Lord Airey's Battery
Part of Fortifications of Gibraltar
Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Gibraltar
O'Hara's Battery (foreground, left) and Lord Airey's Battery (gun barrel showing midground, left)
Map of O'Hara's Battery (A-E), Engine Room (F), Equipment Exhibit (G), and Lord Airey's Battery (H)
Lord Airey's Battery is located in Gibraltar
Lord Airey's Battery
Lord Airey's Battery
Coordinates36°07′29″N 5°20′36″W / 36.124784°N 5.343277°W / 36.124784; -5.343277
TypeArtillery Battery
Site information
OwnerGovernment of Gibraltar
Open to
the public		Yes
Site history
Built1890-1891

Lord Airey's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just north of O'Hara's Battery. It was named after the Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir Richard Airey. Construction of the battery was completed in 1891. The first gun mounted on the battery was a 6-inch breech loading gun, which was replaced with a 9.2-inch Mark X BL gun by 1900. The gun at the battery was last fired in the 1970s. In 1997, it was discovered that Lord Airey's Shelter, adjacent to Lord Airey's Battery, was the site chosen for a covert World War II operation that entailed construction of a cave complex in the Rock of Gibraltar, to serve as an observation post. The battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

Early history

Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey

Lord Airey's Battery is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula.[1][2] The artillery battery is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, in the Upper Battery area, which also includes O'Hara's Battery and Spur Battery, although the latter's gun was removed in Project Vitello.[3][4][5] It is positioned on O'Hara's Road, just north of O'Hara's Battery.[4][6][7] The gun is at an elevation of 418 metres.[8]

The battery was named after General Sir Richard Airey (1803 – 1881), who served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1865 to 1870.[9][10][11] Earlier, during the Crimean War, he had served in the capacity of quartermaster-general to FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan. While Airey was regarded very favourably by his superiors, including Lord Raglan, public perception was that he was one of those responsible for the inadequate provisions during that war, as well as the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade. Upon his return to England, he insisted that an investigation be conducted, and he was exonerated of all charges. Airey achieved the full rank of General in 1871 and led the Airey commission on army reform in 1879-1880.[9][11][12]

Construction of Lord Airey's Battery started on 25 July 1890 and was finished by 1 March 1891. The first gun on the battery was a 6-inch breech loading gun with a Vavasseur mounting on a centre pivot. However, on 23 October 1897, the process of creating a position for a 9.2-inch Mark X BL gun on a Mark V mounting began. That was finished on 31 March 1900.[9] Its sister battery, O'Hara's Battery, was also armed with a 9.2-inch gun.[13]

Operation Tracer

The tunnel system of Lord Airey's Shelter, just north of Lord Airey's Battery, was the site chosen for World War II's Operation Tracer. The secret complex came to be known as Stay Behind Cave.[14][15] The plan had involved sealing half a dozen men into a secret complex in the Rock of Gibraltar if Gibraltar was captured by the Germans. The men were expected to observe and report the activities of the German forces for about a year, sending radio messages. Two observation posts would allow the men to watch the Mediterranean and the Bay of Gibraltar. The facilities included a bicycle to generate electricity and a 10,000 gallon water tank. A section of the floor near the entrance had been prepared with layers of loose bricks to facilitate burial should any of the men die during their confinement. The long-sought-after site was discovered in December 1997 by the Gibraltar Caving Group close to Lord Airey's Battery.[14][16]

The secret chamber had been constructed in 1941, at which time it was known as Braithwaite's Cave, in honor of Major J. A. Braithwaite, the commanding officer who led the team that constructed the complex. In 1998, one of the men involved in the construction of Stay Behind Cave, Dennis Woods, came forward and confirmed its authenticity. In 2006, the only living member of the 6-man team that had been chosen for Operation Tracer was interviewed. He was 92-year-old Dr. Bruce Cooper, a retired Surgeon Lieutenant of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. His visit to Gibraltar two years later, in 2008, was covered in one of the documentaries (link to a documentary below) about Operation Tracer and included a trip to Stay Behind Cave. The 94-year-old Cooper confirmed that the chamber in question was the secret complex of Operation Tracer. The survival manual for Stay Behind Cave has not yet been retrieved.[14][17][18]

Recent history

The 9.2-inch guns at Lord Airey's Battery and O'Hara's Battery were last fired on 7 April 1976 during a training exercise.[19] For years, the site was classified as an excluded area, where entry was a criminal offence.[3] However, in the summer of 2009, soldiers refurbished the guns at Lord Airey's Battery and O'Hara's Battery.[20][21] Lord Airey's was opened to the public in May 2010, at the same time that O'Hara's Battery became accessible. The battery is under the supervision of the Gibraltar Tourist Board, but managed on a day-to-day basis by a private company.[4][10][22] Lord Airey's Battery is one of three surviving 9.2 inch gun emplacements at the upper ridge of the Rock, the others being O'Hara's Battery and Breakneck Battery, the latter on Ministry of Defence property.[13] Lord Airey's Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.[7]

References

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  1. ↑ "List of Crown Dependencies & Overseas Territories". fco.gov.uk. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Roach, John (10 October 2006). "Neandertals' Last Stand was in Gibraltar, Study Suggests". National Geographic News. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 14 November 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Criminal Offences - Restricted Areas Notice" (PDF). gibraltarlaws.gov.gi. Government of Gibraltar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "O'Hara's Battery becomes visitor attraction". Gibraltar news from Panorama. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Gibraltar Gun". cabinetwarrooms.org.uk. Imperial War Museums. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Map of Lord Airey's Battery". maps.google.com. Google Maps. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Gibraltar Heritage Trust Act" (PDF). gibraltarlaws.gov.gi. Government of Gibraltar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Bennett, Matthew R; Doyle, Peter, eds. (1998). Issues in Environmental Geology: A British Perspective (illustrated ed.). Geological Society. p. 110. ISBN 9781862390140. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 "Gun exterior (A)". discovergibraltar.com. DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Upper Rock Nature Reserve, O'Hara's Battery, H Lord Aireys Battery). Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  10. 1 2 "O'Hara's Battery opens as a tourist attraction". 7 Days - Gibraltar's Free Weekly Newspaper. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  11. 1 2 Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). "Airey, Richard" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 202–203.
  12. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Airey, Richard Airey" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 01 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 445.
  13. 1 2 Finlayson, Clive; Fa, Darren (31 October 2006). The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945 (illustrated ed.). Osprey Publishing. pp. 51, 58. ISBN 9781846030161. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 "Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave". discovergibraltar.com. DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave). Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  15. ↑ John Jones, G4KLT. "Operation Tracer - Radio Operations in Gibraltar". jproc.ca. Radio Reading Room. Retrieved 19 October 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave". youtube.com. Tom Finlayson. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "Gibraltar Heritage". georeme.co.uk. The Magazine of the Gibraltar Government Heritage Division. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  18. ↑ "Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave". aboutourrock.com. About Our Rock. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "Gun exterior (A)". discovergibraltar.com. DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Upper Rock Nature Reserve, O'Hara's Battery). Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  20. ↑ Cooksey, Jared (5 August 2009). "O'Hara's Battery Recharged". Gibraltar Chronicle. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  21. ↑ Moyes, Jonathan (24 September 2009). "Soldiers from 68 squadron from Whipps Cross have spent two weeks honing their skills in Gibraltar". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "The Mediterranean Steps – Are You Up For The Challenge?". yourgibraltartv.com. Your Gibraltar TV. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
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