大象传媒

Two things stood out, the absence of Gibraltarian women and children and the heavy presence of uniformed men.

Gibraltar underwent a lot of drastic changes during the war years. The transformation of North Front was one of them. The beautiful Victoria Gardens and Racecourse, the pride and joy of the Gibraltarians, was sacrificed and an airfield was built in its place.
Inside the Rock itself miles of tunnels were dug out of the limestone. Masses of rock was blasted out to build an "underground city". There were barracks in huge man-made caverns, fully equipped hospitals with operating theatre and x-ray apparatus. There were also huge fully equipped offices and conference rooms. In fact there was everything necessary for thousands of men to live and fight for a prolonged period of time. All this would make it possible for Gibraltar to communicate with Britain should there be a siege.

Gibraltar was in the thick of war activity and its value was proved time and time again.

Amongst other things Gibraltar was a source of protection for Britain's sea transports and it also provided valuable support for the war in the Middle East.
Interesting enough Gibraltar also proved vital in later years.
During the Falkland War and Gulf War, Navy ships were reprovisioned with food, fuel and ammunition here in Gibraltar.
It was also here that the liner "Dunera" was transformed into a fully fledged hospital ship in the record time of seventy two hours!

During WWII Gibraltar came under aerial bombardment from the Vichy French aircrafts and also from the Italian aircrafts from Sardinia.
It also came under attack from the underwater exploits of the Italian frogmen and their chariots which were based on an interned Italian ship SS Olterra in nearby Algeciras harbour.
There were also a number of sabotage attempts in Gibraltar and some Spanish spies were caught and hanged.

The attitude of nearby Spain was a constant source of anxiety in Gibraltar. The Spanish Falangists were looking forward to the invasion of England. It was as clear as crystal that Franco's Spain sympathised with the Axis. So much for their so-called neutrality!

Incidentally up to this present moment in time Spain continues to give us grief!!!!!

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