A large limestone monolith called the Rock of Gibraltar and towering over a small British overseas area near the southwestern tip of Europe in the Iberian Peninsula has long been a natural defense for Gibraltar. During the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century, and later during World War II, the British army dug an intricate maze of tunnels at the base of the cliff in order to protect this strategically important facility from enemy attacks. More than 50 kilometers of tunnels permeate this huge monolith, and once they were stored weapons and hangars, ammunition depots, barracks and hospitals.
After the end of World War II, the myth began to circulate that there was a secret room in the rock, which was intended to contain six men and was walled up from the outside. They were expected to observe the activities of the Germans for one year or more if Gibraltar fell into the hands of Nazi forces.
Rumors of this secret chamber lasted for years, and many people devoted a significant amount of their time to exploring the existing tunnels, caves and sheer cliffs of Gibraltar in hopes of finding it. The first breakthrough came more than fifty years after the end of the war. In late 1997, a group of explorers called the Gibraltar Cavers Group discovered a large complex atop the cliff's southern tip. The researchers destroyed a brick wall and found a doorway, behind which were observation posts, lined with cork tiles to provide insulation from cold and sound, an antenna and parts of a bicycle. The secret chamber is called "Stay in the cave." It took another ten years before it was confirmed that Stay in the Cave was actually the key location for Operation Tracer.
The idea to conduct Operation Tracer originated in the darkest days of World War II. In 1940, France fell to the onslaught of the Germans, and only Spain remained between Hitler and his desire to invade Gibraltar in order to take control of all maritime movements in the Mediterranean. The plan was to cut Britain off from the rest of the British Empire. British intelligence recognized the threat as real, and Operation Tracer was born.
Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey proposed creating a secret observation post in Gibraltar that would continue to function even if the territory was in the hands of the enemy. This observation post was to be located in a hidden chamber inside the Rock of Gibraltar and had two small holes for observing movements in the harbor. Six people were selected who were to be walled up inside the cave. And although the supplies were enough to last a year, there was no way out in the cell, and if any of the men died, they had to be embalmed and cemented in a brick floor. The men could only be freed if Germany was defeated within one year.
Of those chosen for this suicidal mission, two were doctors, three were signalmen, and one was a leader. The surgeon, Lieutenant Bruce Cooper, was not told anything about the secret mission until he agreed to take part in it.
Construction of the chamber began in December 1941, and by early 1942 the secret complex was completed. The room measured 14 x 5 x 2.5 meters and had two narrow slits overlooking the Gulf of Gibraltar in the west and the Mediterranean Sea in the east (they served as both observation and ventilation ports). There was a toilet, a radio room, and a 45,460 liter water tank. The transmitter, with which the men were to report all ship movements to the British Admiralty, was to be powered by two generators - one hand-held and one powered by a bicycle, parts of which were discovered by a research team in 1997.
View of the Gulf of Gibraltar from the western observation post.
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Tests began in January 1942 under the leadership of Colonel Gambier-Perry. Due to the complexity of the task, a member of the ill-fated Antarctic expedition on the barque Terra Nova, led by Robert Scott, was assigned to advise on survival techniques. Practical issues such as nutrition, exercise, sanitation, clothing, and psychology were covered. By the end of the summer of 1942, a full-fledged team was formed, ready to carry out the operation. The room was also fully equipped. British intelligence decided that such secret observation posts should be prepared around the world in the event of future wars.
Fortunately for the selected soldiers, Adolf Hitler turned his attention from Gibraltar to the Eastern Front, and Operation Tracer never took place. A year later, supplies and equipment were removed from the cave, and the cave itself was blocked.
In 2008, Bruce Cooper, one of those who was supposed to be involved in Operation Tracer, arrived in Gibraltar to investigate the found camera. He was able to confirm that the camera discovered in 1997 was a secret and intended for him and his five companions. Bruce Cooper died two years later at the age of 96.