Tunnel man returns

IN 1941 a 24-year-old Royal Engineers officer was in charge of 120 men excavating the labyrinth of tunnels in the hillside at South Heighton.

The secret tunnels served as the Second World War Royal Navy communications HQ, HMS Forward, which played a significant role in the Dieppe raids and Normandy landings.

Now more than 60 years later Lt-Col Denis Day (retired) is coming back to Newhaven on Tuesday as guest of honour of the Friends of HMS Forward to revisit the tunnels he helped build.

Friends secretary Geoff Ellis said: 'We are delighted that we are able to show Denis the progress we have made in restoring HMS Forward.

'We are hoping to get ownership of the tunnels so that we can preserve this important part of our heritage and allow the public access to this historical site.'

Lt-Col Day has donated copies of reports he made during the construction of the tunnels to the Friends of HMS Forward. These include details of materials and building methods and the number of man-hours to build the 500 metres of tunnels.