Aspidistra was the codename for Britains WWII propaganda radio project, set up by Sefton Delmer and bankrolled by Winston Churchill. Located in an isolated part of Ashdown forest, the site was home to what was at the time, the largest radio transmitter in the world. Known as Aspidistra 1 this had been purchased from RKO in 1942 and was the first of ten transmitter aerials that broadcast "black" propaganda straight into mainlaind Europe with the express purpose of demoralising German forces, particularly the North Atlantic U-boat crews. So successful was it that Joseph Goebbels wrote a a personal diary entry blaming it for significant morale problems amongst German troops. After WWII it was home to the Diplomatic wireless service who broadcast to embassies and consulates around the world and in 1984 it was purchased by the home office who wanted to turn the bunker that housed Aspidistra 1 in RSG 6.1 (see separate post). When the RSG was closed in 1996, it was purchased by Sussex police who use the site for a variety of training purposes including public order, DVP (Deranged Violent Persons), MOE (Method of Entry) and CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear)
These pictures are of the WWII site, which despite being derelict and unsafe in places is still used by Sussex Police, so security is quite tight. This was an organised visit.
When you first enter into the site this rather odd round building is one of the first things you see. This was the aerial allocator room which feed broadcast signals to the aerial array:
Needless to say the Aspidistra transmitters used a huge amount of electricty so they had their own diesel generators housed in the building below.(note the date of construction laid into the glass above the door)The police now use this to store proceeds of crime (mainly cars) some of which have not been claimed - though there is still plenty of evidence of the buildings original use. Like a lot of the site, there is a lot of damp damage here, which is heaven for peely paint fans....
On top of the generator building there are rainwater lagoons which were used to cool the equipment inside down. You can get a good view of the rest of the site here
Outside the generator building is what I think is a fairly unique pillbox that at does not look like any type or variant I have seen (Cptpies or someone else might like to correct me here). This was used to defend the site in the event of an invasion and was manned by Home Guards
There are other buildings in the WWII part of the site that are inaccessible. These include a Water Tower and a Canteen. There are also vehicles all over the place that the police use for training purposes
The largest building on this part of the site used to house Aspidistra 6. The outside of it now forms what the police call "bomb alley" where they train officers to deal with public order situations:
Round the back of this building is a whole load of stuff that the police use in this kind of training - and yes that is a stack of petrol bombs in the second picture, and a load of riot shields in the fourth.
Inside this building are some lovely reminders of its original use:
Now the building houses facilities for DVP training - not pleasant, as indicated by the signage - and MOE training where officers learn to break down doors etc:
There is one listed building which housed another of the transmitters. Apparently it had a marvellous Art Deco interior but this is now quite delapidated and unsafe. The polics staff call it the old cinema, for obvious reasons:
Altogether a really interesting site. More pictures of the RSG to be posted soon.
Enjoy
GDZ
These pictures are of the WWII site, which despite being derelict and unsafe in places is still used by Sussex Police, so security is quite tight. This was an organised visit.
When you first enter into the site this rather odd round building is one of the first things you see. This was the aerial allocator room which feed broadcast signals to the aerial array:
Needless to say the Aspidistra transmitters used a huge amount of electricty so they had their own diesel generators housed in the building below.(note the date of construction laid into the glass above the door)The police now use this to store proceeds of crime (mainly cars) some of which have not been claimed - though there is still plenty of evidence of the buildings original use. Like a lot of the site, there is a lot of damp damage here, which is heaven for peely paint fans....
On top of the generator building there are rainwater lagoons which were used to cool the equipment inside down. You can get a good view of the rest of the site here
Outside the generator building is what I think is a fairly unique pillbox that at does not look like any type or variant I have seen (Cptpies or someone else might like to correct me here). This was used to defend the site in the event of an invasion and was manned by Home Guards
There are other buildings in the WWII part of the site that are inaccessible. These include a Water Tower and a Canteen. There are also vehicles all over the place that the police use for training purposes
The largest building on this part of the site used to house Aspidistra 6. The outside of it now forms what the police call "bomb alley" where they train officers to deal with public order situations:
Round the back of this building is a whole load of stuff that the police use in this kind of training - and yes that is a stack of petrol bombs in the second picture, and a load of riot shields in the fourth.
Inside this building are some lovely reminders of its original use:
Now the building houses facilities for DVP training - not pleasant, as indicated by the signage - and MOE training where officers learn to break down doors etc:
There is one listed building which housed another of the transmitters. Apparently it had a marvellous Art Deco interior but this is now quite delapidated and unsafe. The polics staff call it the old cinema, for obvious reasons:
Altogether a really interesting site. More pictures of the RSG to be posted soon.
Enjoy
GDZ
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One of the best sounding diesels ever created, along with the Maybachs (German I know) - a truly awesome piece of British engineering the Deltic.
Yesterday it was Duxford listening to 16 Spitfires taking off in one continuous stream. I can safely say I have never heard such a beautiful sound 
