and may have been used for dispersed production work. After the war the area including the hanger and the tunnels, was used as a Medical Centre, vehicle servicing and staff car parking. It became abandoned around 1987 with the closer of the factory (now part of British Aerospace).
Today the area is dominated by the David Lloyd Health Centre on the site of the old hangar and the tunnels are now used for storage.
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Used to play in them when we were kids in the early 70s. One challenge was to enter alone start at no 1 go to the deepest point and traverse them to exit at 17. All without a light source of any kind!
There were rumours that at the back of tunnel 17, there was the entrance to a secret WW2 hospital under St George's Hill and it had been bricked off.
I always wanted to visit this place and very nearly did as part of my work for Mouchels, We had the drawing you showed in the office and had some work to do there (a survey I thin k) It was apparently an emergency hospital during the war and part of the Cold War preparations. Fascinating place.
great video
Thanks guys, i take that as a real compliment come from you.
This is wonderful, I did my apprenticeship from 66 to 71 and often went to these tunnels as areas of them were used for archives and we apprentices as the cheapest form of transport were used for hauling flat trollies full of drawings and documents, I also seem to remember giving blood over in that area, voluntarily of course.
Interesting bit of history.
Apprenticed at Vickers 1966 - 70 and worked there until 78. Always exploring these tunnels at the Sandpits, challenge to find an open one. There was also another block of shelters in the center of the site, opposite the hanger and part of parking lot (not under the sandbanks) which were kept in good condition for the annual Red Cross blood collection. Also the executive car garages and base were located here. Nice to see the tunnels are being taken care of. Fond memories, guess it all went south after the closure of BAE in the 80s
You will find more videos of places your recognise Maurice if you are prepared to search my channel like the old fire station, works canteen and much more.
Thanks I will check it out
Checked out the Canteen, both worker and staff sides - so nostalgic. Do you have any videos/pictures of the VC10 Blast Screens that were erected in the early 60s at the railway end of the runway. They were to prevent the engine blast at take off, taking a train out. They were 2 of them, angled towards the runway, maybe going 75 ft high and each 100 ft wide, with all steel louvres.
@@mauriceburlison8665 No I am sorry to say I don't. I have seen a picture of them somewhere in the past, but by the time National Rescue (my company) moved into Brooklands they must have already gone. It was over the next couple of years they started to demolish the other building and I would love to have filmed more of them than I did, but of course I had no idea how interesting they would be to later generations.
@@AndysVideo Thanks, maybe someone else out there has a picture. They would have been taken down in the mid 60s after the last VC10 was rolled out. Yes lots of memories and nostalgia. Not sure anyone thought the British Commercial Aerospace industry would collapse like it did - no more Concordes? The site sold and the entire factory demolished for redevelopment. With the museum being pushed further into the corner of the site. Leaving the Airfield, Tower and memorial, etc in its original place would have been nice.
My mother worked for Vickers during WWII. I was also in the Civil Defence Corps in the 1960s, and we used the site for one exercise.
I don't remember the tunnels but I do remember the car par at the sandpits area, I used to park there when I was an apprentice and working in Civil Sales Engineering Dept. in the "new" 1960s built office block opposite. Also in the sandpits area was the firms garage where they kept their fleet of Cortinas, one of which we used to thrash up to Warton (Lancs) in the 1970s. Sadly the entire area on both sides of Brooklands Road has been totally redeveloped.
I remember when we came out of the tunnels, we could see across the road the Vickers building was halfway through being knocked down and just half the board room was left which was where every decision ever made by Vickers would have taken place.
I remember we used the car park for a Civil Defence exercise in 1966 or 67.
My mother was working there in 1940 when ME 110s bombed the factory, the workers were strafed by the aircraft as they ran for the shelters.
is that where the new housing estate is? I was told that the canteen was hit and 50 or so people perished. A fascinating and historically important part of our past
I used to go down these as a kid around 1989 just before the Vickers factory got bulldozed
That must have been Creepy?
It was exciting, 15 and fearless. There were other underground bunkers in the car park area too. And a big hanger were the gym now stands. I recently joined as a member which is what reminded me all about them. Great video.
Very fascinating video. Thanks for sharing. Just curious, I worked on the Brooklands race track repairing the concrete road. Great place to work, I was very young then. My first job in construction. Just curious, did the tunnels run underneath the main track, as I never got to see or hear of them, when we were working on the track itself.
Not these tunnels that were across the road from the main Vickers entrance and went under st. Georges Hill. There are however several tunnels under the track to allow access from outside. Three side by side just eat of Members Bridge to let not members in and one to the west for allowing racing cars in.
There was also an iarshelter built during the war under a long since gone Hangar built on the track during the war and you can see me and F1's Jenks finding it at th-cam.com/video/7_iw1TDmlDk/w-d-xo.html
@@AndysVideo thanks for sharing the video and information. Thanks
I was in the garden when the German bombers came over to attack Vicker's.
It was a fine clear day. They were very low and I could clearly see the iron cross markings on the bombers.
No Ack-Ack or fighters delayed them.
I wished that I had my father's shot gun
Our next door neighbour had been fire watching on the roof and was blown to the ground. He had many pieces of glass to be picked out.
How fascinating! I've lived in this area all my life but never knew about the shelters. My grandmother worked at Vickers during the war years. I wonder if the shelters are still there or has the re-development of the area destroyed them?
No very much still there, but not open to the public of course.
Is there tunnels under Vickers shadow factory squires gate Blackpool south shore ?
Sorry to say I have no idea, but hopefully a local to the are may answer you.
I remember going inside a couple of times with my brother,through blue steel door. I was quite young then and we didnt go far with our crappy tin "pifco" torches!
Looks like a place where they might film Dr Who or Blake's 7.
Watching Glynis Barber running about down those tunnels does sound like a great idea.
in world war 2,the whole country was riddled with shelters and bunkers.A lot still remain undiscovered.
Thank you Andy I am seeing this in 2018 . Question How far down below the surface of the Ground were these Shelter tunnels ? I live in Rochester .
The entrance is at 'Ground Level' and it does not go any lower than that, but because it is in the side of a hill once you get inside you have 100+ foot of earth above you.
Andy Thank you . You answered my Question Perfectly . I enjoyed your video of a trip taken long ago .
Google "Vickers Centenary" for a complete history of Vickers. They were and are the BE!
went in side this air raid shelter 29 year ago I moved the Irish j on the shelf bracket Lol
I used to give blood in there back in the 1980s. Great memory.
I'm just wondering, if there's another nuclear bomb, can we go there?? ..if not then how can we survive this?? Thanks
Why the government doesn't talk about how to prepare citizens 🤔 incase there's another war caused by Putin???