Going back in time at the Western Approaches HQ

Western Approaches HQ Operations Room, September 1944 - from Wikimedia Commons

My first job after leaving university was at the Royal Insurance head office, in Liverpool. There was little space outside, so in the event of a fire our muster point was the courtyard of the nearby Exchange Flags building. In all the various times I stood there (fortunately, mostly for fire drills), I had no idea that I was standing above a piece of history.

Exchange Flags - what lies beneath?

The Western Approaches is the term used to describe the area of the Atlantic to the west of Ireland and the UK. During World War II this area assumed vital importance, as all supplies coming to Britain had to sail through it. Merchant ships were at the mercy of German submarine attacks, so a convoy system was introduced whereby the ships travelled in groups, protected by a small number of naval vessels. Liverpool became the main port for the convoys.

Western Approaches Command was initially based in Plymouth. However the fall of France meant that not only was the south coast no longer safe, but the convoys now had to travel around the north of Ireland. The headquarters had to be moved, and Liverpool was the obvious choice. The Royal Navy had already acquired Derby House in the Exchange Flags building, and the operation to protect the convoys moved into the reinforced concrete basement.

At the end of the war the Western Approaches HQ was closed up and largely forgotten. Parts of it were destroyed when a car park was built under the courtyard in the 1950s. The rest was left frozen in time, however, and is now a museum. I've been there before, but yesterday I went for a special visit.

The bunker headquarters had to be able to function regardless of what was happening above. As well as being bombproof and gasproof it had its own power supply.

The controls for the power supply

It's a warren of tunnels and rooms.

One of the many corridors

It had a telegraph room, and a telephone system.

I don't know if the Morse code aide-memoire is original

The switchboard

Sign by the telephone switching gear

But there was also a direct phone to the Admiralty for the Commander-in-Chief, if required, next to his office.

The booth is soundproofed so nothing can be overheard

The Admiral's office

Although he was provided with a flat in Derby House the second commander, Admiral Sir Max Horton, preferred to spend much of his time in the bunker. He had a small room next to his office set up as a bedroom. Like the office, it had a window looking down into the Operations Room.

The bedroom

The view from the Admiral's quarters

The two-storey Operations Room is the most impressive room in the complex. The huge maps were painted by a Liverpool artist and signwriter, who was employed under conditions of strict secrecy, with no idea what his work would be used for. The positions of the convoys were plotted on the North Atlantic map, along with those of allied aircraft and reported enemy submarines. The plots were updated every four hours, or more frequently if urgent signals were received or orders issued.

The Operations Room

This weekend visitors have had a chance to see the Operations Room 'in use'. The re-enactment group 'V for Victory' gave a demonstration of how the room would have been used during a naval engagement - the one I saw was the tracking and sinking of the German battleship 'Bismarck'. Being in an enclosed space so separated from the outside world and busy with uniformed personnel going about their roles, it really gave a feeling of what the HQ must have been like.

The room in use

This felt as close as I will ever get to time travel

From my time dancing and re-enacting with Ya Raqs I have some idea of just how much work must have gone into planning this (and it was lovely to see some of my old friends from those days now with 'V for Victory), so thank you to everyone involved.