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Air raid shelters

By November 1939 between 3000 and 4000 Andersons had suffered flooding, Kingstanding being an area particularly affected. But by January 1940 help was at hand in the form of Herbert Manzoni. You could send him a postcard to inform him of your problem (!) To have so many family shelters affected must have been a serious concern, possibly leading in the longer term to infection, disease etc.

Some were dealt with using a sump and others had a 4 1/2 inch dwarf brick wall and concrete base provided by the Council. If all else failed in especially waterlogged areas, surface shelters were built with brick walls and a concrete roof, presumably shared by many neighbours. Viv

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A joint effort in 1939 by LMS and GWR to get 2500 Anderson shelters per week to homes across Birmingham. Each shelter weighing between 2 and 3 cwt. These look very shiny compared to the rusty panels we had in our garden in the 1950s. Even though our shelter had been dismantled many years before and had been stacked fir some time in the garden they retained that distinctive curve.

I also notice that newspaper adverts of houses for sale during WW2 specifically mention the availability of an Anderson shelter in the garden in the house sale details. Viv.

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Deliveries in March 1939

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Deliveries in November 1939
 
Forum members.
I am attempting to find a surviving Surface shelter within the Birmingham area. I though I had found one (from the forum) behind the Asda in Wylde Green but having driven over there yesterday it has been removed.

I am also still trying to find a surviving Anderson type shelter in somebodies back garden if you know of anybody who would allow me to photograph it.

Any ideas?

Steve R
 
Steve R, I have one in my back garden but as I've mentioned before on the Forum, the previous owner of the house was a builder and partially filled it with rubble, glass and all sorts of things. It is totally under the ground and I keep the entrance covered with wire cages. Over the past 30+ years people have had a look but it isn't possible to empty it and so there is nothing to see really. A relative recently tried to take a look but it's quite dangerous down there! There was a little step ladder down inside but that rotted many years ago, and the brick steps going down to it are badly frost-damaged. The shelter goes most of the width of the garden as the house used to be a shop, maybe the customers used it too, also there was a gate in the top fence for neighbour access. I have taken photos in the past for the grandchildren to take to school but it's just a dark hole!!
rosie.
 
steve could it be an idea to ask the evening mail to put out a request in the paper for people to come forward if they can help you...i am sure the evening mail would be happy to help and the more media coverage you get the more chance of striking it lucky....just a thought

lyn
 
Apple flew over on a later date than Google and it has gone ...:)
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from https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/pype-hayes-hall.9816/page-2#post-583387
 
This waste land was my playground in the late 50's we used to play in Anderson shelters at the end of people's back gardens. They were flooded and stinky even then.
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I spent some nights in our neighbour's anderson shelter and it often had 2" of water which meant we had to wear wellington boots. I was glad when our brick shelter was built which was dry and also supplied with two bunks.
 
Rosie (post 306)
Fascinating piece of history. I will send you a PM. Thank you for the response.

Lyn (post 308) That's a great idea. I will see if the Forum comes up trumps, it often does. If not that is a great suggestion.

Steve R
 
I did wonder if any above ground shelters are left in schools. We had them at Kingsthorne Junior but, after a check on Google Earth, it looks like they've gone. Maybe some schools kept them as storage spaces. Just a suggestion. Viv.
 
I doubt these are still there but they were constructed in schools where evacuation wasn't possible. Viv.

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There were quite a few shelters at Court Farm School in Erdington. Most of the underground shelters were removed in the late 60's, there were three above ground, two behind the cook house and one on the end of the school block, now all gone.
 
I remember helping to knock down an air raid shelter in the last few weeks of my time at Moor End lane school.
 
There were shelters at Beeches Rd Infant & Junior Schools made of cast concrete half buried in a hillside and we practiced getting in them. One morning the sirens sounded and as we rushed to the shelters a twin engined grey aircraft roared over so low we could see the swastika on the fin. I now know it was a ME110 and could have been one that machine gunned Castle Bromwich. After some time sitting quietly in the shelter, watching the teachers smoke their cigarettes, the 'all clear' sounded and then back to lessons. There are many accounts of random machine gun attacks on british cities during the early part of WW2 and people did not have time to get in shelters.
A couple on the forum here
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/bullet-damage-to-college-of-law.45121/
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/german-fighter-machine-guns-bus.26251/
 
Green Lanes School, Wylde Green had two underground shelters in the playground. They had pitched felted roofs and were completely underground

Bob
 
Wonder if they were like these trench shelters Bob. Viv.

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From Birmingham Mail September 1939.
 
There was only about 3 feet showing above ground with the air raid shelter I helped knock down at Moor End school
 
Steve R, I have sent a "PM". You are welcome to have a look but there's not much to see unless you venture down, strong shoes and hard hat maybe!!!
rosie.
 
Some brick built air-raid shelters appeared to have a flat roof: others I have climbed ;) had a central dipped channel - which collected water after rain. This 'dip' I believe was to strengthen the building against lateral blast.
 
rosie said:
Steve R, I have sent a "PM". You are welcome to have a look but there's not much to see unless you venture down, strong shoes and hard hat maybe!!!
rosie.
Click to expand...

thats a smashing offer you have made to steve rosie how kind of you..

lyn
 
Some curious shelters. Don't know if these were eventually used but they must have been thought viable in 1939. The second image shows the steel plate shelters beening tested in Birmingham by a wall dropping onto them. They were also bullet proof. Viv.

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I think the steel ones must have been used, as I've seen examples in two separate museums. The one below was at the Amberley Industrial museum. would not have liked being cooped up in one though.
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