Mark was visiting this ‘Ackack command operations room’ as part of a tour of nature reserves and related areas in South Essex, organised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). As part of the tour Mark, who is a military history enthusiast, paid a visit to Marsh Farm and was shown around the bunker by local farmer Tim Searle, while accompanied by Paul Forecast, the Regional Director for the East of England RSPB.
The bunker was built by the Royal Engineers in 1939 to become operational by 1940 and played a key role in helping to coordinate the anti aircraft defences around London. Although far less famous than the number 11 Fighter Group bunker at Uxbridge and the Fighter Command HQ bunker at Stanmore, this bunker in Vange was nevertheless an integral part of the nations wartime defences.
Commenting on his visit to the command bunker, Mark Francois said:
“This site was very important in helping us to win the Battle of Britain, and thus defending our country from the threat of Nazi tyranny. It would be lovely to think that perhaps one day this bunker could be refurbished and restored to its former glory and perhaps opened as some kind of museum, so that future generations could understand more clearly how our freedom was protected during the dark days of 1940. If anyone who served in this bunker during the war would be good enough to contact me at the House of Commons, I would be very interested to hear of their experiences, not least as it might help to promote any subsequent bid to the National Lottery for money in order to try and make the possibility of a museum a reality”.