Secret Britain: A journey through WWII's hidden bases and battlegrounds

by Sinclair McKay

Discover the stories of the brave men and women who worked, trained and fought across the UK, from Bletchley Park in southern England all the way to Arisaig in northern Scotland, in an unbelievable effort to defeat the Nazis and win the Second World War .

From the outset of the war, most of Britain felt like a mystery even to those who lived there. All road and railway signs were removed up and down the country to thwart potential enemy spies. An invisible web of cunning spread across the United Kingdom; secret laboratories were hidden in marshes, underground bases were built to conceal key strategic plans and grand country houses became secret and silent locations for eccentric boffins to do their confidential cryptography work.

In Secret Britain, Sinclair McKay maps out the UK through the hidden bases and battlegrounds of WWII. These locations are full of history and intrigue, but if you don't know where to look, you might just miss them. Journeying through secret wildernesses, suburbs, underground tunnels and manor houses, Sinclair gives a glimpse into the stories of the incredible people behind the war effort, and shows how you might be able to visit these mysterious and evocative locations yourself.

With his trademark warmth and compassion, Sinclair unearths the truths of the war that have remained under layers of secrecy since the war was won in 1945.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Historical, War

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2021

About the author

Sinclair McKay writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph and The Secret Listeners and has written books about James Bond and Hammer horror for Aurum. His next book, about the wartime “Y” Service during World War II, is due to be published by Aurum in 2012. He lives in London.
-Source

Reviews

[Leonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to keep on your travel shelf, as the places are dotted around the British Isles. We went to Braunton in Devon last month because of this book, which was great, as the D-Day rehearsals which took place there I’d never heard of.

Why only 3 stars? Well, a lot of the places after just buildings, or are no longer in existence. I found some of it repetitive and I wanted more detail - though it does give ideas for further research.

[Andy Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at secret sites around mainland Britain that were used in WWII. Some I knew nothing off, others I did. Fascinating how all these places of secret history are now known and can be discovered and in dine cases visited or explored.

[Alistair Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the idea behind this book. I am intrigued by war efforts based on ingenuity and intelligence (in more than one meaning of the word) - and not on killing people, at least not directly. The obvious example - which is mentioned several times in the book - is Bletchley Park, which is a particular interest of mine. However, I am also interested in other places where 'clever' war efforts were executed, and that is specifically the subject of this book.

However, I do have some doubts about this author. There are a number of errors in the book which I have spotted, which makes me wonder if there are others I will have missed. It's sloppy.

Errors include:
Heavy water is not used to transform Uranium into Plutonium (Nobel Prize if you can find a way of doing that!).
Frequent use of the plural landing 'crafts'. 'Craft' is the plural, but even that is not used consistently.
There was a Royal Observer Corps, not the Royal Observation Corps.

The book is about secrets, so obviously much information is hard to come by. It is evident that the author has spoken to people who worked in the facilities documented, which is laudable - but it is a bit anecdotal. As an academic, I would have liked to see more published sources.

[James Tidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Sinclair McKay maps the hidden bases and battlegrounds of the Second World War that were, for the most part, kept secure under the Official Secrets Act until 1975.

From the beginning of the war, Britain felt like a mystery to those who lived there. All the signs from the roads and railway stations were removed to thwart enemy spies. A web of cunning soon spread across the UK like wildfire. Secret laboratories were hidden in marshes, bases were built deep underground to conceal plans, and grand country houses like Blenheim Palace became secret locations for eccentric boffins to do secret cryptography work so as to break the Enigma Code.

From a secret wilderness where rockets were launched to underground tube stations that were commandeered for special control rooms to factories that were hidden deep under the ground, there are still a lot of secret locations of the Second World War just waiting to be uncovered.

[Kevin Riehle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally breathless and overdramatic in its prose, this book provides an interesting look at numerous locations across Britain that played a secret role in World War II. Some are well known, but others are obscure and even today difficult to access. The description of each site ends with a short description of how to travel to the location by car and public transport. Missing, however, are maps, which would have been helpful. Also missing is an overall map showing all of the sites. But it is well worth a read for both history buffs and tourists in the UK.

[Jan Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much guide book as history text Secret Britain takes a look around many of the sites involved in secret operations during WW2 that remained unknown under the official secrets act until 1975.

As always with these things it leaves you wanting to know more about many of these places and the people who worked in them, but an excellent jumping off point for further research and invaluable as a prompt for those of us writing historical fiction set in that period.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Largely interesting. If you've read lots about the second world war chances are you already know about a few of these. But definitely worth a read/listen and it's all in nice shirt quick bursts so you can knock it out nice and quickly.

I listened to the audiobook and one thing that particularly bugged me was the narrators pronunciation of Caerphilly. They kept pronouncing it as "Carefully". This shouldn't have made it through to being released.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting with a lot of information which interconnects. This starts to get a bit tiring and repetitive, but I enjoyed reading a chapter a day so it didn't get too much.

[Malcolm Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting if rather brief guide to secret and former secret sites in Britain.I have been to many of these so nothing very new here.Also many of the sites no longer exist.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating introduction to some of the secret places of Hitler’s war to be found around the country - some well known (e.g. Bletchley Park) others less so.

[Meenehansgmail.Com]

Enjoyable read but too much repetition and not enough detail.

[Ant Koplowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book summarising the numerous secret locations, buildings, and settings that were involved in clandestine research, intelligence gathering, or weapons research during World War II. Well written and includes just the right amount of background detail and context, mixed with short personal stories by some of the people involved. Most of the places (or their present locations) can be accessed, and there are directions to each one at the end of the chapters. Thought-provoking history.

© Koplowitz 2023

[Steve Chilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the book I was perhaps expecting. It doesn't cover enough places, and each location has too few pages of very lightweight writing, not telling the me nearly enough of the history. The photo have not been printed well in my copy and I desperately wanted some maps of locations and layouts. Two stars.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative and teasing book. There have been many larger and more detailed books written about a few of the sites covered, both fiction and non-fiction but this book stands as a useful and accessible summary of the stories of "secret" sites around Britain. It is likely to spur the reader to conduct more extensive research of the sites of particular interest.

[Toby White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting reading over this. Some of the locations and sites I knew about but many I did not know of. I will have to get back to Bletchley Park as it’s only down the road from me.