Site Records

Site Name: Wilton Park (Beaconsfield): Eastern Command War Headquarters & AFHQ 5

Minerva Way
Beaconsfield
Bucks.
OS Grid Ref: SU960902

Sub Brit site visit 8th March 2005

[Source: Nick Catford]

The plant room is at a lower level than the rest of the bunker and is flooded to a depth of 18". It is divided into two long rooms. One room is empty; the other contains air conditioning and filtration plant, pumps, compressors, electrical switchgear, two boilers and the standby generator which is located in a small room within the main plant room. The plant is generally in good condition above the water line.

Photo:The main distribution frame (left) in the BT room on which incoming and local wires are terminated and cross-connected. Cupboard on right has what are called Krone strips, which use IDC (insulation-displacement connector) joints instead of soldered tags. Rusty boxes in centre of picture are the cases of sundry low-voltage power supplies.
Photo by Nick Catford

The GPO/BT room is at the southern end of the plant room. There is a traditional style free standing main distribution frame (MDF) and on the opposite side of the room there are two racks of repeater equipment. The communications centre is located opposite the BT room. On the original plan this is shown as a single long room but it has now been partitioned into three open ended bays, two with a counter and an enclosed room. Adjacent to the Comcen there is a large room that must have been an operations room. It originally had a suspended ceiling but this has now collapsed onto the floor. In the middle of the room there is a large Perspex screen similar in size to the A & B screens found in ROC Group HQ's, this appears to be marked with local districts.

The flood control room has been identified on the far side of the bunker; this has a long bench along one wall with an upright electrical test unit sitting on it. One room in the bunker has clearly been a food preparation room with an industrial food mixer on a small table and a second food mixer on the floor alongside, this is adjacent to the kitchen still has a partially tiled wall and an extractor hood and the adjacent toilets are all intact with WC's and hand basins. It is impossible to determine what any of the other rooms were used for.

Section of a WW2 German Map - the bunker was later used as a film set when it became a WW2 German bunker.
Photo by Bob Jenner

The bunker has clearly been used as a film set at some point portraying a WW2 German bunker. There is a large German map lying on the floor in one of the rooms and at least two of the doors have a Nazi swastika painted on them.

Unfortunately our time at the bunker was limited to little more than 20 minutes which made a full photographic survey impossible; hopefully a return visit to finish the job can be arranged at some time in the future.

Sources: