Hello all, Im looking for advise. I have been digging in my back garden in Salisbury and found the top of the foundations of aWW2 Anderson shelter. Not sure how far down it goes? I am down about 3-4 feet, I have uncoverd an 8 feet wall and uncoverd about 4-5 feet wall either side. Its a concreet walled thing and has a large power lead in it. I do not want to get rid of it as its part of the history of my Edwardian house, but if anyone has an idea what to do with one of these things, I am listening. I will put photos on later. Thank you in advance. Andre
I agree that it sounds much more like a bunker than an Anderson. The latter essentially comprised metal sections bolted together, with concrete used only as a base. Moreover, the concept of a power lead suggests something from the 1960s rather then the 1940s, when there was relatively little domestic equipment requiring power leads. Electricity even for lighting was never supplied to Andersons. - too dangerous for a whole variety of reasons.
I used to play in my grandad's shelter, which he re-positioned above ground and used as a garden shed. Just in case somebody doesn't know what Anderson shelters looked like: How families lived in their WWII backyard bomb bunkers
Anderson shelters were designed to be built in back gardens, not back yards. Most back yards are sufficiently small that a shelter would blcok the yard for any other purpose; moreover, it was desirable to distance the shelter from buildings..
I assume you are quoting my post because of the title of the article I linked to? Arguing back yard vs back garden is rather semantic.
Agree. When is a garden a backyard and when is a backyard a garden? Some of the photos show the shelter in what I would hardly call a garden. The instructions for the Anderson Shelter says location to be at least 6' from building although preferably more. Diagram in https://www.andersonshelters.org.uk/library/anderson_shelter_construction_instructions.pdf shows siting in what I would call the backyard although they call them gardens. Tim
For those who have lived in houses with both a back yard and a back garden the distinction is far from merely semantic.It would create endless confusion to arbitrarily muddle the two.
Don't want to distract anyone from this fascinating linguistic discussions... but I still can't wait to finally see some photos of whatever started this discussion...