They go down into what seems like a bottomless pit. Once their feet hit the ground, they shine light on something they really weren’t looking for.
Now, this is straight out of a thriller book. There, in front of them was a doorway. Using a selfie stick, Simon discovered that there were two rooms where he had pointed it.
Gerald, Simon’s dad, had a very strong gut feeling about what they might find in there. And it turned out to be true – it was an air raid shelter! Simon’s house had below it an air raid shelter! In fact, there were quite a few in the area and that’s what probably gave Gerald the hunch.
More internet surfing revealed that the one below Simon’s house was built during the WW 2 era and there apparently was a bomb blast nearby during that time.
It all added up because the German Luftwaffe bombed UK horrendously. One of the places that took a lot of hits was Liverpool, Birmingham, especially near Simon’s place.
These shelters from bombs were made by the government bodies as well as citizens in order to have a safe place to retreat. Cellars, basements or even tube stations served the same purpose.
People would know when to run for one of these covers. The authorities would activate air raid sirens to let them know.
Among the ruins, they found this page from a newspaper in Simon’s shelter. It’s certainly an important piece of history.
Simon’s shelter collapsed because the doorway they discovered had rusted hinges. Once that broke and gave way, the whole concrete was about to come down in no time.
BBC
Simon believes that the shelter he discovered under the driveway is a reminder of what the country had gone through. Because it is an integral part of the country’s history, Simon wanted it to be there and hoped that it would remain strong and sturdy so that he wouldn’t have to rebuild.
After the discovery, Simon probably did not feel all that bad about losing out on the Saturday fun!
Take a ride back in time. Watch this video to see Simon’s shelter.
Credits: boredomtherapy.com