On Monday 18th October we went by minibus to visit Hughenden Manor near High Wycombe.
We went to Hughenden Manor which was Prime Minister Disraeli’s house. It was amazing. I was surprised to find out the radio was still working. ‘Operation Hillside’ was World War Two’s secret where the maps were drawn of enemy territory. They used black and magenta ink to draw the maps and only managed about two each week,
Next was the walled gardens where we saw lots of fruit and vegetables e.g apples, rainbow chard, rhubarb, courgettes, climbing beans and peppers. We learnt about what would have been grown in the garden in wartime; ‘Dig for Victory’!
After that we went to’The Ice House’. It was originally for storing ice but in WW2 it was a top secret map making factory! Did you know that the men who worked there (Ice House Boys) were known for the unmentionably rude pranks? There was a typewriter for writing messages and an old-fashioned telephone to ring people.
Did you know:
The Hughenden Secret was only discovered in 2004 when a Grandfather was overheard by a National Trust volunteer telling his Grandson that he ‘used to work here during the war’……..
By Edward and Leon