page_title: Operation Tracer
section_title: Discovery
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Tracer / Discovery
caption_attribution_description: English: Dennis Woods, 1998, during his return visit to Gibraltar. He confirmed the authenticity of the Operation Tracer site.
context_page_description: Operation Tracer was a secret Second World War military operation in Gibraltar, a British colony and military base. The impetus for the plan was the 1940 scheme by Germany to capture Gibraltar, code-named Operation Felix. Operation Tracer was the brainchild of Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty.
  In 1941, he decided to establish a covert observation post at Gibraltar, that would remain operational even if Gibraltar fell to the Axis powers. Movements of enemy vessels would be reported to the United Kingdom. Godfrey requested the assistance of several distinguished consultants to bring the plan to fruition. The plan was so secret that Godfrey held meetings with his consultants at his private residence rather than at Whitehall.
  The decision was made to construct the post using the tunnel system for Lord Airey's Shelter, the underground military headquarters just north of Lord Airey's Battery. The artillery battery was located at the upper ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar, near the southern end of what is now the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.
  Construction began in late 1941 and was complete by the late summer 1942.
context_section_description: Since World War II, rumours circulated of a secret room in the Rock of Gibraltar. For years, people explored the Rock's cliffs, tunnels, and caves, but to no avail. However, in late 1997, after searching for more than two years as a team, the Gibraltar Caving Group unearthed a secret complex in close proximity to Lord Airey's Battery at the Upper Ridge of the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. The group had evaluated potential locations of the complex, and come to the conclusion that it had to be located high up on the Rock in order to command good views of both the Mediterranean and the Bay of Gibraltar.
  Their suspicions were raised when members of the group felt a rush of wind in a tunnel they had been exploring. After further exploration, the group broke through a wall into a series of chambers. It was quickly recognised that the secret complex was likely the long-sought-after site of Operation Tracer. The hidden chamber had been dubbed "Stay Behind Cave" by locals years ago, before official details were known.
  After feeling the draught of wind in the tunnel on a levanter day in December 1997, the Gibraltar Caving Group had pushed aside some corrugated metal sheets, and found a bricked-in area of the wall. Carefully removing some bricks, they soon revealed a doorway behind the bricked-in area of the tunnel. In addition to the observations posts, including a concrete slab for that on the west, the men found the remains of a bicycle. They also located the tubing which sheathed the aerial rod along the stairs. Cork tiles on the floor provided insulation for purposes of both warmth and sound. They were in two patterns and shapes: square tiles arranged around the periphery of the room, presumably to indicate storage areas, and narrow tiles in a herringbone pattern in the main area of the room centrally.
  During the course of a 28-minute documentary that was filmed and produced in 1998, the team turned on the brass tap over the wash pit supplied by the 10,000 gallon water tank. The water, while initially black, soon ran clear. The men kept the location of the cave a secret for three months while they researched it. The documentary, Operation Tracer – Stay Behind Cave, was published in April 2012.
  In September 1998, Dennis Woods identified himself as having been instrumental in the construction of the covert facility. His appearance in Gibraltar represented his first return there in more than fifty years. The Gibraltar Museum invited Woods to tour the underground chambers. He revealed that at the time of the construction of the secret complex, it was referred to as Braithwaite's Cave, in honour of the commanding officer. Major J A Braithwaite had led the men who constructed the facility, and died during an accidental explosion while tunnelling. His acknowledgement confirmed the identity of the site. He was able to relate details of the construction and function of elements of the facility.
  Woods also indicated that there were two other Tracer teams in Gibraltar, but that his was the main one. This, together with a drawing of a different chamber obtained from an MI6 source, raised the possibility of a second secret complex in Gibraltar. In addition, a former telegraphist suggested that Tracer units were in operation during the course of the Suez Crisis.
caption: Dennis Woods at Tracer's cave in 1998.
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