Lord Airey's Battery

File:Richardairey.jpg]]

Lord Airey's Battery is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula.{{cite web|title=List of Crown Dependencies & Overseas Territories|url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/treaties/uk-overseas-territories/list-crown-dependencies-overseas|work=fco.gov.uk|publisher=Foreign and Commonwealth Office|access-date=19 October 2012}}{{cite news|title=Neandertals' Last Stand was in Gibraltar, Study Suggests|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060913-neanderthals.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114082310/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060913-neanderthals.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 November 2006|access-date=19 October 2012|newspaper=National Geographic News|agency=National Geographic Society|date=10 October 2006|author=Roach, John}} The artillery battery is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, in the Upper Battery area, which also includes O'Hara's Battery and Spur Battery, although the latter's gun was removed in Project Vitello.{{cite web|title=Gibraltar Gun |url=http://www.cabinetwarrooms.org.uk/collections/item/object/70000380 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121224012651/http://www.cabinetwarrooms.org.uk/collections/item/object/70000380 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 December 2012 |work=cabinetwarrooms.org.uk |publisher=Imperial War Museums |access-date=1 November 2012 }} It is positioned on O'Hara's Road, just north of O'Hara's Battery.{{cite news|title=O'Hara's Battery becomes visitor attraction|url=http://www.panorama.gi/localnews/headlines.php?action=view_article&article=5975|access-date=24 October 2012|newspaper=Gibraltar news from Panorama|date=20 May 2010}}{{cite web|title=Map of Lord Airey's Battery|url=https://maps.google.com/?q=36.124784,-5.343277&num=1&t=h&z=20|work=maps.google.com|publisher=Google Maps|access-date=19 October 2012}}{{cite web|title=Gibraltar Heritage Trust Act|url=http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1989-12o.pdf|work=gibraltarlaws.gov.gi|publisher=Government of Gibraltar|access-date=24 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827091758/http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1989-12o.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2012|url-status=dead}} The gun is at an elevation of 418 metres.{{cite book|title=Issues in Environmental Geology: A British Perspective|year=1998 |publisher=Geological Society|isbn= 9781862390140|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoUYEPemXF0C&pg=PA110|edition=illustrated|editor1=Bennett, Matthew R |editor2=Doyle, Peter |access-date=19 October 2012|page=110}}

The battery was named after General Sir Richard Airey (1803 – 1881), who served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1865 to 1870.{{cite web|title=Gun exterior (A) |url=http://www.discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm |work=discovergibraltar.com |publisher=DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Upper Rock Nature Reserve, O'Hara's Battery, H Lord Aireys Battery) |access-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905140025/http://discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm |archive-date=5 September 2013 }}{{cite news|title=O'Hara's Battery opens as a tourist attraction|url=http://www.7daysgibraltar.com/article.php?id=3779|access-date=19 October 2012|newspaper=7 Days - Gibraltar's Free Weekly Newspaper}}{{cite DNB|wstitle=Airey, Richard|volume=1|pages=202–203}} Earlier, during the Crimean War, he had served in the capacity of quartermaster-general to FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan. While Airey was regarded very favourably by his superiors, including Lord Raglan, public perception was that he was one of those responsible for the inadequate provisions during that war, as well as the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade. Upon his return to England, he insisted that an investigation be conducted, and he was exonerated of all charges. Airey achieved the full rank of General in 1871 and led the Airey commission on army reform in 1879-1880.{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Airey, Richard Airey |volume= 01 |page= 445}}

Construction of Lord Airey's Battery started on 25 July 1890 and was finished by 1 March 1891. The first gun on the battery was a 6-inch breech loading gun with a Vavasseur mounting on a centre pivot. However, on 23 October 1897, the process of creating a position for a 9.2-inch Mark X BL gun on a Mark V mounting began. That was finished on 31 March 1900. Its sister battery, O'Hara's Battery, was also armed with a 9.2-inch gun.{{cite book|title=The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn= 9781846030161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BC5QBR0oB04C|author=Finlayson, Clive|author-link=Clive Finlayson|edition=illustrated|author2=Fa, Darren |access-date=23 October 2012|pages=51, 58|date=31 October 2006}}

The tunnel system of Lord Airey's Shelter, just north of Lord Airey's Battery, was the site chosen for World War II's Operation Tracer. The secret complex came to be known as Stay Behind Cave.{{cite web|title=Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave |url=http://www.discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm |work=discovergibraltar.com |publisher=DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave) |access-date=20 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905140025/http://discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm |archive-date=5 September 2013 }}{{cite web|title=Operation Tracer - Radio Operations in Gibraltar|url=http://jproc.ca/radiostor/tracer.html|work=jproc.ca|publisher=Radio Reading Room|access-date=19 October 2012|author=John Jones, G4KLT}} The plan had involved sealing half a dozen men into a secret complex in the Rock of Gibraltar if Gibraltar was captured by the Germans. The men were expected to observe and report the activities of the German forces for about a year, sending radio messages. Two observation posts would allow the men to watch the Mediterranean and the Bay of Gibraltar. The facilities included a bicycle to generate electricity and a 10,000 gallon water tank. A section of the floor near the entrance had been prepared with layers of loose bricks to facilitate burial should any of the men die during their confinement. The long-sought-after site was discovered in December 1997 by the Gibraltar Caving Group close to Lord Airey's Battery.{{cite web|title=Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq69bJMVYiQ|work=youtube.com|publisher=Tom Finlayson|access-date=25 October 2012}}

The secret chamber had been constructed in 1941, at which time it was known as Braithwaite's Cave, in honor of Major J. A. Braithwaite, the commanding officer who led the team that constructed the complex. In 1998, one of the men involved in the construction of Stay Behind Cave, Dennis Woods, came forward and confirmed its authenticity. In 2006, the only living member of the 6-man team that had been chosen for Operation Tracer was interviewed. He was 92-year-old Dr. Bruce Cooper, a retired Surgeon Lieutenant of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. His visit to Gibraltar two years later, in 2008, was covered in one of the documentaries (link to a documentary below) about Operation Tracer and included a trip to Stay Behind Cave. The 94-year-old Cooper confirmed that the chamber in question was the secret complex of Operation Tracer. The survival manual for Stay Behind Cave has not yet been retrieved.{{cite web|title=Gibraltar Heritage |url=http://www.georeme.co.uk/GibraltarHeritage.htm |work=georeme.co.uk |publisher=The Magazine of the Gibraltar Government Heritage Division |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110091450/http://www.georeme.co.uk/GibraltarHeritage.htm |archive-date=10 January 2012 }}{{cite web|title=Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave |url=http://www.aboutourrock.com/culture/tracer/operationtracer.htm |work=aboutourrock.com |publisher=About Our Rock |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519085844/http://www.aboutourrock.com/culture/tracer/operationtracer.htm |archive-date=19 May 2012 }}

The 9.2-inch guns at Lord Airey's Battery and O'Hara's Battery were last fired on 7 April 1976 during a training exercise.{{cite web|title=Gun exterior (A) |url=http://www.discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm |work=discovergibraltar.com |publisher=DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Upper Rock Nature Reserve, O'Hara's Battery) |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905140025/http://discovergibraltar.com/pages/mainlogo/mainfrm.htm |archive-date=5 September 2013 }} For years, the site was classified as an excluded area, where entry was a criminal offence.{{cite web|title=Criminal Offences - Restricted Areas Notice|url=http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1968.08.20.pdf|work=gibraltarlaws.gov.gi|publisher=Government of Gibraltar|access-date=19 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725162546/http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1968.08.20.pdf|archive-date=25 July 2012|url-status=dead}} However, in the summer of 2009, soldiers refurbished the guns at Lord Airey's Battery and O'Hara's Battery.{{cite news|title=O'Hara's Battery Recharged|url=http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=16921|access-date=19 October 2012|newspaper=Gibraltar Chronicle|date=5 August 2009|author=Cooksey, Jared}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite news|title=Soldiers from 68 squadron from Whipps Cross have spent two weeks honing their skills in Gibraltar|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/4648186.LEYTON__TA_Soldiers_improve_skills_in_Gibraltar/?ref=rss|access-date=19 October 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=24 September 2009|author=Moyes, Jonathan}} Lord Airey's was opened to the public in May 2010, at the same time that O'Hara's Battery became accessible. The battery is under the supervision of the Gibraltar Tourist Board, but managed on a day-to-day basis by a private company.{{cite web|title=The Mediterranean Steps – Are You Up For The Challenge?|url=http://www.yourgibraltartv.com/gibraltar/gibraltar-attractions/mediterranean-steps|work=yourgibraltartv.com|publisher=Your Gibraltar TV|access-date=25 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015113159/http://www.yourgibraltartv.com/gibraltar/gibraltar-attractions/mediterranean-steps|archive-date=15 October 2012|url-status=dead}} Lord Airey's Battery is one of three surviving 9.2 inch gun emplacements at the upper ridge of the Rock, the others being O'Hara's Battery and Breakneck Battery, the latter on Ministry of Defence property. Lord Airey's Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

File:Lord Airey's Battery exterior.png|Exterior (A), Gun (B), Mounting (C), Underground complex (D), O'Hara's Battery (E)

File:O'Hara's Battery Path.png|Path from O'Hara's Battery to Lord Airey's Battery
at top left

File:Lord Airey's Battery gun 2003.png|Lord Airey's Battery: 9.2-inch breech-loading gun in 2003

File:Spare_gun_on_the_rock.jpg|Spare gun barrel between Lord Airey's and O'Hara's Battery

File:Lord Airey's Battery underground complex.png|Underground Complex: Tools (A), Hoist (B and F), Hydraulic (C), Cartridges (D), Shells (E)

File:Lord_Airey's_Battery,_Upper_Rock_Gibraltar.jpg|... and it says "Lord_Airey's_Battery"

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{{Commons category|Lord Airey's Battery}}

• [https://maps.google.com/?q=36.124784,-5.343277&num=1&t=h&z=20 Google map of Lord Airey's Battery]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq69bJMVYiQ Documentary: Operation Tracer - Stay Behind Cave]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/9977224@N06/2106467818 Spare gun barrel on the path between O'Hara's Battery and Lord Airey's Battery]

{{Fortifications of Gibraltar}}

Category:Artillery battery fortifications in Gibraltar

Category:Coastal artillery