A tour of High Wycombe’s World War Two bunker, ‘Pinetree’, was hosted by educational charity organisation Subterranea Britannica last Friday, attracting VIP guests, and opening up some important history on our doorstep.

The tour of the historical bunker was taken by 100 members of the organisation, as well as some VIP guests including the Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire, the Mayor of High Wycombe and US Air Force veterans who served in the bunker.

The tour of the 23,000 square-foot, three-level facility marks the first time the bunker has been formally opened to the public since 2007, when it was handed back to the Ministry of Defence in 2007 from the US Military. The land has since been returned to Wycombe Abbey school, the original landowners.

The former US Air Force base, located at RAF Daws Hill in High Wycombe, was used during World War Two and the Cold War by the US Military, costing £250,000 to build in 1942.

Taking the tour was Chiltern Rise councillor and chairman of Wycombe District Council, Ian McEnnis, a former RAF contracts officer who worked at Daws Hill for a decade from 1995 to 2005.

He said: “It was absolutely wonderful, a very nostalgic experience for me. It certainly brought back some good memories.

"It was a very active and lively place, it was little America really, you used dollars there if you wanted to buy anything.

“It was a very interesting trip, with people from all around the world.”

Martin Dixon, Chairman of Subterranea Britannica, the hosts of the tour, said that the organisation was “delighted” to receive  permission from the school to visit the bunker, explaining that the base was a “nerve centre” for the United States 8th Air Force Bomber Command in World War Two, also having an important Cold War role.

He said: “The bunker stands as a tribute to all who served both underground and in the air.”

"Few residents in the area realise the role that High Wycombe played in prosecuting World War Two, or in preventing World War Three." 

Author of the book 'Home Bases: Memories & Stories of US Military Bases around London' Sean Kelly, spent nearly a decade on the base, also visiting it several times post-operational use.

Mr Kelly explained some history of the base. He said: “A matter of weeks after the Americans joined the war effort, they came to High Wycombe,”

He  emphasised the importance of the base, describing it, just as Martin Dixon did, as the “nerve centre” of the the USAAF 8th Bomber Command operations in World War Two, saying that it was “where so many historic missions were tasked.”

The bunker, codenamed ‘Pinetree’ during World War Two, has been known by many names since the war , known as “Lancer Control”, “The Bunker”, “The Hole”, “Building 700” and finally, after the US Navy took control in 2002, as “Building 1700”.

Mr Kelly also pointed out more of the bases fascinating history, explaining that it was one of the few locations outside the United States where the US Battle Plan information was updated every 72 hours.

In the 1980s, the bunker received a major upgrade and was a designated fall-back HQ for the US Military European Command should bases in Europe get overrun.

But what about the future for this hugely significant military bunker? Whilst the majority of the base has been sold off and is being redeveloped to create 441 homes and some industrial buildings, the seven-acre bunker and it’s supporting buildings will see a different fate.

David Curtis-Donnelly, the Estate Bursar for Wycombe Abbey explained that despite the terms of the lease saying that the military were expected to return the site to the school cleared and filled with foamed cement to ensure the bunker would not become dangerous or collapse, the handover process changed this.

In September 2012 when the decommisioning happened at the end of the 70 year lease, English Heritage visited the bunker and listed it, and it’s air vents as Grade II.

This makes it a listed building and protected, with Mr Curtis-Donnelly saying it reflects  the importance of the structure, both for its architechture and for its role in WWII and the Cold War. 

Mr Curtis-Donnelly declined to comment on the cost of the bunker’s presevation, but said the school understands its responsibility towards presevation in line with the English Heritage regulations.

He said that the school is looking at many options, with the students safety the school’s main concern. “It is likely to take some time before we have a detailed plan,” he said.

There are some benefits for the school, as Wycombe Abbey has already started using an above-ground shed building as a school maintenance workshop.

Mr Curtis-Donnelly said that despite demandm the bunker willl not be opened up for regular tours due to its location within the school.