THE Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge had numerous defences to protect against direct hits from above and attack on foot, according to new archaeological work.

Evidence suggests the secret bunker was camouflaged as a decorative garden during the war, so that, from the air, it looked like part of a designed landscape 

Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited the bunker on this day (16) in 1940 and here first proclaimed, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”  

The bunker is still revealing its secrets 86 years after it was built, according to Historic England and the Museum of London Archaeology. 

The underground operations room was of vital importance and, from there, Britain’s response to direct attack the Luftwaffe, was coordinated by the RAF Fighter Command 11 Group. 

The Grade I listed bunker is 60 feet below ground and construction began in 1938.

Recent conservation work and repairs enabled archaeological research, which revealed the lengths the RAF went to in order to protect this command centre. 

 Surveys show that deep levels of earth and concrete were piled up to protect against direct hits from above.

Defences including gun pits, brick pillboxes and barbed wire entanglements, were all introduced to counter enemy attack at ground level.

 Due to its top-secret nature, there are no known wartime photographs of how the bunker looked above ground.

However, historic aerial photographs suggest the bunker and its defences were camouflaged as a decorative garden, so it looked like part of the landscape of nearby Hillingdon House.  

 Another intriguing discovery is that of a large Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) symbol scratched on a pillbox – evidence of later peaceful protest on site.

Sandy Kidd, Archaeologist at Historic England, said: “The discovery of multiple and layered defensives employed to keep this secret nerve centre safe tells us something of the fear of the bunker being compromised.” 

The Battle of Britain Bunker is now a popular attraction and education centre, managed by Hillingdon Council.