![]() ![]() A plaque commemorates this disaster at the station. Sadly 173 people lost their lives during a crush to enter the shelter in 1943. Bethnal Green was not opened to traffic until after the war but was in use as a shelter. Major fatalities occurred at Balham, Bounds Green and Bank. Not that use of underground stations was always a guarantee of safety and many lost their lives whilst sheltering. Were issued to users to prevent overcrowding and guarantee a bunk or floor ![]() Section from London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) for £300 per year. Work began in earnest to convert a section to a shelter includingīunks on the platform and running lines. However eight days later The Times reported that the Aldwych Branch up to Holborn would be available as a shelter. Churchill was not in favour of this policy but went along with it initially at a Cabinet meeting on 13th September 1940. Using Underground stations as air raid sheltersĪlthough during the First World War underground stations had opened their doors out of hours to provide shelter from the Zeppelin raids, as early as 1924 the government decided that in future this would not happen so as not to impede traffic and because of the risk of disease spreading. Sizes of shelter were tested and cost plotted against protection provided. Of construction was also a deciding factor. When designing shelters there was a delicate balance between The Arup collection includes his original drawings which were reproduced in his report, prepared by the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury entitled ‘Design, cost, construction and relative safety of trench, surface, bomb-proof and other air raid shelters’.īlock plan showing the shelters for Dunstan’s buildings, November 1939 The larger designs were deep shelters with double-helix ramps allowing people to enter quickly and intended to be used as multi-storey underground car parks after the war. The shelters included air conditioning, sleeping accommodation and toilets. Ove Arup also produced designs for various reinforced concrete mass public shelters including some holding up to 12,800 people. Although the designs were improved, the public had lost confidence and preferred not to use them. The walls would be shaken during raids and could fail allowing the concrete roof to fall on the people sheltering inside. The street shelters were built with brick walls and a concrete roof and did not perform well. Lawson and Col Ltd, John Lewis Building, and Holland, Hannen and Cubitts Ltd for basement and street shelters in Finsbury Park. The Ove Arup collection in the ICE archive includes a large file of bills of quantities and correspondence between Arup, and Messrs J. Arup advised on street and basement air raid shelters for the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury in north London. They were to built by private builders under supervision of Government inspectors and surveyors.īetween 19, consulting engineer Ove N. In March 1940, the Government started a a programme of building street communal shelters. Lighter incendiary bombs were used instead. It also seemed less likely that larger bombs would be dropped due to the greater risk of heavy aircraft being brought down by anti-aircraft fire. It was thought that the chances of injury due to a direct hit were less than the danger of being hit by shrapnel. 1940 Īs the war progressed, Government policy changed. The typical price per shelter was £17.Īdvert for Acrow props from Design and Construction of Air-Raid Shelters … With designs and notes by Donovan H Lee, Concrete Publications Limited, c. Occasional exceptions could be found including improvement works to two pubs. By the outbreak of war output was virtually 100% war related including airfields, aircraft factories, decontamination centres, first aid posts, mortuaries and of course more air raid shelters. ![]() The job book of GKN (Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds), specialists in the design and supply of reinforcement, shows that in early 1939 two-thirds of civil engineering output was air raid shelters for individuals, companies and local authorities. 5 issued in June 1939.Īir raid shelters took many forms and sizes from those designed for a single person to those for over 11,000 people and a variety of materials were used in their construction including concrete, steel and timber. The ICE Air Raid Committee produced a report in 1938 which heavily influenced the Government advice provided in ARP Handbook no. In Britain, the Civil Defence Act 1939, made it compulsory for employers at mines, factories and commercial buildings in ‘specified’ areas with more than 50 employees to provide air raid shelters. Of ARP (Air Raid Precaution) shelters was stepped up both in Britain and in In 1938 it became obvious that a major war was inevitable. ![]()
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