HELP !!!! Required.

I was in conversation earlier to day with a chap i have known for a number of years,over a coffee we got onto my interest in World War Military History.

He use to w2ork at Sheel's Refinerary at Stanlow, was in charge of the Fire Service Section, so we chatted about the pipleines, in cluding a part of " Pluto " , however he mentioned that when he was in the Army Cadets some 40 years ago, he use to go to a very large Army Camp with the Cadets for weekends, somewhere between as he says, Chirk and Shrewsbury. He can remember it having a 300 Bed Hospital underground, full equipped and ready to go, he thinks it was called something Cliff ?? Anybody any ideas please.

Nesscliffe ATA in Shropshire is centred HERE which fits the location and 'Cliff'. I don't have any info on an underground hospital there...the training area has been used by cadets as well as the TA and regulars for many years.

Might be some confusion with Swynnerton ATA, near Stone in Staffordshire. That has an old underground SRHQ/RGHQ on the site and although that includes a large male dormitory area a hospital facilty of that size has never been mentioned. That was a wartime ammunition facility - the underground bit came later. Again used by cadets as well as TA/regulars.

The only underground hospital I have visited in the area was at Drakelow , near Kinver, part of the Cold War RSG/SRC, which from memory included an operating theater but I don't think had the number of beds mentioned.

Hope that helps narrow the search ?

Many thanks Sparky67. It certainly appears to be Nesscliffe Camp, he was going on about, fits the location and not too far away from Chester, where he was in the Cadet Corp. Btw, is it still in use today ?

The correct spelling is Nescliff a former military CAD (Central Ammunition Depot). It consisted of a number of sub-sites including Argoed, Kinnerley, Pentre and Ford.

A very large number of solidly built surface buildings, virtually all the same type and size spaced over a large area and each connected to a standard gauge rail system. Mostly shell storage.

For those of you into football its where Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton did their national service. And the comedian(allegedly!) Jim Bowen was also stationed here.

LINK 1 LINK 2

Peter - good point - Nesscliffe village shows up on all the maps I have seen as Nesscliffe...including OS...although the TA is spelt without the 'e' on the MoD website .

Lt Cdr - The training area is still very much in use. I spent a couple of very cold (-10) nights there a few years ago in a concrete des res (bunker 109) out on the Kinnerley training area... I believe Shawbury also use it for helicopter crew training.