Cammell Laird bunkers found

Kyt · Aug 2, 2008

‘Lost’ WWII Cammell Laird bunkers found by workmen - Liverpool Echo.co.uk

WORKMEN today told how they accidentally unearthed one of the UK’s biggest World War II bunkers.

The Mellwood Construction team workers discovered the disused ventilation shaft near Leighton Road in Tranmere.

It descends 80ft into a network of cavernous brick tunnels.

The Home Office gave Birkenhead the green light to build the most expensive deep tunnel air raid shelter in the country in the 1940s.

They wanted to protect the irreplaceable Cammell Laird workforce.

Costing an estimated £129,000 it contained bunks and seats for more than 6,000 people as well as a canteen, medical wing, toilets and even space for a library.

Mellwood’s Danny Ambrose said: “We came across the concrete cap to the shaft and one of the residents came over to us and said ‘you’ve hit the tunnel’.

“We had to lower its level slightly for the new road and re-cap it. But that took a day’s careful work.”

Danny added: “We told the lads not to go down but I think curiosity got the better of them.

“It was 20ft down to sandstone which went to another 30 ft ladder and another platform – it was very deep.”

Former Wirral resident Chris Kay, 72, has studied the tunnels, and says the shaft was staggered to dissipate the blast from Nazi bombs and protect the skilled shipbuilders hidden below.

He said: “It’s a shame that this structure is going to waste. It is fascinating.

“Stockport has made a tourist attraction of its emergency tunnels and by not doing the same Wirral council is missing a major opportunity.

“Young people are fascinated by these bunkers – anything that brings history to life for them should be supported.”

The fire service conducted a final sweep of the tunnels in the 1980s before their entrances were concreted over.

Several children got lost while playing in them and they were deemed a hazard.

Tunnels’ history

The tunnels lie deep under the Holborn Hill area.

In 1956 the Cabinet Office decided the Tranmere complex could be used in the event of a nuclear attack.

It was stripped after the war and the toilets salvaged for the new Woodchurch Estate.

148 men were employed in its construction.

In 1948 it was rented by the Ministry of Food for storage.
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