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Tom ward (narrates): A
country village eerily empty
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00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,320
which hides a sad secret.
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00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,440
All of the citizens
of this village
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00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,800
have just been made
to disappear at a stroke.
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00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,920
A mysterious tower battered by
the elements and scarred by war.
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00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,240
You're out here really
in the middle of nowhere.
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A town ravaged,
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desolate and forgotten
decaying in the desert.
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00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,760
Why on earth would
anyone choose to build a town
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00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:37,600
in such a remote location?
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00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:44,480
And a disused railway deep
beneath the streets of London.
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00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,360
There's actually
a hidden system,
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00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:48,760
a hidden system of tunnels
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00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,040
that you don't get
to see they're there.
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00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,280
Once they were some of
the most advanced structures
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00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,480
and facilities on the planet,
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00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,720
at the cutting edge of
design and construction.
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Today they stand abandoned,
contaminated and sometimes deadly.
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00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,840
But who built them and how
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00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,880
and why were they abandoned?
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(Theme music)
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On the south west
coast of england
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almost 200km from London
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00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,760
is what looks like a normal
English country village.
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But it's not.
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00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,400
The village pond looks like
any other village pond in england
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except there's
no wildlife there.
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00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,480
There are no ducks,
it's eerily empty.
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00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,280
(Rattles)
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00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,320
The feeling is very much
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as though all of the
citizens of this village
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have just been made
to disappear at a stroke.
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(Eerie music)
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00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,600
Travel further in and
it gets even stranger.
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00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,240
A few hundred yards
from the village green
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00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,800
is a school that looks
perfectly preserved.
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00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,760
The desks are still there,
the books are still there,
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00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,480
it's laid out as if the children
had only been there yesterday.
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00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:38,240
There are still pegs
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00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,040
with their names
on out in the corridor.
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00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,320
It feels as if it's a school
that's still being used
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00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:45,200
but from another age.
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00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,440
You get the feeling
that it's break time
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00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,720
and the children have
just gone through the door
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00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:53,880
and are running
about outside playing.
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00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,960
The village church too,
is in perfect condition.
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00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,000
The pew seats
seem freshly polished.
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00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,520
And the stained glass
windows are as immaculate
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00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:07,000
as when they
were first installed.
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00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:10,560
And that's not all.
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00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,880
In the middle of the village
there's an old white telephone box
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00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:21,240
which seems something of
an oddity in this day and age
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00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,120
and even more
odd is the local story
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00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:28,360
that even though it was
disconnected decades ago it still rings.
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00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,840
(Telephone rings)
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00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,880
But other buildings
hint at a darker past.
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Such as the cottages
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00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:38,960
which are little more
than empty shells.
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00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,880
And these are in an
unusual state of disrepair,
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00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:45,800
the roofs have gone,
the fittings have gone,
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00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:46,880
the windows have gone
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00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,680
but yet at the same
time these wrecks,
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00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,160
these husks have
been strengthened.
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00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:58,680
It's almost as though
somebody is about to film a movie
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00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,480
about 1930s england.
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00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,360
Why on earth are
these buildings like this?
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00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:07,640
How can you have
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00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,560
a little school room
that looks intact,
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00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,000
a church that looks intact
but a lot of ruined cottages?
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00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:16,416
What could have
happened to leave the village
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00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:18,080
so completely abandoned?
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00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,720
To find out what's
behind the mystery,
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00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:29,840
we need to go
back to a single day
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00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,680
that would change the
course of world war ii.
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00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,720
In 1943, britain was at war.
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00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,920
To win, the allies
had to invade France
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and liberate north west
Europe from Nazi control.
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00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,480
The first phase was code
named operation Neptune
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00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:54,040
but it's known to history
but its legendary name d-day.
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00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,040
It was an enormous
undertaking that would require
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00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,480
unprecedented
planning and training
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00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:02,760
if it was to have any
chance of success.
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00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:08,120
The scale of the preparations
certainly overwhelms the mind.
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00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,960
Tens of thousands of troops
found themselves billeted
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00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:14,960
mainly in the south of england
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00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:16,920
to be put through
the intensive training
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00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:18,800
they'd need to
make the invasion.
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00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,640
Very few of them knew when
or where it would be made,
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00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,200
they just knew it was coming.
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00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,200
It was a daunting prospect
for the British army.
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00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,240
They had to train vast
numbers of recruits,
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00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:36,000
many of whom hadn't
seen combat before
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00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:40,200
and they needed space and terrain
and environments that were fitting
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00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:41,976
and that were like what
they were going to face
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when they arrived in France.
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00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:46,920
But what does
all this have to do
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with a small and isolated
village in rural england,
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00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,160
a world away from
the bullets and shells
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and chaos of war.
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By 1943 the south
coast of england
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00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,840
had been transformed
into an armed camp,
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00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,200
11 million acres,
much of it farmland,
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00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,800
became air fields, camps
and training grounds.
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00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,200
And even more land was needed
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00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,920
particularly to train British
and American tank crews.
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00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:24,440
If you're training
people to operate tanks
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00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,280
it's not enough to just
learn how to drive it.
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00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,216
The really key thing is
learning how to shoot it.
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00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:34,960
So, you need long distances
to practice firing those shells
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00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,640
where you're not gonna hit
anything you don't want to hit.
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And this was the ideal location.
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It was remote and situated
close to a firing range.
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It was the village of tyneham.
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The only stumbling block
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was that 200 people
lived in the village.
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How do you tell them they
need to leave their homes,
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00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,440
their jobs and their
neighbours for good?
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00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:12,800
Lynda price, a local historian,
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00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,680
has spoken to many
former village residents.
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00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,800
The final blow
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came in November, 1943.
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And totally out of the
blue, they all got a letter.
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00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:35,240
They came from a gentleman
from southern command and on it,
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00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:40,000
he said that the area was
needed for military training
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00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,240
and they had basically
a month to get out.
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00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,040
It must have been
heart breaking.
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00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:50,240
These were people who'd
lived in this village for generations
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and all of a sudden to be uprooted
and told that you have to leave.
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00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:55,200
And they expected to come back,
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00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:56,856
you know, that's what's
very poignant about it.
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They thought the war would
end and they would come back
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and all would be as it was.
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00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:05,880
But why exactly
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00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,440
did the ministry of
defence choose tyneham?
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00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,600
Tyneham was a
backwater in a backwater.
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00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,560
I mean, it was
practically off the map.
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00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:20,360
They didn't have electricity,
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00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,320
most of them didn't even
have indoor plumbing.
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00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:25,560
People forget how primitive
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00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:27,840
the English countryside
could be back in that era.
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00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:31,240
They lived in little cottages,
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00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,280
most of which were
owned by the land owner,
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00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,720
in fact the whole estate
was owned by the bond family
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00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:40,160
and most of these people,
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their lives would have
been tied into the bonds.
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So, in some senses, it
was already a way of life
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00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,560
that was passing or perhaps
for most people even passed.
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So, the inhabitants were
simply ordered to leave
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by the British government.
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00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:05,080
By why then is so much
of the village destroyed
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00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,640
while other parts are
almost perfectly preserved?
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The army knew that the
church was vulnerable to attack
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in the run up to d-day.
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They removed the heavy
oak pulpit and the pews
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and carefully transported
the stained glass
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to a place of safety.
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Tyneham is now abandoned
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00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:31,720
although it hasn't been
completely forgotten.
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00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,280
The sacrifices of the villagers
certainly helped the allies
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00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,920
make a vital step
towards final victory.
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00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,960
The morning of 6 June, 1944
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was like no other the
war had ever seen.
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Over 150,000 English,
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00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,800
American, Canadian and
other soldiers boarded ships,
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vessels, barges of all descriptions
and attacked the French coast.
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00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,160
By the time the
battle there was over
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00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,000
and the forces were able
to push down into France,
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00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,920
the course of the war
had been changed forever.
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00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,200
D-Day was a resounding success
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00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,920
but the villagers weren't the
only ones who'd made sacrifices.
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00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:20,520
Two and a half
thousand us troops,
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many of whom had
trained at tyneham,
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lost their lives on Omaha beach.
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00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,520
After the war tyneham
continued to be used
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00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,600
as a training ground
for tank crews.
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And so, the villagers
were never allowed back.
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00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:47,440
However in these
more peaceful times,
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the village is open to visitors.
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When I look at tyneham,
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what I think about is
how much dislocation,
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00:10:58,000 --> 00:10:59,240
how much destruction,
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00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:03,960
what a human cost there
is even to winning a war,
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00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,720
even to non-combatance.
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00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,120
The level of self sacrifice
that was necessary
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to conduct the kind of total war
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00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,760
that was required
to defeat the Nazis,
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that kind of effort
boggles the modern mind.
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Twenty seven kilometres
west of mackinaw city
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at the northern tip of
lake Michigan in the usa
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00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:36,960
is a peculiar
tower like structure.
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00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:44,160
A mountain,
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00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:49,440
a rock sticking out
of a vast cold lake.
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00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,040
You're out here really
in the middle of nowhere.
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00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,200
And here, standing
out in the water
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00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,280
is this odd kind of
half-broken down structure
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00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,080
that's kind of crumbling
around the edges.
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00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,400
Sometimes dazzling
sunshine reflects from the water
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00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:13,960
on to the concrete and brick.
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00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:19,000
But rubble and dead
birds litter its interior.
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00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:27,800
It's made up of three sections
which each contain a mystery.
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00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:32,920
What was enclosed
in the caged top?
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00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,080
And the height
of the tower itself,
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00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,200
height always creates a
vantage point but for what?
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00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:40,840
Attack, defence, a warning?
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00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:44,640
Look closely
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00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:47,360
and a more perplexing
picture emerges.
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00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,840
On the walls are large
ominous looking cracks.
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00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:55,680
Inside everything's
been stripped out
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00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:57,760
apart from strange metal piping.
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00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:02,560
And some say it is haunted
by the ghost of a man
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00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:04,000
who met a mysterious end.
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00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,000
The amount of damage
on a tower suggests
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00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,240
it's been weathered more
than just harsh winters.
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00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:17,000
And although the pitted base
may well be from crashing waves,
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00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,280
is there another reason why
great chunks are missing?
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00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:27,240
I mean look at
that, a remote tower
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00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,880
in the middle of
nowhere in america,
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00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,640
the last thing you expect
to see is battle damage.
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00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,800
The roots of this strange
story can be found in trade
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00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:46,640
and its importance
to the Great Lakes
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00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:48,720
during the early 19th century.
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00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,360
Before america builds railways,
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00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,600
america's arteries
are waterways.
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00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,040
The Great Lakes
and the great canals
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00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:05,320
are what enables america to
become an industrial powerhouse.
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00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,120
The Great Lakes together form
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00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,400
really a massive inland sea
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00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,120
for the United
States and Canada.
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00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,840
And this waterway was
important for shipping goods
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00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,000
so, you had fur pelts
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00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:26,000
then later, grain, iron ore,
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00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:30,920
all these products moving
through this area dating from really,
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00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,760
you know, very early in
the history of North America.
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00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,440
The Great Lakes connect the
mid west with the Atlantic ocean.
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00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:43,760
Measured by total area,
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00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,160
they are the largest group
of freshwater lakes on earth.
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00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:52,800
And by volume, they contain 21%
of the world's surface fresh water.
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00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:58,720
Their total surface area measures
nearly 3/4 of a million kilometres.
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00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:02,320
The Great Lakes are noted
240
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,120
for their extraordinary
sea-like characteristics.
241
00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,200
Here, rolling waves,
242
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,120
powerful winds and strong
currents are common.
243
00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,160
In fact, according to Chris west
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00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,840
who has sailed these
waters for most of his life,
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00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:19,960
they are more like inland seas.
246
00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,920
You think of lake Michigan,
we can't see the other side.
247
00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,800
You can travel from Chicago
which is the southernmost point
248
00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:35,480
to the upper
peninsula of Michigan
249
00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,600
and that's about
400 or 500 miles long.
250
00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,320
So, it's a very
big area of water.
251
00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,280
However, at the
straits of mackinac,
252
00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:47,880
it narrows dramatically.
253
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,040
This is a major shipping Lane
254
00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,360
which connects lake
Michigan to lake huron.
255
00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,480
But it is just 5.5km wide
256
00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,000
with treacherous underwater
currents which have often proved fatal.
257
00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:08,800
If you're on a ship in the ocean
258
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,880
and a storm comes up and
blows you a few miles off course,
259
00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,320
you've got thousands of
miles of ocean around you.
260
00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,360
But if that happens
in lake Michigan,
261
00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:18,760
it's relatively narrow.
262
00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:20,200
There's all these shallows.
263
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,560
You could be on the
rocks in just a few minutes.
264
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,600
In the straits of mackinac
there's over 80 shipwrecks.
265
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,080
This was the most
dangerous spot,
266
00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:31,800
they were coming up from Chicago
267
00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,720
and they were making the corner
to go into the straits of mackinac
268
00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,920
and there was this spot
that there was 4 feet of water
269
00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:39,920
so these ships just
kept running aground.
270
00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,840
The us government
decided it had to intervene,
271
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,360
to try and put a stop
to the tragic accidents.
272
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:56,080
This was how the
waugoshance lighthouse.
273
00:16:57,680 --> 00:16:59,080
But how did they
go about building
274
00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,320
a structure as impressive as this
in the middle of such a huge lake?
275
00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,880
You start with a
wooden crib structure
276
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:11,760
that rests on the bottom
277
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,040
and then you bring
out rocks on barges
278
00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,920
and you fill this
crib with rocks.
279
00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:21,000
Now, you have a stable structure
that you can build on top of.
280
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,000
It's a feat today to
build something like that.
281
00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,160
And obviously back in
the day, no power tools.
282
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,000
It was nails and, you know,
big hammers and pulleys
283
00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:36,080
and so, it was very labour-intensive
to do something like that.
284
00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,960
The lighthouse began
operating in 1851.
285
00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:46,520
It was a lifeline to all
of the maritime traffic.
286
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:47,800
This gave them their road map
287
00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,600
of how to get through
the straits of mackinac.
288
00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:53,080
So, it was hugely
important for the area.
289
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,160
Its light attended by a
keeper and his assistant
290
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,200
was visible for miles around.
291
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,560
The lighthouse keeper's
job was both incredibly boring
292
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,760
and incredibly important
at the same time.
293
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,040
You had to keep
that light working.
294
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:14,320
You had to keep it going.
295
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:17,600
It was a pretty remote life.
296
00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,880
The light keepers would
go out when the ice went out
297
00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:28,560
which... April-ish they would
be out there until November.
298
00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,240
And so, they're there for
essentially seven months
299
00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,800
by themselves not
seeing another human.
300
00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,080
The light was generated
by an oil burning lamp
301
00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:41,840
which required constant
attention and refuelling.
302
00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,760
When the light was made
invisible by mist and fog,
303
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,160
a fog horn was
used to warn ships.
304
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,400
It was powered by steam
305
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,200
and it worked by emitting
a low frequency warning
306
00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,400
through two huge metal pipes.
307
00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:59,840
(Horn hums)
308
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:02,680
These are the stove pipes.
309
00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:06,520
They were for the fog
signal for the light house.
310
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:07,976
They were in the
fog signal building.
311
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,760
You can still see the
holes in the ceiling
312
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:12,920
of the fog signal building
where these went through.
313
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,280
So, down these steps
314
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,320
brings you into the
basement of the living quarters.
315
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:23,400
And so, down here there
would have been boilers
316
00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,520
and there would have been
supplies for the lighthouse keepers.
317
00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,880
Then first floor would have
been living room, a kitchen.
318
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,240
Then you go up to the top floors
319
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:34,960
and that's where the bedrooms
of the keepers would have been.
320
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:42,040
One of the waugoshance
lighthouse keepers
321
00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,960
was a hard drinking
man called John Herman,
322
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:46,760
a notorious practical joker.
323
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,320
One night, Herman drunkenly
324
00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:53,040
locked his assistant
into the lantern room.
325
00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:55,400
It was the last
prank he ever played.
326
00:19:57,960 --> 00:19:59,480
John had had a few
327
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:01,720
and John decided he
should lock the door on him.
328
00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,320
While all this was
happening, a storm came up.
329
00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:09,880
Unfortunately, John fell
off the side of the lighthouse.
330
00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:11,320
(Water splashes)
331
00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:12,920
And ever since then,
332
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,440
he's been the notorious John
Herman of waugoshance lighthouse.
333
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,800
The assistant managed to escape
334
00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:25,360
but John Herman disappeared
beneath the waters forever.
335
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,920
Legend has it that his ghost
now haunts the lighthouse.
336
00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,200
But what caused it to
finally be abandoned?
337
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,920
As shipping through the Great
Lakes began to become even heavier
338
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,720
and the boats got bigger, and
they required a deeper draft,
339
00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:51,080
they rowed lower in the water,
that channel was no longer adequate.
340
00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:54,480
There was another channel
farther out into the lake
341
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,080
that was much deeper
342
00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,680
so they built another
lighthouse to Mark that channel
343
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:03,280
and the waugoshance lighthouse
became kind of obsolete.
344
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:09,960
In 1912, the last keepers
left the lighthouse for good.
345
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,320
But that wasn't
the end of the story.
346
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,280
Waugoshance would
play an unlikely part
347
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,080
in the development of a
top secret super weapon
348
00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:22,400
during world war ii.
349
00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,720
The us Navy starts to develop
350
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,840
a remotely piloted
aircraft, a drone,
351
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,000
that can drop bombs
352
00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,520
and sink Japanese warships.
353
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,680
These early drones were piloted
354
00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,080
from another aircraft
355
00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:50,600
and the operators were able to
steer them using radio control...
356
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,440
Looking through early
television cameras
357
00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,040
to see what that drone can see.
358
00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:00,120
(Explodes)
359
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,080
The project was top secret.
360
00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:04,160
It was called stag one.
361
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:07,920
They need to practice.
362
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:09,440
Guess what they picked?
363
00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:12,640
Our little lighthouse
sitting out there, you know.
364
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,480
It no longer was
needed as a lighthouse
365
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,200
but it made a fantastic target.
366
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,320
They bombed the hell out of it.
367
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,560
This is one of the
remnants of the bombing run.
368
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:29,880
You can see the amount
of impact that it had
369
00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,640
because this is 1/4
inch thick boiler plate
370
00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,360
and then you have
371
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,280
about 2.5-3 feet of brick
used to come out to here,
372
00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,360
come out to where the
boiler plate is right here.
373
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,920
So, when the bomb hit,
pretty intense impact for it
374
00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,520
to be able to take 2.5
feet or 3 feet of brick
375
00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:46,120
and just kind of
blow it out of there.
376
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:49,640
After the war ended,
377
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,080
there was no further
use for the lighthouse
378
00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:55,240
and it was eventually
completely abandoned for good.
379
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,200
Today, it's home only to
the ghost of John Herman...
380
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,080
Although there are
plans to restore it.
381
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:13,360
So, here's this lighthouse
382
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,600
that stood there protecting
the ships for so long
383
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,320
and then perform
this important service
384
00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:22,200
during world war ii.
385
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,640
And let's not let it just
crumble into the lake.
386
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:36,080
In the extreme north west of
Chile, close to its border with Peru,
387
00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:39,200
there is a strange
almost apocalyptic site.
388
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:48,440
It looks almost like
some kind of film set
389
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:50,360
for an old western movie.
390
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,080
Everything's somewhat decayed.
391
00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:55,880
Everything's rusty
but it's still standing
392
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,760
and in other words, it
seems very much untouched.
393
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:06,520
There's something unnerving
about the row after row of houses.
394
00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:12,320
What's really strange is
where the town is located.
395
00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:15,680
It's in the middle of the desert,
miles away from anywhere.
396
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,360
Why on earth would anyone choose
397
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,120
to build a town in
such a remote location?
398
00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:28,640
There is a swimming pool
long ago emptied of water...
399
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,360
With a diving board
last used years ago...
400
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:37,440
And a ghostly playground
401
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:41,120
that will never again hear the
sound of children's laughter.
402
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,240
Any time you see a place that
had been inhabited by humans
403
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,720
and then it looks as
if they suddenly left.
404
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:51,440
It gives you an
unsettled feeling.
405
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:52,680
It gives you a sense of dread,
406
00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:54,560
maybe something
terrible happened here.
407
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,600
But journey beyond the houses
and the buildings suddenly change.
408
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,160
You see, sort of,
rusted bits of machinery.
409
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,640
There's clearly an
engineering type of feel to it.
410
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:18,800
There's a rusted locomotive
411
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,320
and tracks that lead to
what looks like an old factory.
412
00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:25,200
Whatever happened here
413
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:30,600
was clearly an extensive and
complex industrial operation.
414
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:31,680
But what was it?
415
00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:36,360
What's even more confusing
416
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:40,200
is that most of the machinery
was made by British manufacturers.
417
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:43,800
What was its function
418
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,360
and how has it ended up here
in this remote part of Chile?
419
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:53,680
What you're seeing
is the global economy
420
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,000
dropped down here
into this remote desert.
421
00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:58,920
Why is it all here?
422
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,200
Clues lie in the
population explosion
423
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,320
that happened in the
new industrial world
424
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:13,840
towards the end of
the 19th century...
425
00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,360
And in the need to feed
huge numbers of people.
426
00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,120
For thousands of years,
427
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:28,120
farmers grew their crops using
whatever nutrients were on hand.
428
00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,280
The manure from
animals was collected
429
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:33,800
and that was good
enough for a time.
430
00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:36,160
But in the 19th century,
they started to discover
431
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,640
that you could add
additional chemicals to the soil
432
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,640
and make your farms
dramatically more productive.
433
00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:48,320
Large deposits of a mineral
434
00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,880
that would revolutionise
food production
435
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,560
and transform the
fortunes of Chile
436
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,440
were discovered here
in the atacama desert.
437
00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:01,520
The atacama covers
a 1,000km strip of land
438
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,000
to the west of the
andes mountains,
439
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,160
and it's the driest
desert in the world.
440
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,400
Some areas have an almost
other worldly appearance,
441
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,200
so much so that the soil
has drawn comparisons
442
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,080
with the surface of Mars.
443
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:20,560
One 16th century traveller
444
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,880
described the atacama
desert as "without men,
445
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:27,360
"where there is not
a bird "nor a beast
446
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,640
nor a tree nor any vegetation."
447
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:32,080
The arid barren landscape
448
00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:34,480
has barely changed
over the centuries.
449
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,480
However, one mineral
was in plentiful supply.
450
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,560
This part of the atacama desert
451
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,160
is rich in a mineral that
then was called saltpetre.
452
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,480
Saltpetre is a name for
various forms of nitrate.
453
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:54,160
And this is a chemical
454
00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:56,680
that essentially
can work as fertiliser
455
00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,280
once you break it down.
456
00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:01,880
And there's very few
places on the planet
457
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,640
where you can actually
find this material,
458
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,480
this particular type of mineral
459
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,240
in effect just lying
on the ground
460
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,160
very, very easy to
excavate and mine.
461
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,440
Saltpetre, then
known as white gold,
462
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,040
was in effect Chile's gold rush.
463
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:24,120
It accounted for 80%
of Chile's exports.
464
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,760
The country's economy
depended on it.
465
00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:32,680
At the time, the
northern part of Chile
466
00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:34,200
and southern part of Peru
467
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,800
were actually the main
provider of saltpetre
468
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:39,120
to the whole of the world.
469
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:43,120
Small mining villages were
springing up all over the place
470
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,120
to take advantage of this.
471
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,840
Humberstone was
one of those villages.
472
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,320
It's situated in
that bleak desert
473
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:58,840
almost 1,500km from the
Chilean capital of Santiago
474
00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:00,480
and it was the centre
475
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,400
of the country's
saltpetre production.
476
00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:06,040
But why does it have
477
00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:08,520
the very English sounding
name of humberstone?
478
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,400
James humberstone
was an englishman
479
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,280
who arrived in this area
in the late 19th century
480
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,600
with a better way to
process the saltpetre.
481
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,360
He took over the nitrate
production facilities.
482
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,800
And he did it so well that
within a couple of years,
483
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:28,480
he'd doubled the productivity.
484
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:35,960
Patricio Diaz valencia is director
of investigations at humberstone
485
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:37,600
and an expert on its history.
486
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:45,040
The people who used to work
here came from different countries.
487
00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:46,400
They were Bolivian.
488
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:47,840
They were Argentinean.
489
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:49,480
They were Chilean.
490
00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:54,240
They all came together in this
area and created a new society.
491
00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,560
Humberstone was a company town
492
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:05,240
the 3,700 men, women and children
who lived there owned nothing,
493
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,280
certainly not their houses
or even their furniture.
494
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,520
But these conditions
were common in Chile,
495
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,320
and violent worker
strikes were not unknown.
496
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:19,480
Men in humberstone
were paid in tokens
497
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,200
that could only be exchanged
in the local general store.
498
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,280
It was a harsh tough life.
499
00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:31,400
Tokens were paid according
to the effort invested.
500
00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:33,040
There was a minimum.
501
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,640
For example, in order to
receive the minimum wage
502
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,280
so they could live,
503
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,520
they had to load at least
two wagons every day.
504
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:46,240
This took approximately
12 hours each day.
505
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,560
Digging for saltpetre
was a gruelling business.
506
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:57,000
The workers were outside
all day in the blistering sun
507
00:30:57,040 --> 00:30:59,160
with little water or shade.
508
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,320
They scrape up this
powdery substance
509
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:08,120
off the desert
floor, crush it, boil it
510
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:09,976
and then they went
through a series of processes
511
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,160
that would separate
out the valuable parts
512
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,680
of these compounds
from everything else.
513
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:17,600
All day long,
514
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,960
crushers ground the
nitrate-rich crust of the desert.
515
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,080
That was then dissolved in boilers
forming a toxic soup of chemicals
516
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,880
from which they'd
eventually extract the nitrate.
517
00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:35,560
Can you imagine what a brutal
job this must have been working
518
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,960
in one of the
hottest, driest places,
519
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,400
boiling these nasty...
520
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:41,440
(Laughs)
521
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,200
You know, chemicals all day.
522
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,160
The chimneys would have
been bellowing black smoke.
523
00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,280
The boilers would have
been seeping out hot steam.
524
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:56,000
And the sheer danger of the
work of mining was ever-present.
525
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,640
So, what caused the
town to be abandoned?
526
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:05,080
Was it because of
an industrial disaster
527
00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:07,120
or some other calamitous event?
528
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,760
Two things killed humberstone,
war and technology.
529
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,400
During world war I, the
British blockaded the shipments
530
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:17,920
of saltpetre from Chile
going to Germany.
531
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,680
And at the same time
German scientists developed
532
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,440
synthetic ways of
creating fertiliser
533
00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,000
and so, had no need to
have saltpetre shipped
534
00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:27,840
from the other
side of the planet.
535
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,760
The industry collapsed and so,
that was the end of humberstone.
536
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,880
The houses and
factories were abandoned
537
00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:41,640
and the people simply
upped and left the town.
538
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,720
No-one has lived or worked
here for half a century.
539
00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:57,840
The town's survival is a
freak economic accident.
540
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:02,920
After the last inhabitant
left, it was sold to a developer
541
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,600
but he went bust before
he was able to do anything
542
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:07,240
with the town to
strip out all the bits
543
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,240
that he was going to sell.
544
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:13,360
As a result, it's been
preserved by the dry desert air
545
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,960
and is now a United
Nations world heritage site.
546
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:19,760
You can see exactly
how these people lived.
547
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:26,760
You see also how their fortunes
were on the flick of a coin,
548
00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:32,080
because once the need
for that mining left, they left.
549
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:35,000
But they left
everything in place.
550
00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:45,960
In england, beneath the
busy bustling streets of London,
551
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,680
lies a secret
subterranean world.
552
00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,880
There's actually a hidden
system, a hidden system of tunnels
553
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:01,720
that you don't get
to see they're there.
554
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:04,960
What are they and
what were they used for?
555
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,360
It looks like these
things haven't been used
556
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:10,640
for quite some time.
557
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,080
You've got stalactites
hanging from the ceiling,
558
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,680
you've got bits of water
flowing along the bottom,
559
00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:19,840
and then there's water
560
00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,400
kind of dripping down the
sides of the tunnel as well.
561
00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:24,640
So, it's quite a
spooky place to be.
562
00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:30,480
It looks like a little
hobbit railroad.
563
00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:35,840
The track is very narrow,
only about 2 feet across.
564
00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:37,480
The ceilings are very low.
565
00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,760
So, it's really
kind of mysterious.
566
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:46,160
Who made these little
miniaturised tunnels?
567
00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:47,960
These twisting tracks
568
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,480
stretching far into the
distance provide clues.
569
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:54,280
As you move around the tunnels,
570
00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:57,600
you suddenly come into
open spaces, actual stations.
571
00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,480
So, there are stations
in these tunnel networks.
572
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:04,520
Away from the stations,
573
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,680
there are more signs of
activity but from long ago.
574
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:12,176
There's empty filing cabinets.
575
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,440
There's desks with old
broken telephones on.
576
00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,880
When you see overalls
draped over things,
577
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,800
your telephones,
kiosks, everything,
578
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,840
it's almost as though this place
was abandoned fairly quickly.
579
00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:30,200
It seems like there wasn't
enough time to remove everything
580
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:32,000
and clear out when you left.
581
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,680
If it was an area that
was more accessible,
582
00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:39,120
you know, scavengers
would have come in,
583
00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:40,736
people might have
come in and taken stuff.
584
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:42,360
You'd see graffiti.
585
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:44,440
But because these
tunnels are really quite deep,
586
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:49,320
they really did not get
picked over or stripped.
587
00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:50,960
What was it?
588
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:52,720
Who worked here?
589
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,400
And why has it
been left abandoned?
590
00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,560
(Eerie music)
591
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:03,080
(Suspenseful music)
592
00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:08,960
In the early 20th century, most
people communicated by letter.
593
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:13,680
Smooth delivery of mail was
critical particularly to London,
594
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:15,400
the country's financial hub.
595
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:23,120
So, if you have a legal
contract or you have a policy,
596
00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:25,880
you have a negotiation, being
able to move those documents
597
00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:27,400
around the city quickly
598
00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:30,480
was part of the key to
London's economic dominance.
599
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:34,800
It could take several
hours to deliver mail
600
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,720
from one part of
the city to another.
601
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,000
Something had to be
done to speed things up.
602
00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:43,760
But that was easier
said than done.
603
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:46,840
By the end of the edwardian era,
604
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:51,040
the population of London had
risen to almost 7 million people,
605
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:53,680
1 in every 5 britons
lived in the city.
606
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,840
The fact was that
the streets of London
607
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,760
were becoming more
and more crowded.
608
00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:03,680
Although this teaming Metropolis
609
00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:06,480
was still blighted
by grinding poverty,
610
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:10,160
this was a time of tremendous
economic growth for the city.
611
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,720
And the mail system
had to play its part.
612
00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,960
In 1909, a committee was set up
613
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,240
to look into ways of
solving the problem.
614
00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:26,360
If you think about the
streets of London back then,
615
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:27,760
they were really busy.
616
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,080
There were horse
carriages and animals
617
00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:33,600
and all sorts of things
happening up at street level.
618
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:35,240
So, to find somewhere
619
00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:37,880
where they could very
quickly and efficiently move
620
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:40,320
really important
documents around,
621
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:42,040
they had to go underground.
622
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:48,040
And this was the result,
an underground rail track
623
00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:52,120
stretching 10km across
London, the mail rail.
624
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,480
It was a revolutionary
piece of engineering.
625
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,800
But the constructors faced
many problems and challenges.
626
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:13,640
London is really built on
a big swamp, an estuary.
627
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:16,480
And so, as a result, when
you start digging underground,
628
00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:19,600
it's very damp,
muddy, Sandy, silty.
629
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:22,360
And they in fact encountered
630
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,360
one of the largest
subterranean rivers in the area
631
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:26,960
called the fleet river.
632
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:29,320
And so, water
ingressing into the tunnels
633
00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,800
was a big problem
during engineering.
634
00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:37,480
Ray middlesworth, one
of the last engineers here
635
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:40,080
is well aware of the
dangers they faced.
636
00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:46,120
There were incidents when
they were digging the tunnels
637
00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:48,680
and many workers
had to run for their lives
638
00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:50,520
to get away from the
water bursting through.
639
00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:55,600
But ways had to be found
to complete this vital project.
640
00:38:57,720 --> 00:39:00,920
One of the things they
did was to add air locks
641
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:03,920
and then they pushed air
into those sections of tunnel
642
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:05,360
to keep the water out.
643
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,200
They also used flood gates
in portions of the tunnels,
644
00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:11,400
so if water did come in,
645
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,560
they could isolate
those sections of tunnel
646
00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:17,640
which were full of water and
then quickly pump the water out.
647
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:24,360
In 1927, the mail rail was
finally ready for service.
648
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:27,440
It was the only one
of its kind in the world.
649
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,080
These trains do
not have drivers.
650
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:34,520
They don't have engineers.
651
00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:36,920
So, it's really the first
652
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:41,120
driverless electric vehicle
system in the world.
653
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,320
The system meant
they could speed mail
654
00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:47,960
right across London
avoiding the congestion
655
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,080
on the streets above.
656
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,120
The new track connected
Paddington in the west
657
00:39:57,160 --> 00:40:00,120
with whitechapel
station in the east
658
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:03,280
and linked up six other
sorting offices along the way.
659
00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:06,480
A conveyor belt
linked the tunnels
660
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:10,320
to the mainline platforms at
liverpool street and Paddington.
661
00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:17,240
Ray remembers trying to keep
the system working smoothly
662
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:20,760
while processing up
to 4 million letters a day.
663
00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:22,840
You had to work under
a lot of time pressure
664
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:24,400
because once the trains stopped,
665
00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:26,920
they would start backing away
all the way round the system.
666
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:29,960
And the whole rail network
would grind to a halt.
667
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,960
This is battery loco number
two, nicknamed 'the banana'
668
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,400
because of its
bright-yellow colour scheme,
669
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:42,960
which we used these locos
when the railway was shut down
670
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,120
to retrieve broken down trains
671
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:47,760
and do maintenance work
on the track in the weekends.
672
00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,040
This was built in 1927.
673
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:51,280
It's still serviceable.
674
00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,880
Sturdy beast built
by English electric,
675
00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:56,160
weighs 7.5 tonnes.
676
00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:58,320
And I must have jumped
in and out of that cab
677
00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:01,160
about 1,000 times
during my career.
678
00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:08,160
Although the engineers
somehow kept the mail rail running,
679
00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:10,760
the threat of flooding
was ever-present.
680
00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:18,040
This is one of the four
flood gates installed
681
00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:20,480
to seal off the main
tunnel from the station
682
00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:22,640
in case there was a deadly flood
683
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:25,520
and we needed to
pump our water out.
684
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:28,480
It was mechanical in operation
685
00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,760
so that it could be relied to
operate in any circumstances.
686
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:36,320
Very sturdy.
687
00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:37,520
(Knocks)
688
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:43,240
The mail rail ran beneath
the streets of central London
689
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:44,840
until 2003.
690
00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:47,880
Why is it now deserted?
691
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:51,400
By the beginning
of the 21st century,
692
00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:55,440
the mail rail had simply
become too expensive to run.
693
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:02,560
It was delivering mail around
London for some 80-odd years.
694
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:05,840
And its demise, well,
we had the Internet age.
695
00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:09,720
We were no longer
sending so many letters.
696
00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:12,800
There was also a much better
infrastructure above ground.
697
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:16,520
So, it really lost its
economic importance.
698
00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:23,920
On the last day of service,
699
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:25,960
I was one of the
engineers on duty that day
700
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,600
and it was my job to shut down
the power at mount pleasant.
701
00:42:32,160 --> 00:42:35,520
It was historic, we had a job to
do, but we all knew what it meant.
702
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:36,976
It was the coming
to the end of an era
703
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:39,200
after 76 years. Very sad.
704
00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:52,760
Today, part of the
track still lives on
705
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,080
as a tourist ride and museum.
706
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,120
And I think that
that's just fantastic
707
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,520
to preserve that
really important legacy.
708
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:07,960
And the real beauty
of the royal mail
709
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,000
underground delivery system
710
00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,000
was that it was happening
with many people
711
00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:14,000
being completely
unaware that it was there.
712
00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:16,640
We didn't really know
713
00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:18,760
that letters were actually
moving beneath our feet.
714
00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:35,240
Now, they lie abandoned,
715
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:38,800
but once, they were at the
cutting edge of engineering.
716
00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:44,080
There are echoes from history
in these decaying structures.
717
00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:47,200
They remind us
of terror and war,
718
00:43:47,240 --> 00:43:51,280
but also of great innovation
and human endeavour.
719
00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:00,080
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