Secret Underground telephonebooth 'T' Vaux-sous-Chèvremont

This is underground phone booth T.

It is located in the front yard, next to the parking lot of the town hall. In itself, you would pass right by this. An ordinary piece of land with an ordinary manhole cover.

However, this manhole cover is not the cover of a sewer, but of an underground phone booth. About 200 of these were constructed. In these cells, a soldier could connect with his field phone to one of the 34 telephone exchanges ( Centraux telefonique) after which one could be connected to one of the bunkers or forts within the network of the defense lines of the city of Liège, la Position Fortifiée de Liège.

All of these manhole covers bear the name of manufacturer Elkington. The manhole covers are numbered 1509. With a special key/ tool, the lid could be opened. In the case of this lid, that hole was closed later when the cell was no longer in use. See photo 5.

Because the top layer of cobble stones on this cell is no longer complete, you can clearly see the dimensions of the cell. The cell is about 1.80 to 2.20 deep, and one could descend and connect his field phone by means of climbing brackets fixed in the wall. This is a well-preserved example of how in urban areas these phone booths were concealed in road surfaces.

How many are left?

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski