Most people think of Dover as being the most important town on the front line
during World War Two, but nearby Ramsgate also played a significant role in the
defence of the UK.
Yet many of the town's wartime secrets lie buried and forgotten deep below
the ground.
Sixty feet underneath the town of Ramsgate lies a network of tunnels
extending for three and a half miles.
The tunnels were dug in just nine months at the beginning of World War Two,
using mostly picks and shovels.
During World War Two they became a refuge, a secret underground town
providing shelter from air raids for 26,000 people.
Famous visitors included Prime Minister Winston Churchill who came to
Ramsgate to inspect bomb damage but was forced to descend into the tunnels for
shelter during an air raid.
The tunnels were abandoned for 75 years but now Phil Spain and the Ramsgate
Tunnels' Team have been working on a project to restore them.
Inside Out meets Phil to hear about the forgotten history of Ramsgate's
underground wartime labyrinth. Credits: Archive footage copyright and courtesy of British
Pathe. Still images courtesy of Kent History and Library Centre, Imperial War
Museum. War & Peace Collection and and Phil Spain. Inside Out
South East is broadcast on Monday, 13 January at 19:30 GMT on BBC One
and nationwide for seven days thereafter on the iPlayer.
