The hidden history of Wales under our feet
AT FIRST glance, they might look like scenes from a Cold War film set.
Retro furniture, unused switchboards, and maps tacked to the walls – these underground bunkers paint a picture of a time where tensions were high and the future uncertain.
In some, gas masks still remain, while paperwork from 80 years ago can be found in offices that have remained empty since the 1990s.
While it’s a situation hopefully consigned to history it is not well-known that some of these hidden sites can still be found.
Fortunately, their history and stories have been preserved by a group dedicated to exploring everything built under the ground.
Through the hard work of Subterranean Britannica, we are able to see just what secrets these sites held and what remains to this day.
On their website dozens of sites across Wales have been mapped, showing everything from war rooms to emergency centres.
Here are just five of the astounding underground bunkers found metres below the ground in South Wales.
Wenallt anti-aircraft operations room (AAOR)
Found in woodland in the Wenallt area of Cardiff, pictures from this underground room were taken in the year 2000 by renowned subterranean photographer Nick Catford.
An unremarkable concrete building on the outside, inside shows the operation room itself and a switchboard that was built but never used.
In total 31 AAORs have been discovered and documented by Sub Brit across the UK. They were built to serve during the Cold War but became redundant in 1956 following the creation of guided missiles and hydrogen bomb.
This Cardiff bunker later became the main BT war headquarters for Wales, according to Nick, but while new dormitories and a canteen were fitted the work was abandoned before it was finished.
Llandaff sub-control nuclear bunker
Found in Vaughan Avenue, Llandaff, accounts from urban explorers from 2018 paint a picture of a bunker frozen in time.
While some rooms have been stripped bare, there are reports that others still contain stocks of gas masks and helmets while paperwork from the 1940s litters the desks.
The bunker was built in 1956 and remained operational until the Civil Defence Corps disbanded in 1968, the Sub Brit website explains.
From that point it was manned by volunteers until 1984 and served as the county standby control room until 1991.
After a visit in 2003, Mr Catford writes: “Beyond this is a store room with Dexion shelving, still stacked with equipment, much of it dating from World War II.
“There are a large number of tin helmets, stretchers, gas masks, dustbins, buckets, stacked tables, and a large quantity of small wooden blocks (unknown use).
“Internally the bunker has changed very little since it was built and feels like a 1950s bunker as soon as you walk through the door.”
Mountain Ash ROC post
Once manned by the Royal Observer Corps, monitoring posts like this one in Mountain Ash can be found across the UK.
Formed in 1925, their role was to be the “eyes and ears” of the RAF and provide monitoring, recording and appraisal of nuclear fallout if a nuclear attack ever happened in Wales during the Cold War.
This ROC post was opened in 1961 and closed in 1991.
Below a concrete block visible at ground level, pictures show maps pinned to the wall, a broken red chair in the corner, and rubbish scattered on the floor.
Coryton regional war rooms
Built in 1952, Coryton was chosen as one of 13 war rooms that would house the regional administration for Wales in the case of a nuclear attack.
In the absence of an attack it went on to serve as a training centre and
South Glamorgan Emergency Centre until the end of the Cold War and was demolished at the end of 2003.
During a trip to the bunker in the year of its demolition a team of Sub Brit members described a radio room, men and women’s dormitories, and a kitchen and canteen.
They also uncovered a map room full of “waterlogged maps” and a telephone switch room.
They write: “In recent years local children have broken into the Cardiff war room but there is little internal damage, although all external walls are now covered with colourful wall art.”
A visit to Merthyr Tydfil ROC post in 1999 portrays the bunker in a bleak condition.
The unnamed visitor writes on the Sub Brit website: “All surface features remain intact but the top of the access shaft has been hacked badly to gain access and the hatch is wedged halfopen but still secured by two padlocks.
“Internally the post is flooded to a depth of four inches and smells like a toilet. The table, shelf and cupboard remain together with the siren box, two mattresses, wiring, and a metal rack for holding papers.”
Merthyr ROC post was opened in 1959 and abandoned in 1991.
Cardiff Coryton Regional War Room, demolished in 2003
Steps to empower those with sight loss
OCTOBER 8 was World Sight Day, which this year had the message ‘hope in sight’. This is very fitting for all of us at RNIB Cymru, as we launch our manifesto for the May 2021 Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament elections. We are excited and hopeful that the next Welsh Government will work with us to make Wales a country without barriers for people with sight loss.
Covid-19 has exacerbated many of the problems that blind and partially sighted people already face in day-today life, but it has also brought to the fore some of the best aspects of our society. We believe this generosity of spirit can spark the creation of a more equal and inclusive society for people with sight loss and other disabilities.
To help us achieve a Wales where there are no barriers for people with sight loss, RNIB Cymru is calling for the next Welsh Government to commit to five things:
■ Prioritise ending needless sight loss by accelerating the transformation of eye care services;
■ Break down environmental barriers faced by blind and partially sighted people in our towns, cities and streets. People with sight loss should be able to live, travel and enjoy the same opportunities as everyone else; ■ Tackle the postcode lottery of Vision Rehabilitation Services. Every person diagnosed with sight loss, wherever they live, should be able to access the support they need to empower them to live safely and to enable them to play an active part in society;
Embed accessible information practices into the NHS and wider public services. People with sight loss should receive information in a format that works for them, by right and
without fight;
Create a fairer, more equal society by reforming the way the public sector engages with disabled people. Proactively involving disabled people in design processes from the earliest stages will identify and remove barriers before they are put in place, creating a fairer, more equal society for all.
The 121,000 people with sight loss across Wales must be empowered to live fully healthy, independent lives. We now have a real chance to effect change across the nation and to build lasting legacies that benefit our whole society.
To find out more about our manifesto, visit www.rnib.org.uk/cymru. Ansley Workman, RNIB Cymru Director
Letters will not be included unless you include your name, full postal address and daytime telephone number (we prefer to use names of letter writers but you can ask for your name not to be published if you have a good reason). The Editor reserves the right to edit all letters.