Gibraltar: What’s inside The Rock?

Starting Point. Discuss the questions below.

• 1. Look at the title “Inside the Rock – Exploring Gibraltar’s Underground History.”
  2. Briefly share what you know or expect about Gibraltar’s military history or underground structures.
  3. As a group, decide if you believe underground military bases are still used today – why or why not?

Focus on Vocabulary. Match the words with the correct meaning.

Focus on Comprehension. Answer the questions below about the video.

Focus on Listening. Watch the video. Read the transcript below if necessary.

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00:00:00 [Music] jutting south from spain at the western entrance to the mediterranean the rock of gibraltar rises nearly half a kilometer from the sea above ground the apes rule the rock below a dark labyrinth 34 miles of tunnels 166 chambers and caves the most significant excavations took place during world war ii with germany and its allies edging closer to european domination gibraltar became increasingly critical but troops based on land would be an easy target the obvious solution was to put them inside the rock

00:00:39 the civilian population was evacuated drilled and blasted with nitroglycerine a garrison city was formed inside the lump of limestone 16 500 men with enough food and ammunition for over a year in the event of siege a hospital bakery and laundry telephone exchange and power station but what lies inside today what became of the garrison in the wrong some parts have been completely transformed others tenderly preserved some do just as they did decades ago and some have been frozen in time [Music] they call him el tapo the mole

00:01:35 former gunner peter jackson will be our guide into the rock our first stop isn’t michael’s cave today it’s an underground concert venue but there are many clues to its past [Music] we know in the main auditorium of st michael’s cave saint michael’s cave has seen a lot of uses over the years and he’s lived in bernie undertale man in the lead-up to world war ii it was being used as stores as war approached for a short while it became an ammunition magazine for the guns but it’s not good ammunition storage

00:02:08 because it’s very humid in here so very quickly stores come out and it’s used partially as a barracks for a while for soldiers to live in 500 men living in the room outside and some within the cave but as war looms and the civil population gets evacuated this becomes an auxiliary hospital so the steps you can see that move through the auditorium if you imagine removing every second step they were bed-based during world war ii down in this area here there’s a huge concrete base which is the floor of the

00:02:37 operating theater to the left on this side is the amputations pit and on the right is the body pit you see a series of initials coming down then it’s got the unit it’s the second platoon of the second company of the seventh regiment of foot and it’s in 1737. i’m not a fan of graffiti believe it or not 34 years in the army i never once left my name on the wall or the back of a toilet door or anything else but when you see this and look at the date of it and you think well that’s that’s that is not graffiti

00:03:13 that’s that’s proof that somebody from those units came in and left their man [Music] gibraltar was never invaded in the war and the hospital was never really used in recent months a brand new sound and light installation has been opened to the public creating mixed emotions this is the rock being formed so you see this the rock being forced out the water through cataclysmic upheaval to the angle we see when we look from the bay are the caves being used to tell a story for tourism as a caver i prefer the natural but i can

00:03:54 understand exactly why they’re doing it and if it entertains and it brings in tourism then it feeds the population so of course it’s quite doing something with it we leave the bright lights of the old hospital behind and head to a part of the rock few eyes now see so what is this this is a cocooned engine room originally a munition store in the 1800s during the second world war it became a back-up generator to power the guns on top of the rock it’s kind of spooky it’s awesome just be ready for the case of rats

00:04:39 because you do get the odd rat now and again the war may have ended in 1945 but no one could be sure peace would last the kit was put into what’s known as heavy care and preservation caked in thick grease and coated in tarpaulins should the soldiers have to return to fight again it’s just left i mean i don’t know what many places in the world you can walk in and see this kind of equipment that’s been left in heavy care and preservation from those days i mean it’s stunning all portals are covered with like a hessian wrap that’s

00:05:13 coated in a heavy grease so it’s it’s made into like an airtight seal so you can’t get the rusting forming you’ll see it on pipe ends like this the engines they put in a cocoon so they’re wrapped in like a hessian or tarpaulin is then coated in the grease and sealed believes places like this inside the rock should be seen by more for now though fire control south remains frozen in time and hidden from spectators in part two of what’s inside the rock three two one we discover some unusual items hidden

00:06:02 within it’s been here for about 100 years and i think that’s worked outside of the actual rock there’s not a lot of space and inside the rock there’s a lot of vacant space at the moment hannah king forces news in gibraltar [Music] if you enjoyed this video don’t forget to like and subscribe to our channel

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Focus on Speaking. 

• 1. Opinion: Do you think preserving historical military sites (like the tunnels in Gibraltar) is important? Why or why not?
  2. Personal Connection: Has visiting or learning about historical sites ever changed your perspective on history? Share your experience.
  3. Reflective: The guide in the video refers to areas that remain “frozen in time.” What might be the benefits or drawbacks of leaving parts of history unchanged versus modernising them for tourism?
  4. Future Thinking: If you could create a museum exhibit inside an underground military base, what would you include to make it both educational and engaging?

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Read the following resources and see what the Spanish Government thinks about Gibraltar:

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/en/PoliticaExterior/Paginas/Gibraltar.aspx

https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/brexit/gibraltar/Paginas/index.aspx

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