Wakehurst's wartime secret buried in the grounds

A few steps away from an Elizabethan mansion in West Sussex, a secret underground radio station has been hidden in the woods for more than 80 years.

It was so secret, even the owners of Wakehurst Mansion were unaware of it.

The Canadian army occupied Wakehurst during World War Two in the 1940s, with officers enjoying the comforts of the house while other ranks set up camp on the lawns.

However, in the gardens was also a secret underground radio station with an escape pod which was part of a top-secret communications network to send coded intelligence information in the event of a German invasion.

It was so secret, the station had no connection to the commandeered mansion.

Bethan Hobbs, senior interpretation producer at Wakehurst, told the Secret Sussex series: "You can still see little clues of it today.

"There's a big chamber underground and nine female officers from the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) manned the relay station in shifts.

"It is one of Wakehurst's better kept secrets."

The only trace that is visibly above ground in 2026 is the hatch between the trees, and an aerial which disappears into the bark.

As well as sending communication, it was also used to intercept messages.

Hobbs added: "It is amazing to think at the time, nine women were hidden in plain slight underground and nobody knew they were here, including the Canadians.

"They lived in cramped conditions doing a tremendous job."

In 1944, the station was decommissioned, emptied and the entrance was sealed shut.

However, the National Trust asked Archaeology South-East to carry out a programme of archaeological work to investigate the subterranean WWII Relay Station in September 2010.

Excavation revealed that the top of the entrance shaft was intact and capped with reinforced iron bars and concrete although attempts to remove the cap proved unsuccessful.

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