German Bunker Kaserne 2 Herzog Albrecht / Hackney Villa

This bunker was known by the Germans as Kaserne 2 Herzog Albrecht and by the English as Hackney Villa, not only were soldiers quartered here, but it was also used as an ammunition dump and command bunker because of its strategic location in the Albrecht Line.

This bunker was built after the Second of Ypres and was connected via a narrow gauge railway that ran into the bunker coming from the Brugseweg. There were a total of 10 rooms and the total length was around 42 meters. Currently there are only 4 rooms and 17 meters of length remain. The narrow gauge track continued to Kaserne 1 Herzog Albrecht and then on to Kitcheners' Wood.

During the Third Battle of Ypres, this area was captured by the 39th Division. On August 25, 1917, this bunker gets a direct hit from the Germans into one of the rooms filled with German flares, the English who occupy this bunker then have to take cover behind the bunker until the fire is extinguished.

During the rest of the war, the bunker was repeatedly hit and especially the Central and Southeastern part is heavily damaged, which was cleaned up after the war.

Often this position is also referred to as Alberta bunker, however this was the Kaserne 1 Herzog Albrecht which was more to the northwest a little further.

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Source

• Text: Gio Theunissen
• Photos: Gio Theunissen