Trent Park

With an eye to the future and an influx of prisoners expected, Kendrick began to make plans to expand his special unit to a bigger, more secluded, location. Trent Park was chosen. Once the home of the wealthy Sassoon family, whose fortune had been made in the opium trade, the house was requisitioned by the British government for 'special purposes' in July 1939 following the sudden death of Sir Philip Sassoon.

The site underwent a transformation. Next to the mansion house, a complex was built with interrogation rooms, cells, an M Room and administration offices. Kendrick moved his unit here in the spring of 1940 and increased his staff. It was ideally situated within easy distance of London, away from the bombing raids on the capital, but so secluded that its existence could be kept secret from the prying eyes of the general public.

For nearly three years, German prisoners of all ranks were brought here and the conversations in their cells secretly recorded. The stately house itself served as the Officers' Mess and headquarters. From May 1942 until the end of the war, the house itself was turned over exclusively to accommodate the German Generals. Tiny microphones were fitted in the fireplaces, lamp fittings, plant pots and under the billiards' table. Even the trees in the grounds were bugged.

By the end of the war, Trent Park had held 59 German Generals and gained a significant amount of intelligence about Nazi Germany.