Gibraltar's Secret Wars

Operation Tracer - The Stay Behind Chamber on Gibraltar during WW II

Operation Tracer was so secret that only rumour persisted after the war and it was not until the discovery of a chamber beneath Lord Airey’s Battery on Gibraltar in 1997 and the finding of papers from Naval Intelligence at the Public Records Office, Kew (England) that Operation Tracer could be confirmed.

By Nick Nutter | Last Updated 2024-03-17 | Gibraltar's Secret Wars

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View from west observation slit in Stay Behind Chamber

Top-Secret Mission: Inside the Rock

World War II raged, and Britain clung to a precarious existence. Amidst the chaos, a daring plan was hatched in the shadows – Operation Tracer. This clandestine mission was not about grand offensives or daring raids. Instead, it envisioned a desperate gamble: placing a team of men behind enemy lines, hidden within the very rock of Gibraltar itself.

The year was 1941. The threat of a German invasion of Britain loomed large. Operation Felix, a Nazi plan to capture Gibraltar, was still a worry. Should the impregnable fortress fall, Britain's lifeline through the Mediterranean would be severed.

Enter Dr. William Cooper, enjoying shore leave in the UK. He was approached by a ghost from the past – George Murray Levick, a survivor of Captain Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition. Levick, now an Admiralty consultant, recruited Cooper for a mission shrouded in secrecy, a mission that would test his mettle like no other.

The Stay-Behind Chamber

The tunnels beneath Lord Airey's Battery

Under the guise of further fortifying Gibraltar, a secret chamber was carved deep within the Rock near Airey’s Battery. This claustrophobic space, barely forty-four feet long 16 feet wide and 8 feet high, would become a potential tomb for six brave souls. Inside, a desperate fight for survival would be waged – not against enemy soldiers, but against isolation, boredom, and the ever-present threat of claustrophobia.

The chamber was a marvel of ingenuity. A hidden water tank provided a lifeline, while a bicycle-powered generator and a cleverly concealed antenna hinted at the team's mission – to transmit vital intelligence on enemy shipping movements. Provisions for six men for seven years were stored in the chamber.

Escape routes, narrow slits disguised as natural rock formations, offered a sliver of hope should the Germans discover their hideout.

Steeply sloping tunnels led to an opening in the east cliff overlooking the Mediterranean outside of which is a twenty-two feet long ledge that cannot be seen from above due to an overhang of rock. A similar tunnel led to the west cliff from which, through a slit in the man-made water catchment just 2 cms x 20 cms there was an unobstructed view of the harbour at Algeciras. The six-man team were expected to keep a lookout 24 hours per day for up to seven years unless they were captured or killed.

The Recruits

With meticulous care, a team was assembled. Men like Dr. Cooper, with their unique skillsets and unwavering resolve, and a fellow doctor Arthur Milner, were chosen for this perilous task. Training commenced at Romney Marsh, a harsh prelude to the true test that awaited them within the Rock. Three top signalmen and an executive officer to serve as leader of the team had also been recruited. However, the leader of the team, who shall remain nameless, had to be replaced. The officer apparently had balked at the idea of sharing his dining table with the three naval ratings, the enlisted men who were to serve as wireless operators. A character by the name of ‘Windy’ Gale was appointed team leader.

A Race Against Time - Trials in the Stay Behind Tunnels

Dr Cooper revisits the Stay Behind Chamber

Trials in the 'stay behind tunnels' started in January 1942 supervised by Colonel Gambier-Parry, a radio expert from MI6. In March, a Lieutenant White arrived in Gibraltar following a signal to Commander Gibraltar asking for full co-operation and reminding everyone that the ultimate success of Operation Tracer depended on 100% security. Surgeon-Lieutenants Cooper and Milner, both RNVR, then arrived that summer on an operation on the instructions of the First Sea Lord.

By September 1942, the team was in place, a silent sentinels hidden in plain sight, ready to occupy the 'stay behind tunnels'. Dr Cooper became the physician for the dockyard and censor of soldier's letters. Of course, nobody had informed the Transport Officer on Gibraltar of his dual role and on one occasion Cooper was almost sent to sea. Secrecy was essential. Whilst on Gibraltar Dr. Cooper lived at the Rock Hotel. He would enter the front doors dressed in his Surgeon Lieutenant's uniform and exit through the back in a sergeant's uniform to go up the Rock to continue his training in the WWII tunnels.

Every day held the potential for discovery, every sunrise a reminder of the immense gamble they had taken.

Fortress Untouched

Fortunately, the nightmare scenario never materialized. Gibraltar remained in Allied hands, and Operation Tracer's ultimate test was never required. After a year of waiting, the team was finally stood down.

The existence of the Stay-Behind chamber remained a secret for decades, a testament to the lengths Allied forces were willing to go to preserve the vital stronghold of Gibraltar.

Return to Gibraltar

Martin Nuza - Dr Cooper (middle) - Jim Crone

Dr. Cooper's return to Gibraltar in 2008, at the age of ninety-three, offered a poignant glimpse into this extraordinary, and previously untold, story. The visit was organised by documentary film Producer Martin Nuza (Gold Productions Studios) with the assistance of Jim Crone (discovergibraltar.com) as part of Mr Nuza’s latest film project. The resulting film, Operation Tracer, was screened in 2013.

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