During his time in military intelligence, Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond novels, regularly worked with Winston Churchill’s spy organisation based 30 metres below ground in a labyrinth of tunnels in central London.
The Kingsway Exchange tunnels complex, stretching out across 8,000 sq metres beneath High Holborn, near Chancery Lane underground station, hosted the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and is said to have inspired Q Branch in Fleming’s novels.
So it seems appropriate that plans to breathe new life into this long-abandoned second world war subterranean network will include a permanent exhibition about the history of military intelligence and espionage.
The Military Intelligence Museum is to collaborate with the London Tunnels company, developing the complex to showcase its original artefacts, equipment, weapons and documents in a modern hi-tech experience at the proposed new £220m London tourist attraction, which is planned to open in 2028.
Today the tunnels remain closed, but inside they yield many clues to their fascinating past.
Construction began in 1940 to protect Londoners during the blitz but was not completed until 1942, so the tunnels were never used for their original purpose. A wide set of stairs remain, where those fleeing the Luftwaffe could descend from Chancery Lane tube station, though the entrance has long been blocked off.
Later in the war, the SOE moved in to dream up all manner of imaginative ways to thwart the Nazis.
The tunnels’ next incarnation was as the Kingsway telephone exchange, which in the 1950s served as an internal communications exchange during the cold war. An artesian well, to provide fresh water to those stuck underground in the event of a nuclear attack, remains.
British Telecom took over the site in the 1980s, creating the world’s deepest licensed bar for use by the government staff. The old bar, decorated in then fashionable brown, orange and yellow, also remains, as does the long-disused staff canteen. The plan now is to create a new bar, with claims to be the deepest in any major city.
Under the proposals, which have been granted full planning permission, the site will be developed into a three-in-one attraction – exhibitions, immersive interactive exhibitions and the bar. Exhibitions about James Bond and the cold war, as well as a memorial to the blitz, have all been mooted, and subjects will change regularly.
Taking inspiration from venues such as Les Bassins des Lumières in Bordeaux, other spaces will provide fully immersive digital experiences.
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The London Tunnels said work was scheduled to begin in 2027, with completion in 2028. It aims to attract up to 3 million visitors a year, revitalising an area close to the City of London which has had reduced footfall since the Covid pandemic.
The venue will provide “the world’s most authoritative permanent exhibition of military intelligence”, said Gen Sir Jim Hockenhull, the commander of Strategic Command and colonel commandant of the Intelligence Corps.
“The tunnels will provide a dramatic and historic backdrop for an exciting new approach to telling the story of the past, present and future of military intelligence.”
This exhibition will feature stories from the Battle of Britain and D-day, the extraordinary espionage operations of the cold war and the fight for the Falklands to peace-keeping missions and the terrorist threat of the 21st century. A special exhibition, created by the museum, will be dedicated to the SOE.
Angus Murray, the chief executive of London Tunnels, said: “The tunnels, built and designed to protect Londoners during the blitz, are the ideal backdrop to tell the remarkable, and untold, stories of the men and women who played a vital role in protecting Britain then, and the role of the armed services protecting Britain today.”
