Buried Since The Blitz

A Second World War Anderson shelter used during the Blitz has been discovered in a back garden.

Martin Tracey, 66, and his wife Allison moved into their new home in Coventry last summer and were surprised to find an Anderson shelter buried in their back garden.

Anderson shelters were buried in gardens throughout the country as millions of Britons hid from German bombs, and could protect up to six people from flying shell fragments.

Since making the discovery late last year, Martin’s great-grandson, James, eight, and granddaughter, Robyn, 32, made it their mission to uncover the bunker and embellish it with plants and flowers.

Martin said that the previous owners had been living in the house since the war and that a neighbour had said in passing that there might be a shelter in the garden.

The grandfather said the time capsule shelter was much larger than he believed it would be, and he added that it was amazing to have a piece of history in their back garden, and that it was really cool when they first discovered it, and that it was quite nostalgic because it was something that related to the history of Coventry.

He said the family that had been there before them, had been there since the war and that the home hadn’t changed hands since before the beginning of World War II, so inside of the house was a bit of a time warp.

He said that his wife who was a keen gardener, and his grandchildren chose to take it on as a project and have been clearing around it and opening it up since September last year.

He said originally, they wanted to have it taken out so they could have the garden flattened, but they were all so excited about the discovery that they have taken over, and he said that it was much bigger than he ever expected it to be, and that it was perfectly preserved inside, and that it was a very well made shelter.

The shelters, which were first designed in 1938, were given out for free by the government to lower and middle-income families to give them someplace to go during air raids.

Inside the Anderson shelter were benches made out of long pieces of slate, as well as some old battery-powered car lamps, bottles and pipework.

The shelter had been well concealed and lay undiscovered in the garden for more than 70 years.

Martin said that when they began clearing the bunker, they had lots of people popping their heads over the fence as they were interested in what was being found and that as far as they know, it’s the only one in the street.

He said it’s such an unusual feature to have in your back garden, and when it’s all finished they were hoping to have it like a little garden room, and that James even plans on sleeping in it when it’s all clean and dry.

He added that they’re busy getting it prepped for the summer when they also plan on opening it up to the public for a day so they can have a look inside.

They might also want to refurbish the structure because they might be needing it for its actual intent sooner than they think, and indeed it is a great bit of history that most of the world has forgotten about, although they need to be careful that the council isn’t round immediately to increase their tax, saying that they now have additional space.

And in this day and age, if someone else found it in their back garden, they might rent it out for about £400 a month.

This was an extremely good find, and it’s nice to see that they’re getting use from it, and a real-life history lesson and hopefully it will be a reminder of how people protected themselves from the perils of war.