insideKENT Magazine Issue 42 - September 2015 | Page 13

NEWS

WWII TUNNELS OPEN TO PUBLIC AT WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER
Forgotten since WWII, a labyrinth of tunnels built
on the order of Winston Churchill beneath the
White Cliffs of Dover opened to the public this
July, following nearly two years of conservation.
Fan Bay Deep Shelter was constructed in
the 1940s as part of Dover’s connected offensive
and defensive gun batteries, designed to prevent
German shipping moving freely in the English
Channel. The shelter accommodated and catered
for four officers and up to 185 men of other ranks
during counter bombardments, but was
decommissioned in the 1950s and filled in during
the 1970s.
Originally carved out of the chalk in just 100
days by Royal Engineers from the 172nd
Tunnelling Company, the shelter had five large
chambers providing bombproof accommodation
with space in between bunks designated for rifles,
as well as a hospital and a secure store. Both
the deep shelter and gun battery were personally
inspected by Winston Churchill in June 1941.
The tunnels are located underneath land
purchased by the National Trust in 2012 after a
successful public appeal raised £1.2million as
part of the Neptune coastline campaign.
Since the rediscovery of the tunnels, a team
of over 50 National Trust volunteers, two
archaeologists, two mine consultants, two

Example of sound mirror in use,
Abbots Cliff near White Cliffs of Dover © Crown

engineers and a geologist have spent nearly two
years excavating and preparing them to be
opened to the public.
Now specialist guides will lead hardhat and
torch-lit tours deep into the heart of the White
Cliffs, telling the story of the tunnels’ creation,
use and final abandonment in the 1970s.
The shelter is the largest of its kind in Dover
and one of the deepest recovered from the time,
at 23 metres below the surface. Visitors descend
the original 125 steps into more than 3,500 square
feet of tunnels — reinforced with heavy-duty iron
girders and metal sheeting, which were once
manned by troops from the 203rd Coast Battery,
Royal Artillery, later becoming the 540th Coast
Regiment, Royal Artillery.

Fan Bay Deep Shelter, Tunnels © National Trust, Chris Tapley

Tours of Fan Bay Deep Shelter will operate
daily until 6th September 2015, from 10.30am;
after which, tours will run Monday – Friday only
until 30th September, with a view to extend later
into the year depending on weather conditions.
Tickets are available on the day from the
White Cliffs visitor reception, with a limited number
available to book in advance via
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/white-cliffs-dover.
Tickets cost £10 per adult and £5 for 12-16 year
olds. National Trust members free.
For more information, visit
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/white-cliffs-dover.

KENT LIFE HERITAGE FARM PARK WINS AWARD FOR INSPIRATIONAL
EDUCATION PROGRAMME

World War II theme day

Kent Life Heritage Farm Park, near Maidstone,
has picked up its third award of the year, this
time in recognition of its education programme.
The popular family attraction, which is also
a working farm, has won a Sandford Award, an
independently judged, quality assured assessment
of education programmes at heritage sites,
museums, archives and collections across the
British Isles.
The award scheme is managed by the
Heritage Education Trust in partnership
with Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln.
Judge, Irene Davies, who assessed Kent Life’s
education programme while observing schools
that visited the site, said: “Kent Life Heritage Farm
Park is a lovely little microcosm of Kent rural life.
This is its unique feature and all the schools
visiting on the day praised this and gave it as the
reason for booking a visit.
“The atmosphere is relaxed with children
working and playing happily. All aspects of country
life, from the village to the farm, are easily

Evacuee workshops

accessible and the children can immerse
themselves in the past.”
The judge’s report said Kent Life’s education
programme contributed to an understanding of
local heritage, with workshops such as Meet the
Animals, Kitchen Garden, Sheep to Sock and
Hopping in Kent showing children a direct link to
what would have been happening on the site in
the past and allowing them to see where food
comes from.
The report also said that staff had worked
hard to respond to changes in the National
Curriculum, introducing a programme of themed
days in consultation with regular school visitors
and ‘making every effort to incorporate
suggestions and new topics’ in response to
teacher requests.
Teachers who spoke to the judge praised
the site for being ‘safe and contained’ and ‘large
enough for the children to see it as a farm and
rural village but not too large to overwhelm them’.
They also said that seeing animals being cared
for and fruit and vegetables growing made it ‘a

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Victorian lessons

real experience of Kent rural life’. There was praise
too for Kent Life’s ability to tailor visits to suit
each school’s specific needs.
Judge Irene Davies added that Kent Life
had made a ‘laudable attempt’ to meet the needs
of local teachers with a series of workshops,
many of which provided fun interaction for the
children and reinforced the work done in class.
She also highlighted the attraction’s ‘excellent
welcome and orientation’ for visitors, its easy
booking process, and ‘well organised
management’ of groups.
Kent Life general manager, Dan Gooch,
said: “This is a wonderful achievement for Kent
Life a