Site Records

Site Name: Swynnerton SRHQ91/RGHQ 9.1

Valley Road
Swynnerton Training Area
Swynnerton, Staffordshire
OS Grid Ref SJ84533324

Sub Brit site visit 27.11.2003

The remaining part of the bunker is at the same level as the platform with all the rooms being accessed from an 'L' shaped corridor. Most of the rooms have been stripped of any fixtures and fittings apart from ventilation trunking and basic electrical fittings. The two BBC rooms, a studio and control room have acoustic tiles on the walls and a glass window between them. The BBC rooms are reached through the 'Communications Centre' which is sometimes referred to as the 'Counter Room' as it has a physical counter running from east to west across the room. The VDU room has ceiling mountings for a large piece of electrical equipment and the BT room has the ceiling mounted rack that supported the main distribution frame (MDF) and a wall mounted cabinet containing all the incoming phone lines.

As built, the magazine had 30 concrete pillars in five lines of six pillars for additional roof support. All of these have been retained some being incorporated into new partition while others are free standing in the larger rooms. There is an emergency exit in the south west corner of the bunker consisting of a flight of stairs. As the stair rises above the ground it is protected by a reinforced concrete exit blockhouse with a steel blast door.

In the middle of the north side of the bunker, at one end of the 'L' shaped corridor there is the connecting tunnel to the second bunker, originally magazine No. 5. This tunnel is approximately 150 feet in length and was built at ground level and later covered over with soil and grassed. It is a of a very basic construction, rectangular in section with a bare concrete floor and pre cast reinforced concrete wall and ceiling panels. The tunnel has never been painted or internally lined and has no forced ventilation. In the middle the tunnel is raised by six feet for a short length with steps up and down again, it is assumed that at this point it passed over a pipe or cables.

The second bunker was originally an identical magazine and following conversion it housed mainly the domestic rooms with a few operational rooms on the south side. The link corridor from the operations bunker enters on the south side. The large 'L' shaped male dormitory occupies the entire west and half of the north side of the bunker with another emergency exit stairway in the north west corner. Alongside is the female dormitory which is about a quarter the size and next to that the sick bay.

The kitchen and restaurant occupy the centre of the bunker, the restaurant has some wall decorations and atmospheric wall lights with a translucent screen on the east side hiding the stainless steel serving counter. The kitchen is one of the few rooms in the bunker that had not been stripped retaining all its stainless steel units and appliances including ovens, hot plates, water heaters sinks, fridge, freezer etc.

Running north to south along the east side of the bunker there is a wide corridor which was originally the railway platform. Unlike the operations bunker the loading bay has been largely filled in bringing the floor level up to that of the platform. Only one end has a section of the original sunken loading bay been retained. At the northern end this consists of a tank room with steel steps down to the tanks. In the middle are the main male and female toilets consisting of a long line of WC cubicles (and urinals in the male toilet) along one wall and a line of hand basins along the opposite wall. At one end of each room there is a separate shower room with a number of shower cubicles. At the south end of the corridor, steps lead down to an entrance lobby which again has been rebuilt as a two level structure with a second ventilation switchgear room and a ladder up to an identical ventilation plant room. Although there is an entrance blast door it's unlikely this was used and it probably acted as a third emergency exit.

Both bunkers are clean and dry but have been disconnected from mains water and electricity. A third magazine has been converted on the south side of Valley Road but this has no connection with the RGHQ and is part of the present military training area. On the west side of the operations bunker a large lattice communications mast still stands surrounded by a wire mesh fence; this appears to be completely unused. Although the bunker appears in good condition the army has no immediate use for it as it would cost too much money to bring it up to a safe usable condition. No further visits will be allowed.

Sources:

• Bob Jenner
• Keith Ward
• RCHME Survey Report - Cold War Project Survey Report Regional Government Headquarters 9.1 by Wayne Cocroft (RCHME/English Heritage) For copies of the report contact amanda.atton@english-heritage.org.uk

For further pictures of Swynnerton RGHQ click here
See also Swynnerton Royal Ordnance Factory on Sub Brit web site

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