Operation Tracer was a secret Second World War Royal Navy military operation in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory and military base. The impetus for the stay-behind plan was the 1940 scheme by Germany to capture Gibraltar, code-named Operation Felix. Operation Tracer was the brainchild of Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty.
In 1941, Godfrey decided to establish a covert observation post at Gibraltar that would remain operational even if Gibraltar fell to the Axis powers. Movements of enemy vessels would be reported to the United Kingdom. Godfrey requested the assistance of several distinguished consultants to bring the plan to fruition. The plan was so secret that Godfrey held meetings with his consultants at his private residence rather than at Whitehall.
The decision was made to construct the post using the tunnel system for Lord Airey's Shelter, the underground military headquarters just north of Lord Airey's Battery. The artillery battery was located at the upper ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar, near the southern end of what is now the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.
Construction began in late 1941 and was completed by the late summer of 1942. The chambers served as a dual observation post, with an observation slit overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar and a larger aperture over the Mediterranean Sea. Six men were selected for the operation: an executive officer as leader, two physicians, and three wireless operators. The men had volunteered to be sealed inside the cave should Gibraltar fall to a foreign power.
The men understood that they would remain sealed in the cave for about a year, although it could be much longer, and provisions for a seven-year stay were stored. The plan was aborted, and the Director of Naval Intelligence ordered that the provisions in the complex be distributed and the cave sealed. Rumours of a secret complex, eventually dubbed Stay Behind Cave, circulated for decades in Gibraltar, until discovery of the chambers in 1997 by the Gibraltar Caving Group. The authenticity of the site was confirmed by one of the builders in 1998 and a decade later by one of the physicians, the last surviving member of the Tracer team, who died in 2010.
Early history
Operation Tracer was based in Gibraltar, the British territory and then fortress at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. The facility that was constructed for the top secret, World War II military operation was located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, in close proximity to Lord Airey's Battery.
The impetus for Operation Tracer was a 1940 plan by Germany to move through Spain and capture Gibraltar in the scheme code-named Operation Felix. It was an offshoot of a larger scheme, entitled the Peripheral Strategy, in which Germany planned to cut Great Britain off from the rest of the British Empire. British Intelligence recognised the threat, and Operation Tracer was the result. In the summer of 1941, Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey (1888–1971), the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty, decided to establish at Gibraltar a covert observation post which would remain operational even if Gibraltar fell into enemy hands. The scheme was sufficiently top secret that none of the Operation Tracer meetings took place at Whitehall. Rather, they were held at Godfrey's residence at 36 Curzon Street, Mayfair, Central London.
From the observation post in Gibraltar, soldiers sealed inside the cave would report movements of enemy vessels to the Admiralty, using clandestine Wireless communication. British officers, including Commander Geoffrey Birley and chief engineer Colonel Fordham, performed reconnaissance of the Rock of Gibraltar and selected the existing tunnel system for Lord Airey's Shelter as the site of Operation Tracer. Initially, plans were made to provide a year's worth of accommodation for five men, including food, water, sanitation, and wireless communication. The scheme was later changed to one which would support six men. Eventually, provisions for seven years were supplied. The Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI) consulted with several experts on the feasibility and requirements of the scheme.
By late December 1941, construction of the complex had commenced. The tunnelling work was performed in secret and the labourers were unaware of the exact site. All those involved in the construction of the Operation Tracer facility were immediately returned to England when it was completed, out of concern that they might leak the plan. The room which would provide the living quarters for the men was , with dimensions of 45 ft x 16 ft x 8 ft (14 m x 4.8 m x 2.4 m), at an elevation of . The two observation apertures, one west over the Bay of Gibraltar, and the other east over the Mediterranean, provided ventilation. Each opening was initially planned to be 12 inches x 6 inches (30 cm x 15 cm). In addition, there was a water tank. Toilets were adjacent to a small radio room that contained the equipment for the wireless communications, which included a Mark 3 transmitter and HRO Receiver. Three 12 volt, 120 ampere batteries would be charged with either one of two generators, one bicycle-propelled and the other hand-cranked. The bicycle, which also drove a ventilation system, had its chain replaced with a leather strap, in order to minimise the noise when it was in use. In addition, an outside aerial was recommended. A rod aerial measuring in length would be inserted through the east observation aperture.
A staircase near the main chamber, at the level of the radio room and toilet facility, led up to the east observation post. It was decided that the aerial would be hidden by withdrawing it into a pipe after use, with the pipe extending down the stairs which led to the main room. While it had initially been planned that the observation apertures would both be slits, the final choice was for the eastern aperture over the Mediterranean to be larger, overlooking a narrow ledge, yet still completely concealed. The opening and ledge were sufficiently large that a man could climb out onto the platform for fresh air. Part way up the main set of stairs was another set which led to the west observation post. The western slit over the bay was concealed with a concrete wedge. The entirety of the main chamber had been plastered and its floor covered in cork tiles, both methods to reduce sound transmission. The entrance passage had loose soil, to facilitate burials if needed. It also had loose bricks to further brick up the tunnel access once the six men had been sealed inside the cave.
At a January 1942 meeting, a report by two of the consultants was analysed. The report made suggestions as to personnel, exercise, provisions, including food, alcohol and tobacco, ventilation, and sanitation. If one of the team members died, it was recommended that their remains be embalmed and cemented. Those at the meeting decided that the Operation Tracer team should have six members: an officer who would serve as leader of the team, two doctors, and three telegraphists. It was proposed that a rehearsal be conducted to evaluate the psychological suitability of the proposed team members. It was suggested that the rehearsal take place in Scotland. At a meeting held the following month, in February 1942, it was recommended that Lieutenant White of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve be interviewed. It was proposed that once the Tracer team was chosen, a second team be organised, and observations posts at other places such as Aden and Malta be considered.
On 13 April 1942, Godfrey released a memo, the fourth paragraph of which stated: Edward Merrett served as Godfrey's secretary. Writer Ian Fleming, of James Bond fame, was his personal assistant. Both were involved in Operation Tracer.
Mastermind
John Henry Godfrey was a native of Handsworth, Birmingham, England. He matriculated at Bradfield College and in 1903 began his naval career as a cadet aboard HMS Britannia, formerly . After a series of postings and promotions, he became a lieutenant commander in 1916. Aside from being mentioned in dispatches, Godfrey earned the Legion of Honour (Chevalier) and the Order of the Nile. He was promoted to commander in 1920 and captain in 1928 and after additional postings and commands, he commanded from 1936 until 1938. Godfrey was promoted to rear admiral and appointed Director of Naval Intelligence in 1939; he was also awarded Companion of the Order of the Bath that year and was promoted to vice admiral in 1942. There is some disagreement as to whether Godfrey was dismissed as DNI in 1942 or 1943. Godfrey commanded the Royal Indian Navy from February 1943. Although he was promoted to admiral in 1945, he served in his former rank until March 1946. Godfrey retired in September 1946 and died in Eastbourne, England in August 1971. He has been cited as the inspiration for the fictional M, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service in the James Bond novels.
Consultants
One of the consultants for Operation Tracer was Royal Navy Surgeon Commander George Murray Levick (1876–1956). Levick had been part of the support crew for Captain Robert Scott (1868–1912) in Antarctica. Levick and five other men of the crew survived their eight-month trip to Cape Evans, which included an entire winter spent in a snow cave, eating seal blubber and penguin meat. Levick had been called out of retirement to serve as the British Admiralty's consultant on survival in harsh conditions. While it was initially planned for another consultant to search for doctors, it was Levick who recruited the two physicians for Operation Tracer. He made recommendations on psychological vetting of personnel, as well as diet, clothing, exercise, and leisure activity.
Levick also advised on ventilation and sanitation of the cave, including how to handle dead bodies. He drew up reports with recommendations for the operation and attended meetings held by the Director of Naval Intelligence at Curzon Street. He also compiled a comprehensive list of provisions to be assembled within the cave in the Upper Rock. Director Godfrey and his consultants agreed with Levick's recommendation for a rehearsal, although Romney Marsh, England, was chosen, rather than a Scotland location. In addition, Levick lived with the Tracer team during the rehearsal period.
The consultants also included Thomas Horder, 1st Baron Horder (1871–1955), who had been physician to three monarchs, including Edward VII, George VI, and Elizabeth II. Horder served on numerous committees and associations, and was chairman or president of many of them. The Director of Naval Intelligence consulted with Horder on matters of diet and provisions. The January 1942 report was prepared by Horder and Levick, and much of it was based on the latter's experience wintering in the Antarctic snow cave. Horder was also present at the Director's highly classified meetings at Curzon Street.
The MI6 radio consultant was Colonel Richard Gambier-Parry (1894–1965), who supervised the communications aspect of Operation Tracer. He had been recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in 1938, prior to the onset of World War II, to modernise their radio capability. He was promoted to colonel in 1939 and brigadier in 1942. Gambier-Parry continued to run a network of secret listening stations after the war.
Team
By the end of April 1942, five members of the Operation Tracer team had been selected: two surgeon-lieutenants and three signalmen. Surgeon-Lieutenant Bruce Cooper (1914–2010) was recruited by Levick from the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during his shore leave in 1941. When Cooper, from Castle Eden, England, was requested to recommend another physician, he suggested Arthur Milner, a civilian doctor in Morecambe. The two physicians were friends and both had obtained their medical degrees from Durham University.