OK so after a long morning of searching around the seemingly "huge" area of Bidston hill on only pretty poor clues and falsified leads from the internet we finally found the entrance to the tunnels, and although heavily vandalized and splayed with only what can be described as poor graffiti, it did not disappoint, the place still had a real feel of history and imagination from past times, a good visit all round.
The Bidston Hill tunnel project was born in 1941, probably out of the devastating effects of the Luftwaffe blitz on Merseyside. During these dark months many infrastructure targets were hit, many people were killed and many more made homeless. The first week of May 1941 saw the peak of the attack, it involved 681 Luftwaffe bombers; 2,315 high explosive bombs and 119 other explosives. The raids put 69 out of 144 cargo berths out of action and inflicted 2,895 casualties, 1,741 of them fatalities.
Wirrals Civil Defence Emergency Committee in 1941 reveal that the peninsulas skilled workforce of shipbuilders, steel workers and other industries meant that it was granted almost unprecedented funds to establish two deep air raid shelters, one being in Tranmere and the other in Bidston. Built over the next two years there were 2213 bunks and 793 seats, as well as a canteen staff dormitory, toilets, medical posts and a ventilation shaft which could double as an emergency escape hatch if necessary. The work was not without incident and setbacks; the project was apparently plagued with trespassers and vandalism, and as with modern projects the cost of the work increase with the discovery of poor quality rock. In June 1943 the final bill for the project was in; £163;48,006 which is a considerable sum. Although the shelters were used the reducing frequency of the bombing raids meant that it never saw the levels of use it was designed for.
And we are in, little bit of a squeeze!!
Some of the better graffiti, on the blast walls
Some seemingly endless corridors
Remains of structural safety measures during intended purpose use
Some of the old equipment/lighting ect
Emergency escape hatch,now well sealed off...
Seems they used alphabetical mapping during intended use
Toilet block remains, looks like someone took a sledge hammer to them!!!
how old does this look..??
mascot from a newer age
More of that poor graffiti, but the name in that second picture rings a bell. Guess someone beat me to it...
Storage cupboard perhaps first aid? looks like it has some age to it.
quick one in monochrome as we left.
Thanks for looking
cheers all
The Bidston Hill tunnel project was born in 1941, probably out of the devastating effects of the Luftwaffe blitz on Merseyside. During these dark months many infrastructure targets were hit, many people were killed and many more made homeless. The first week of May 1941 saw the peak of the attack, it involved 681 Luftwaffe bombers; 2,315 high explosive bombs and 119 other explosives. The raids put 69 out of 144 cargo berths out of action and inflicted 2,895 casualties, 1,741 of them fatalities.
Wirrals Civil Defence Emergency Committee in 1941 reveal that the peninsulas skilled workforce of shipbuilders, steel workers and other industries meant that it was granted almost unprecedented funds to establish two deep air raid shelters, one being in Tranmere and the other in Bidston. Built over the next two years there were 2213 bunks and 793 seats, as well as a canteen staff dormitory, toilets, medical posts and a ventilation shaft which could double as an emergency escape hatch if necessary. The work was not without incident and setbacks; the project was apparently plagued with trespassers and vandalism, and as with modern projects the cost of the work increase with the discovery of poor quality rock. In June 1943 the final bill for the project was in; £163;48,006 which is a considerable sum. Although the shelters were used the reducing frequency of the bombing raids meant that it never saw the levels of use it was designed for.
And we are in, little bit of a squeeze!!
Some of the better graffiti, on the blast walls
Some seemingly endless corridors
Remains of structural safety measures during intended purpose use
Some of the old equipment/lighting ect
Emergency escape hatch,now well sealed off...
Seems they used alphabetical mapping during intended use
Toilet block remains, looks like someone took a sledge hammer to them!!!
how old does this look..??
mascot from a newer age
More of that poor graffiti, but the name in that second picture rings a bell. Guess someone beat me to it...
Storage cupboard perhaps first aid? looks like it has some age to it.
quick one in monochrome as we left.
Thanks for looking
cheers all