Over the last few months, I have written several articles/blogs about the many secret communication sites erected by MI6 (also known as SIS) in my local area during World War Two. As they were controlled from Whaddon Hall (near Bletchley Park), I call the sites The Whaddon Web.
The feedback I have had on my articles has led me to ask my artist, Kai Toru, to further refine her map so that it is more obvious which site did what. A picture is worth a thousand words – but colour helps! From it, you can see just how extensive those secret service communications sites were; and the complexity of what they were doing.
It turns out that I'm not the only person who doesn't want this amazing story to fade away. Many people have shared with me their personal memories, photos and knowledge.
One man has gone a lot further than that. John Conneely has shared with me a film he has made which is all about Whaddon. John's film is about, and features, Geoffrey Pidgeon. Geoffrey worked at Whaddon and wrote the bible on the subject of MI6/SIS's secret communications sites 'The Secret Wireless War'.
Geoffrey Pidgeon
My personal well-thumbed copy of Geoffrey Pidgeon's book
To put this into context...
In World War Two, this area (see the map) was the centre for receiving and processing Allied Intelligence in four separate ways. These can easily be understood in human terms if one thinks of our ears, eyes, brain and mouth.
- The 'ears' were the 'Y' listening services,
- the 'brain' was Bletchley Park,
- the 'eyes' were radar and spy planes
- and the 'voice' was Whaddon Hall's numerous communications sites.
I devote a chapter to the voice – MI6's many communications sites (The Whaddon Web) - in my book The Intelligence Zone.
Geoffrey Pidgeon's superb book is the cornerstone of that chapter. I and anyone interested in this subject, whether they be historians or laymen, owe John Conneely a debt of thanks for making this historically important film of Geoffrey talking about Whaddon.
©Alan Biggins February 2024
click on image above to view John Conneely's video
ps
Over the last few months, I have been asked by various villages and organisations to give a talk on the subject of The Whaddon Web
One of those organisations is – to my delight – my local U3A at Buckingham (where I'm learning German!) So I have prepared a Power Point presentation called 'On foot through the Intelligence Zone' on how my 50 years of walking has enlightened me about the amazing – but largely forgotten – sites in this fascinating area.
A new career beckons, in which I will meet a host of interesting people, hopefully educate and entertain them... and drink a lot of tea. Watch this space for my schedule, and get in touch at info@intzoneuk.com if you want more details/would like to host the talk.
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