RAF Harpur Hill

11 tunnels were built (concrete galleries covered by waste quarry stones) and dug into the hillside from 1938 to 1940 by McAlpine (at a cost of £6,500,000) to house munitions (ammunition and weapons) and ordnance (bombs and explosives) during World War II.The camp's housing for staff was built nearby on roads named after past RAF war heroes (such as Nettleton, Tedder and Trenchard).The team was led by the site's medical officer Flight Lieutenant (later Air Commodore) (Dr)David Crichton and it recovered many wartime aircrew from crashes.On 3 November 1948 the RAF team was called out to locate the US Air Force (USAF) Boeing RB-29A Superfortress which had crashed near Bleaklow moor on the Kinder Scout moorland plateau.After the tunnels were closed again, they were sold to a group of local businessmen and used as a cold store for cheese; a warehouse was built for dry and bonded wines and spirits.One of the hauliers was Lomas Distribution and Christian Salvesen and was a major employer in the area; it later sold the site to French transport company Norbert Dentressangle.
Building from the old RAF camp
Tunnel in use as a mushroom farm in 1974
High Peak College campus in ex-RAF buildings on Burlow Road
Machine gun bunker on High Edge
Harpur HillDerbyshireRoyal Air Force stationMinistry of DefenceRoyal Air ForcestationBuxtonEnglandmunitionsRAF Maintenance UnitAir MinistryHarpur Hill QuarryMcAlpineWorld War IICromford and High Peak Railwaybomb disposalUnexploded OrdnanceV-rocketmustard gasphosgeneLlanberisNettletonTedderTrenchardUS Air ForceBoeing RB-29A SuperfortressBleaklowKinder ScoutBleaklow BomberChristian SalvesenNorbert DentressangleHealth and Safety Executive LaboratoryRAF munitions storage during World War II