Evening star., 1941-09-14

GIBRALTAR.-The first thing you see
as the ferry from Algeciras, Spain, pulls
in at the port of Gibraltar is an old
tourist sign:
What to see in Gibraltar, for visitors
having only short time"
Guns hidden in the great gray rock
behind the sign are just one of the
many wartime Improvements the British
have introduced at Old Glib just to make
sure that the only visitors likely to ar
rive these days stay as short time
as possible.
French 75s brought over from the
United States stand ready to help
fefend Britain's stepping stone at the
western entrance to the Mediterranean.
American diamond drills are helping
to hack out an amazing labyrinth OF
tunnels in the rock which may be home
to thousands of defenders if history
repeats itself and -previously-tried
Gibraltar is forced to undergo third
grueling siege.
The tunnels-or galleries, as the Brit
tish call them-are the key to new
idea for guarding Gibraltar. Work on
them never stops. Hundreds OF Cana
dian and English miners, in eight-hour
shifts, keep the work going "a hours
a day, seven days a week.
I dropped off to sleep in comfort
able room at the rock hotel to the
thunderous lullaby of the dynamite
blasters. The next morning, after a
breakfast of bacon, tomatoes, toast, but
ter. orange marmalade and coffee-a re-
markable breakfast for wartime Eu-
rope-I set of on tour of the passages.
Tn Core of Rock
Led by an agile major of the Black
Watch, I scrambled up and down huge
piles of blasted rocks, picked my way
along a little railway by f1ashlight-
and found myself in the very core of
Gibraltar.
Over the deafening roar Of the drill
ing, the major explained that we were
standing In the brain Of the rock.
General headquarters officers will live
In little red brick houses lining the side
Of the passageway Their commands will
oe conveyed by telephone and motor
cycle runners.
As In the Maginot Line, all facilities
are being provided for this moles life
Observation-Disclosures dormitories, toi-
lets. shower baths, food and water reser-
voirs (all fresh water in Gibraltar must
iv, Darn dol
munition supplies and hospitals.
visited one hospital inside the
rock where 200 beds and an electrically
heated operating room are ready for
the moment when hospitals outside may
no longer function.
Nature has favored the British project.
Most of the tunnels are self-ventllated.
There is no problem of steel or cement
reinforcing except at the openings, since
the tunnels are being hewn out of solid
rock that rises in places to height OF
1,10O feet. The passages divide at In
tervals, leaving supporting beams OF
rock itself.
Sentinels at Guns
The big problem is dampness, especially
with leakage during the rainy season.
This is counteracted by corrugated iron
roofing.
From the excavation areas where work
is being speeded up we went on to a
completed passage where sentinels stand
over formidable-looking guns of all de-
scriptions.
I pushed into embrasures set in the
face of steel cliff, and sighted down a
barrel at what one day may be another
no mans land. I descended vertical
shaft and found myself at sally port
which one day may open to let out British
raiding parties, but which is 50 construct
ed that If an enemy ever gained ad-
mittance he would find himself under a
hot barrage from above, with no way up.
Out of some of the windows you see
the narrow strip of land connecting Gil
braltar with the mainland. Those work.
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