When I was a child I grew up on a diet of old black and white movies – standard fodder for rainy Sunday afternoons. I loved the World War 2 ones – and my favourite scenes were those that took place in secret command centres where Wrens and WAAFs pushed model planes and boats around giant maps with long pointy sticks. My childhood idea of a dream job. I was born in Liverpool and had absolutely no idea that one of those incredible nerve centres had been hidden below the streets of the city.

Western Approaches Command was a secret bunker buried under seven feet of concrete, beneath Derby House in the centre of Liverpool, just a short walk from the dockside. Opened in February 1940, it was a rabbit warren of one hundred rooms. It was staffed with around 300 personnel  – RAF and Royal Navy officers and women of the WAAFs and Wrens. This was the nerve centre for the critical Battle of the Atlantic. Men and women worked here day and night tracking and tracing submarines, enemy aircraft and Allied merchant convoys on the dangerous approaches to Britain from the US and Canada.The bunker was connected to the code breakers at Bletchley Park with information passing to and fro. Operations continued all through the Liverpool Blitz, when the city took an absolute pounding, particularly during the terrible month of May 1941. Service people working at Derby House – or the Citadel as it was known – often emerged from its depths at the end of their shifts to scenes of absolute devastation.

When the war ended the command centre was locked up and left. It remained mothballed until someone had the bright idea of opening it to the public. Unfortunately I discovered it was now a museum only after Lockdown happened and was unable to visit – and travelling “up north” has been out of the question for me. The good news is that you can do a virtual video tour of the place and a fascinating experience it is too.

Here is an extract from my forthcoming book, Sisters at War.

Palmer indicated a side doorway that looked like a fire exit. Inside, the walls were bare concrete, with nothing to see but a metal guard rail and concrete steps leading down to what must be the basement. The sharp smell of wet paint hung in the air.

‘Building’s not ready yet. They’re still working on it.’ Palmer preceded Will down the stairs into the bowels of the building. ‘Seven foot of concrete over our heads and walls three feet deep make this the safest building in Liverpool.’ Palmer pushed open a door into a large room where naval ratings were painting the walls and men were laying yards of cable. ‘Welcome to Derby House. Before long, this place will be a hive of activity.’

Palmer swept his arm around the rooms. ‘Telephones, signalling equipment, radio interceptors. This will be the joint forces command centre. Not only the Royal Navy but the RAF, and the Marines will be here too.’

Will looked around the empty and featureless concrete room. ‘But how? Why?’

‘We will be monitoring the Western Approaches to Britain. We’re going to track every enemy convoy, every submarine wolf pack, every airplane, that threatens our shipping routes.’

‘But isn’t that what you’re doing in Plymouth?’

‘The Admiralty and the War Office think Plymouth’s too vulnerable to bombing and since the bulk of our merchant shipping comes through the port of Liverpool it makes more sense for us to be located here. This bunker is purpose-built.’

Will scratched his head. ‘I still don’t get it. Why are you showing me this?’

Palmer smiled. ‘Because I want you to join us, Kidd.

Image credits: Mark Carline Website