Devizes, Bishops Cannings: The Secret Listening Post

Available for over a year

The rolling downs at Bishop’s Cannings, near Devizes in Wiltshire, were home to six 300 feet tall wireless masts during World War One. They were put up before the war as part of an Imperial Telegraph Service but wartime needs transformed them into a listening post. Royal Engineers kept tabs on German communications, and possibly Zeppelins too. Nothing exists on the hillside now, except some concrete bases and one hut. Historian, Terry Crawford, has been explaining the base’s history to BBC Wiltshire’s Ashley Heath. Together they find a local man with a living connection to Wiltshire’s secret listening post. Location: The Devizes, Bishops Cannings, Wiltshire SN10 2LP Image: The Devizes, then and now, courtesy of Gay Boxhall