I was born three months before the Second World War which started in 1939,
and I lived in north London. So it was quite normal for me to expect German
bombers to fly over our skies and drop bombs. Air-raid sirens gave some warning
- although not always enough. As soon as we heard the siren, we made our way to an
air-raid shelter (also known as a bomb shelter).
There were several types. At the time, I knew, or knew of, the following:
- the indoor shelter that my family used, called a
Morrison shelter which is
discussed and illustrated on its own page;
- the garden shelter that other families used, called an
an Anderson
shelter which is
also discussed and illustrated on its own page; and
- school shelters which
are on their own page.
I learnt later that there were other shelters:
-
purpose-built public shelters;
- existing spaces originally designed for other uses but taken over
for use as shelters (both on another page) and
- shelters created by large businesses and factories for their
employees which were either like the purpose-built public shelters or in
adapted and reinforced basements.
This website Join me in the 1900s is also known as
Join me in the 1900's and is © Pat Cryer.
