A secret bunker from World War II

In Scotland, workers found a secret World War II bunker while felling timber. Apparently, it was used by Churchill's Secret Service. It was known for its unconventional practices. When threatened with capture by the enemy, they committed suicide.

The secret bunker is deep in the woods of the border region. It's not very big. It's a test tube, seven metres wide, about three metres high. It's made of brick, concrete and tin. It was found quite by accident by workers cutting wood in the forest. There was a large iron door leading inside, which was overgrown, which is probably why no one had found the hideout before.

Inside the bunker there were only empty old tins and broken pieces of wood, probably from broken beds. Usually the soldiers also had ammunition, a portable toilet and other supplies to last at least five weeks. Archaeologists have lasered the bunker and created a computer model.

The bunker probably served Churchill's so-called secret army. These were the elite warriors of the United Kingdom's defensive line. Their job was to sabotage the enemy and they were trained to hide in underground bunkers. They waited for the enemy to appear and attacked to cause chaos among the German lines. They were even prepared to engage in various unconventional and suicidal practices.

"The discovered bunker gives us an insight into how some of the most secret units operated during the Second World War. It's quite rare to find bunkers like this, they were really well hidden and most of them destroyed," said archaeologist Alison Campsie, who is researching the bunker found in Scotland.

An estimated 500 such shelters were scattered across the UK. They were equipped so that at least seven soldiers could stay there for at least a month. Most of the bunkers are still unknown. The men who built the bunkers signed a confidentiality agreement. "We could never even talk about what we were specifically trained to do," Trevor Miners, who volunteered to join the secret unit as a 16-year-old, told the BBC in 2013.

The units were often staffed by locals who knew the terrain well. For example, hunters, but also poachers. They were trained to destroy railway lines and enemy supplies. They made homemade explosives and carried out assassinations. They committed suicide to avoid being captured by the enemy. They often changed positions when they found themselves in danger of being discovered by the enemy.

Sources: www.smithsonianmag.com, www.livescience.com