Dover Castle & Secret War Tunnels

On the Bridge leading to the Caste

Dover Castle

On the White Cliffs of Dover

The first destination the morning of our day trip was to Dover Castle on the coast of England. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and rainy, but I’m not worried because I’ll be back to take a fairy over to France soon enough! On a sunny day you can look over the English Channel and see the Eiffel Tower in France. When my stake president heard that we went over to Dover he wouldn’t stop talking about some old British song titled “White Cliffs of Dover”. He told me that I had to look it up to really appreciate the place we visited. When I got home I did just that and found it to be a pretty cool song. The lyrics of the song are pretty neat. This is the first verse:

“I'll Never forget the people I met,

braving those angry skies.

I remember well as the shadows fell,

the light of hope in their eyes,

but though i'm far away,

I still can hear them say.

Thumbs up for when the dawn comes up:

There'll be bluebirds over,

The white cliffs of Dover,

Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

There'll be love and laughter,

And peace ever after,

Tomorrow when the world is free.”

It’s a fitting song for the history of Dover Castle and the role it played in times of war and combat. The castle has defensive significance throughout the history of England. When we walked through the castle it was decorated to look the way it did when it was built during medieval time giving us a good sense of its origin. Next to the castle is one of the oldest Saxon churches and a lighthouse that dates back to 50 AD.  

World War II Secret War Tunnels

Women of World War II Monument

Underneath Dover Castle there are three layers of tunnels from different time periods. One of the tunnels has graffiti and etchings into the stone from the times of crusades. The tunnels that are the furthest underground and are the largest are the secret tunnels of World War II. We took a tour through them. I kind of had an eerie feeling as we walked through the operating room, latrines, dormitories, and eating hall. The reason why it was kind of creepy was because they had kept the original operating tools and appliances along with the dim lights making it feel like we had just traveled back in time.

We also got to walk through the tele-communications and planning rooms. Our tour guide noticed that the majority of us were women. He told us that even though there were 2,000 men stationed to live in these tunnels, the women that worked in the tele-communication and planning rooms were a large contribution to the operations of war that happen there. It was insightful to hear that the people of England recognized women to be a large contribution to the war. I took a picture of a monument that lies in the middle of the main road that leads to the Houses of Parliament near Westminster. It symbolizes the many new roles women took on as the men went off to war.