Lord Airey's Shelter is a

subterranean Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to: * Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made Literature * ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins * ''Subterranean Magazine'', an American fa ...

military shelter in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. It is located near the southern end of the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the country's land area. It was established as the Upper Rock Nature Rese ...

, adjacent to

Lord Airey's Battery Lord Airey's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just north of O'Hara's Battery. It was named after the Governor of Gibraltar, Gener ...

. It was named after the Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir

Richard Airey General Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey, (April 180314 September 1881), known as Sir Richard Airey between 1855 and 1876, was a senior British Army officer of the 19th century. Background Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, Airey was ...

. The tunnel system for the shelter was chosen as the site for the highly classified, Second World War military operation known as

Operation Tracer Operation Tracer was a secret Second World War military operation in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory and military base. The impetus for the plan was the 1940 scheme by Germany to capture Gibraltar, code-named Operation Felix. Operation ...

Early history

Lord Airey's Shelter is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. The shelter is located underground, near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just north of Lord Airey's Battery, and adjacent to the

Mediterranean Steps Mediterranean Steps is a path and nature trail in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. One of the footpaths of Gibraltar, the path is located entirely within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve and was built by the British military but is n ...

. It is positioned on Ministry of Defence property. The shelter was named after General Sir

(1803 – 1881), who served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1865 to 1870. The tunnels for Lord's Airey's Shelter were chosen as the site for the highly classified underground complex of Operation Tracer. The primary room of Lord Airey's Shelter measured in length and in width. Little is known about its function. However, due to the similarities between Lord Airey's Shelter and Operation Tracer's Stay Behind Cave, it is believed that the shelter may have served as a training site for the members of Operation Tracer. In addition, it may have stored provisions in advance of the military operation. Near the south end of the room, on the east wall, a stove was positioned. Adjacent to this, an exit to the Mediterranean Steps was constructed. On the west side of the south end of the shelter, a passage communicated with the tunnel system. At the north end of the main room, two smaller chambers were built, one of which contained a wash pit. That pit was built to the same dimensions as the one discovered in Operation Tracer's Stay Behind Cave. A ventilation conduit was installed in that chamber, with an appearance similar to that of the one for Operation Tracer. At the north end of the complex, a second passage led to the main tunnel system, as well as a steep tunnel. That steep tunnel to a lower level may have functioned as a "spoil chute." During the Second World War, it is generally thought that German spies observed the amount of garbage and construction debris removed from the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

at a variety of sites. It allowed German authorities to assess the amount of ongoing tunneling in the Rock. In addition, the amount of tunneling in the area of Lord Airey's Shelter during the Second World War may have served as cover while Operation Tracer's Stay Behind Cave was built. Another operation was codenamed ''Monkey'' and its intention was to create decoy caves that could be discovered by an invading army. The chosen locations were

Beefsteak Cave Beefsteak Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located in the south of the Rock, between Europa Point and Windmill Hill. History During the three-and-a-half-year-long Great Siege of Gibraltar the population of t ...

and

Coptic Cave Coptic Cave is a sea cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The cave was intended to be used as a decoy to protect Operation Tracer. This was a plan to leave behind spies should the British lose control of the Rock of Gibraltar in ...

.Coptic Cave
, Underground-Gibraltar.com,

Gibraltar Museum The Gibraltar National Museum is a national museum of the history, culture and natural history of Gibraltar located within the city centre of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Founded in 1930 by the then Governor of Gibraltar, Genera ...

, accessed January 2013

Recent history

As Lord Airey's Shelter is on Ministry of Defence property, it is closed to the public. Unauthorised entry is considered a criminal offence. However, the adjacent Lord Airey's Battery was opened to the public in May 2010.

References

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External links

Google map of Lord Airey's Shelter
Fortifications in Gibraltar