World War II Tunnels

Useful Information

Location:	Willis’s Rd, Gibraltar GX11 1AA. (36.1443476, -5.3490107)
Open:	Upper Rock Nature Reserve: NOV to APR daily 9-18, last entry 17:45. MAY to OCT daily 9:30-19, last entry 6:45. Closed 25-DEC, 01-JAN. Cable Car: all year daily 9:30-17:15 (up), 9:30-17:45 (down). [2024]
Fee:	Upper Rock Nature Reserve including all attractions: Adults GBP 19, Children (5-11) GBP 13, Children (0-5) free. Cable Car: One Way: Adults GBP 35.50. Return: Adults GBP 38, Children (5-11) GBP 22. [2024]
Classification:	World War II Bunker
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	M. S. Rosenbaum, Edward P. F. Rose (1991): The Tunnels of Gibraltar The Gibraltar Museum, 1991, 5.75 x 8,25 in., 32 pp. History & description of the 30 miles of tunnels penetrating the Rock of Gibraltar.
Address:	World War II Tunnels, Willis’s Rd, Gibraltar GX11 1AA, Tel: +350-20071633. E-mail: E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

The World War II Tunnels were, as the name suggests, a result of World War II. When Italy entered the War and the Axis became quite powerful, the strategic importance of Gibraltar grew. The civilian population was evacuated and the garrison was greatly increased in size. One problem was the lack of storage for food, equipment, and ammunition, another siege accommodation for the troops. A bunker system would not only provide the space, and would give full protection from the known types of air attack. Also it would be safe from sea and land bombardment.

The tunnelling was carried out by four specialized tunnelling companies from the Royal Engineers and the Canadian Army. A new Main Base Area was established in the south-eastern part of Gibraltar, where it was shielded from the potentially hostile Spanish mainland. The nationalist Franco regime was sympathizing with the Axis. New connection tunnels were created to link the new base with the established military bases on the west side. There were two tunnels, the Great North Road and the Fosse Way, which crossed the whole Rock and interconnected the bulk of the wartime tunnels.

The whole structure is sometimes called an underground city. It was big enough to house the garrison with 16,000 soldiers and enough supplies to last them for 16 months. There was an underground telephone exchange, a power station, a water distillation plant, a hospital, a bakery, several ammunition magazines and a vehicle maintenance workshop. The tunnels amount to 55 km.

A special thing is the famous secret chamber which became known as the “Stay Behind Cave". During World War II a secret operation was started, named Operation Tracer. It was known that Hitler planned to invade Gibraltar and cut off Great Britain from the rest of the British Empire. The plan was to construct a secret underground room for six men, who would stay there sealed in with supplies for a year. The supplies included 10,000 gallons of water, power generators and other necessities, and of course a radio room to report their intel. The men had two small openings to observe any movement they could see on the harbor. But the only way they could leave the bunker would be the end of the war before the year was over and the supplies ran out. However, before the operation started, Hitler changed course and focused on the Eastern Front. The equipment was removed and the secret chamber was blocked off. It was rediscovered in 1996 by explorers from the Gibraltar Caving Group. As far as we know, the chamber has not yet been opened to the public.

The site is located on Willis’s Rd, right above the Moorish Castle, on the edge of the northern face of the Rock. It is located right on the road, but there are no possibilities to park a car, so it is necessary to get there by foot or public transport. Licensed tour guides offer 30-40 minute tours. But the site is actually a museum with shop window dummies and static exhibitions and photographic displays. So it is typically visited self-guided. The site is located in the Nature Reserve Upper Rock, and is included in the entrance fee of the reserve. The entrance tickets are day tickets valid for 17 sites on the Rock, one of them is the World War II Tunnels. The ticket is a paper arm band with a 2D barcode, there is a scanner at the door which opens the gate. However, while it is valid for the whole day, each site can be entered only once. We actually do not understand the logic of this rule, but that’s obviously how bureaucrats think.