John Hatfield's talk will cover the three tunnels built during the 19th and 20th centuries. The first was the Railway Tunnel, which was constructed between 1879 and 1885, and officially opened by the Prince of Wales in January 1886 (see picture above). Then came the Queensway Tunnel, which took nine years to build and was opened in July 1934 by King George V. Some of the spoil from digging it was used to construct the Otterspool Promenade. The third tunnel, the Kingsway, was built in five years and opened in June 1971. The Toll, initially, was 15p per journey.

As John suggests, the address given by King George V on the opening of the Queensway Tunnel was equally applicable to the other two tunnels:

"Who can reflect without awe that the will and power of man, which in our own time have created the noble bridges of the Thames, the Forth, the Hudson and Sydney Harbour, can drive also tunnels such as this, wherein many streams of wheeled traffic may run in light and safety below the depth and turbulence of a tidal water bearing the ships of the world."