Trent Park House of Secrets Opens After 10 Years, Revealing WWII Bugging of 59 German Generals
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 22
Trent Park House of Secrets Opens After 10 Years, Revealing WWII Bugging of 59 German Generals
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 22
Summary
Tuesday's opening gives the public access to Trent Park's restored state rooms and recreated basement listening posts after a decade of fundraising and restoration.
59 German generals were held there during World War Two, unaware miniature bugs hidden in walls, light fittings, furniture and even garden benches were recording their conversations.
German-speaking Jewish refugees and other secret listeners worked below the house, transcribing intelligence gathered from captured officers as Britain monitored senior Nazi prisoners.
The Enfield mansion also restores its pre-war identity as Sir Philip Sassoon's country retreat, where figures including Winston Churchill, royalty and artists gathered before it was requisitioned in 1939.