Would you buy an Anderson Shelter today?

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Auxiliary-Units, May 5, 2011.

  1. Tab

    Tab Senior Member

    Having lived through the war I could not understand why any one would want one in their garden, they were cold. damp and throughly depressing
     
  2. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    The important aspect of Anderson shelter corrugated steel was that it was galvanised,a degree of specification that took the car manufacturers some considerable time to copy.Being galvanised is the prime reason why there are many shelters surviving today.

    I would agree with Tab,no consideration was made for the various water tables to be encountered.Ours had a degree of water in it due to the water table but I suppose had there been a serious raid,then people would have taken the chance of getting wet feet againstthe fear of losing their lives.As it was, we always went to my uncle's shelter, within a cockstride of our home which had been developed into a snug place,as much as it could, in the absence of water.The other point was that the Luftwaffe always paid a visit when my father was on nights or evenings so until he turned up from an afternoon shift,we would have been alone, had it not been for my uncle's shelter.

    Water ingress could have been countered by the provision of a steel base of suitable height to withstand the water table.Insulation was another point but again,the prime objective was to shelter from the effect of explosive blasts.No doubt many worked on improving the standard of the shelter but insulation material as we know it today, had not been developed.Any building below ground is liable to be damp unless there is provision to creat a barrier against moisture penitration.
     
  3. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Couldn't resist mucking about with your pics Chris ... a faux Then and now

    http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=50528&stc=1&d=1305275392

    http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=50526&stc=1&d=1305275179


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  4. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    Nice effort Diane! As for me, I wouldnt really be interested in one. I'm not a great builder anyway so I possibly couldnt do it justice even if I did buy one!! :D
     
  5. geoff501

    geoff501 Achtung Feind hört mit

    Couldn't resist mucking about with your pics Chris ... a faux Then and now

    ...just need to replace that lap fencing with something more 1940ish......
     
  6. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Attached Files:

  7. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

  8. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    I like that - last bid £40, postage £60.

    I remember when I was about 14 or so helping a school mate dig out an Anderson in the back garden of his parents house - he wanted to use it as a darkroom. It was very well built compared to many recollections here - half submerged with a thick concrete floor slab and was bone dry when we dug the 2 or 3 feet of earth out of it. As I recall it was almost completely earth covered, just the top of the steel uncovered, with a couple of concrete steps down to the entrance.
    But it was in Elm Park, very close to Hornchurch airfield, so perhaps they had more reason than some to build it well. I wonder if it is still there now?
     
  9. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

  10. son of a rat

    son of a rat Senior Member

    Hi i have all ready dug the hole and have found 6 sides but can not find the ends. But have been told of 3 complete shelters that have gone to the scrap yard in the past few weeks.
     
  11. Mike L

    Mike L Very Senior Member

    Great video Wills - I bet the Dads had a great time restoring and rebuilding the shelter, good effort. Look forward to seeing the fitted out Anderson.
     
  12. unionjack

    unionjack Junior Member

    I have the 6 sides too nut also no ends.

    ChrisR, how did you make/fit the ends please?

    As for photo authenticity, I have to point out that lap fencing was certainly available back then, and photo's were b&w not sepia!

    Can't imagine anyone paying £200-400 for a lightweight flimsy copy when you can get real ones cheap.
     
  13. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

  14. unionjack

    unionjack Junior Member

    Ah, but Chris's looked like wood or ply, hence easier to make.
     
  15. marquis

    marquis New Member

  16. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Anyone with apple trees - an Anderson would be a great place for apple storage over the year - cold and damp

    Cheers
     
  17. ARPCDHG

    ARPCDHG Member

  18. Joe Brown

    Joe Brown WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    I had one with the first house I bought, in 1950. Great tool shed; hated cleaning it out. If I had one now I would gladly go out and make amends and make sure it was a sparkling clean and a fitting testimony to the cause it served.

    Joe Brown.
     
  19. hutchie

    hutchie Dont tell him Pike!!

    i would have one for storage but wouldnt like to use one as a workshop, i know what containers are like in the summer and winter i would imagine it wouldnt be much better in one of those
     

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