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The first ‘Anderson’ shelter was erected in a garden in Islington, London on 25 February 1939 and, between then and the outbreak of the war in September, around 1.5 million shelters were distributed to people living in areas expected to be bombed by the Luftwaffe. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected, making a total of 3.5 million.
Oct 1, 2010 · The oldest surviving air-raid shelter in Britain is a little grey garage behind a house in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. After Zeppelin attacks killed a number of residents and soldiers in April 1916, Joseph Forrester, a chemist and local councillor, constructed a reinforced concrete air-raid shelter with walls half a metre thick.
- Anderson shelters were named after the Minister of Home Security. In November 1938, while serving as Lord Privy Seal and Minister of Home Security, Sir John Anderson was asked by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to prepare Britain for defense against bombing raids.
- The shelters could fit up to 6 people. Anderson commissioned engineers William Patterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison to find a viable structure. Their design consisted of 14 steel panels – 8 internal sheets and 6 curved sheets bolted together to cover the structure.
- Anderson shelters were free for some people. Anderson shelters were provided free of charge for people with household annual incomes of less than £250 (equivalent to approximately £14,700 today).
- Anderson shelters were initially pre-emptive. Britain’s preparations for air raid shelters began in 1938, and the first Anderson shelter was set up in Islington, London, in February 1939.
Jan 7, 2021 · The first Anderson shelter was erected in a garden in Islington, London, on 25 February 1939. By the time the war broke out in September, around 1.5 million shelters were in place in areas expected to be bombed by the Luftwaffe. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected. The shelters were made of six curved panels of corrugated steel ...
As war in Europe loomed in 1938, the Anderson shelter was designed to offer UK householders rudimentary protection during air raids. By the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Anderson shelters had been installed in the gardens of around 1.5 million houses in the areas most expected to be targeted by the Luftwaffe.
Anderson Shelter. Designed in 1938 and named after Sir John Anderson, Home Secretary during the Battle of Britain, this type of air-raid shelter was designed for use in the garden. When covered with earth the shelter would give some protection from shell fragments and bomber splinters although dampness was an ever present problem.
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Jun 13, 2024 · The flimsy Anderson shelter did not appear to offer a great deal of protection, but many survived when the buildings next to them did not, and they certainly protected against flying debris. As the historian P. Ziegler states, an Anderson shelter could "resist a 50 kg bomb falling six feet away and a 250 kg bomb at twenty feet" (99-100).
