MoD Aquila (Part Two)

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 8th Jun 2006 - 01:59 GMT

I'm reading the last pic as Help Plan Time. Which is odd, because it's 10pm and I'm still working and I really should plan time better. Once again, machines are talking to me.
Great set of photos. Thanks for the trip.

Biff: 8th Jun 2006 - 02:28 GMT

What on earth is this. It's really scary and I live in terror town...

jack: 8th Jun 2006 - 04:38 GMT

out of an insane asylum and into the pit of dispair, they but rode through the now empty hallways that once many walked and talked, humans busy at work spending their life years in work that would eventually leave empty walls and halls. for simon cornwell to photo shoot hoping for a ghost to appear in the developing pic.

I.T.U.C.: 8th Jun 2006 - 08:16 GMT

Simon, your site and stuff on Citynoise is great, Keep it up. I’m off to Cane Hill, this weekend; following a tip off from another one of your fans.

Jamie: 8th Jun 2006 - 09:00 GMT

Biff: essentially it was a secretive MOD (British Ministry of Defence) testing facility used to test military equipment and god knows what else.

www.mod.uk is a good place to not find any information about this place

I.T.U.C: Can i come, can i? can i?

I.T.U.C.: 8th Jun 2006 - 10:37 GMT

Jamie take it easy. As you'd better make sure you can walk the walk, before you start taking the piss!

Jamie: 8th Jun 2006 - 11:17 GMT

no urine extraction inteded. i'm hot for this urban exploration malarky and no doubt about it

Simon Cornwell: 28th Jun 2006 - 13:00 GMT

Thanks for the feedback I.T.U.C. - it's appreciated.

If you've been to Cane Hill recently, you'll understand that it's no longer the walk in the park it previously was. It has, unfortunately, become a victim of its own popularity.

Shbi: 23rd Jul 2006 - 23:03 GMT

Amazing photographs...i live in Bickley not too far from the old Aquila site and i still remember cycling down to the gate sometimes when i was younger, curious as to what it all was..i never went into the buildings but once crossed the train tracks from Petts Woods and looked at the site from a better vantage point..was an interesting experience...

Unfortunately, despite your great photography skills, I still haven't got a clue as to what the place actually did for the MOD, but some of the equipment sure looks interesting.

CT: 18th Jul 2007 - 11:30 GMT

I am an estate agent locally and have been informed (maybe true or not, I do not know!) that the Aquila site used to have 100' deep water tanks where they used to test-dive to practise rescues from sunken submarines or ships.

VVW: 21st Aug 2007 - 21:30 GMT

I live on the Aquila Housing developement, which used to be MOD Aquila. Your articles are exellent and very interesting. I believe my house is situated on the site of the X-ray block. I have lived in the surrounding areas all my life and Aquila has always been shrouded in mystery.

My mum had a friend who worked there as clerical staff I think + I cant remeber exactly when, but she said there was a huge missile there and that she and some others got into trouble for writting on it. And I knew someone who was a trainee electricion there in the mid 90's.

Aquila has always been well sign posted though, even when it was MOD. right next to Aquila used to be lodgings for hundreds of soldiers to man the half dozen large guns that they had there during the world wars. There are alot of airfields around here but I get the feeling they were protecting something?

The underground water thing is interesting. The other side of the rail track is farm land, public walkways and hundreds of acres of national trust land. There has always been a large underground sewage and flooding problem in the area and I'm not sure what you'd call it but there is vast underground tanks etc.. A sign went up last year that the national trust had given permission for work to be done there to combat the problems.

Hope to find out more and your site has given me a great start. Thanks

David Kruger: 22nd Aug 2007 - 13:07 GMT

Hi. Very interesting to see these photos. My late father worked for the MOD (R.E.M.E.) and would very occasionally visit this place.
I have no idea what work was done there by him ?

Norman Watkins: 31st Dec 2007 - 15:40 GMT

My uncle worked at Aquila for the Ministry of Supply upto 1954 on something to do with anti-aircraft missiles. He was killed in a road accident in 1954 and the briefcase he had with him vanished - very mysterious!

Keith: 8th Nov 2008 - 16:21 GMT

I went to school a few miles from the Aquila site in Bickley and visited there in 1975. We were told that they did testing for electronic equipment that was purchased for the MOD. They offered training in electronics for students who might like to go and work there. I doubt that they had missiles there. I had a school friend whose father was an engineer at another MOD site - Fort Halstead in Sevenoaks, which seemed to be much more interesting.

Paul Davies: 16th Nov 2008 - 19:57 GMT

I completed a 4 year apprenticeship in electronic engineering between
1973 and 1977 at Aquila. Just the fact that I gained my 'deeds' stood me
in good stead when it came to getting work later. Aquila was part of a
Ministry of Defence division called EQD or Electrical Quality Assurance
Directorate. They used to rigorously test equipment that the armed
forces would use in battle situations to ensure they would be reliable
in the extremes of weather, temperature etc. There were always rumours
of underground testing facilities but I never actually saw any evidence
myself, but then again it was a pretty high security establishment (even
though as apprentices we often flashed something like a Guinness beer
mat at the security guard and were still let in, it became a bit of a
game for us).

Brian Bezzant (Bizzy): 9th Nov 2009 - 14:29 GMT

I remember flashing an AA book whilst driving out of the Aquila site (I never did it whilst driving into the site)- unfortunately I had to stop as one of the other apprentices in my car had a temporary pass and had to give it back. The security guard told me off about the AA book. I was one of the '64 intake of apprentices and after the apprenticeship worked in RF calibration, the wiring shop, ground radar (on the regions) and lastly the power lab. I spent all my apprenticeship in the "Coed Bel" hostel (the telephone number of "Imperial 1628" is etched into my mind forever). Happy days.