Duke’s Wood and the area around it was the location of the UK’s first onshore oilfield, set up in secrecy during the Second World War to produce high quality oil as an alternative source to oil tanker conveys which were east prey to the German U-boats. It was said to be Sir Winston Churchill’s greatest secret. A visit to Duke’s Wood has been arranged with a talk being given by the Curators and a follow up walk around the nature trail which includes relics from the former oilfield.
