Conan Doyle’s Tunnel Vision.

Conan Doyle’s Tunnel Vision.

It is a remarkable feat of civil engineering. At just over 31 miles in length the Channel Tunnel is the third-longest railway tunnel in the world. It was officially opened 30 years ago on 6 May, 1994.

The idea of an undersea link between Britain and France dates back to 1802. However, there were powerful and persistent arguments against it. Chief among these was the worry that it could be used by a foreign power to invade Britain. But among those who were in favour of a tunnel was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In a letter to the Times, dated 11 March 1913, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle listed several reasons why a Channel tunnel should be built.

Conan Doyle was very aware of the possibility of a forthcoming war. He also had the foresight to see that planes and submarines would be vital factors in such a conflict.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle felt that he had to alert people to the threat of submarine warfare. He therefore wrote the story Danger! Being the log of Captain John Sirius. It was first published in The Strand Magazine in July, 1914. This was just a month before Britain was drawn into the First World War.

In the story, Britain is at war with the small fictional country of Norland. Captain John Sirius convinces Norland’s king and government that he can win the war against Britain by using a fleet of eight submarines. 

Captain Sirius does this by sinking many British merchant ships. These are bringing food and other vital supplies to the country. Sirius writes of Britain’s people, “…over whose little homes I would bring the shadow of starvation.“ Britain is soon brought to its knees and surrenders.

A supplementary piece was published in The Strand Magazine. In this naval experts and commanders gave their own views on Conan Doyle’s story. While some praised its vision, others were more sceptical.

However, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was proven right. In February 1915, Germany began to use submarines to sink British merchant ships. These were bringing food to the country. German submarines later also targeted neutral ships. This severely disrupted the supply of food to Britain.

In Danger! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle concludes the story with a fictional leader in the Times. This calls for “…the immediate construction of not one but two double-lined railways under the Channel.“ The column ends by saying; “There may be dangers attendant upon the existence of a tunnel, but it must now be admitted that they are trivial compared to those which come from its absence.“

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave his own opinion at the end of the First World War. In the preface to Danger! and other Stories (1918), Conan Doyle wrote the following: “Apart from food however, when one considers the transports we have needed, their convoys, the double handling of cargo, the interruptions of traffic from from submarines or bad weather, the danger and suffering of the wounded, and all else that we owe to the insane opposition to the Channel tunnels, one questions whether there has ever been an example of national stupidity being so rapidly and heavily punished.“

Some 76 years later the Channel Tunnel was finally opened. The first passengers and freight travelled through it to France. The vision had at last been realised. 

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