The Ramsgate Society talk by Max Streatfield and Garry Saunders on the Ramsgate Tunnels sparked a great deal of interest in the history of this unique Ramsgate landmark. A landmark that we all knew about but found that depth of knowledge was sadly lacking. Both of our speakers have been active since their talk last November.
Max has now raised an official request for Richard Brimmel – the Ramsgate Borough Engineer and Surveyor responsible for the design and construction of our Tunnels – to be honoured with a blue plaque. Garry has agreed to expand upon his research into the Barcelona connection and the result can be downloaded below.
Garry has been researching the Ramsgate Tunnels links to Barcelona’s Civil War air raid shelters since joining the team in 2021 and is now one of the Tunnel Tour Guides. Many thanks to him for producing the extra details which identify yet another parallel: a post war period when the tunnels were hidden from view followed by a people’s campaign to get them properly acknowledged and reopened as an important historic site. In Barcelona, ‘Refuge 307’ opened to the public in 2007, while the Ramsgate Tunnels opened in 2014.
To learn more about Garry’s research on the ‘Barcelona Connection’ use the link below.