(PatrioticPost.com)- A large bomb shelter built during the fear of the German Blitz bombings of World War II has been discovered in a backyard garden.
When Martin and Allison Tracey, both 66, came into their new Coventry house this summer, they were taken aback to find an Anderson shelter buried in the backyard.
Anderson shelters, which could shield up to six people from flying shell fragments, were dug in nationwide gardens as millions of British sheltered from German bombing.
According to Martin, the previous owners had lived in the home since World War II, and a neighbor suggested a bunker in the backyard. He was pleasantly surprised by how spacious the time capsule shelter was and said, “It is great to have a piece of history…when we initially found it, it was awesome.”
The previous occupants of this house have been there since World War II. The home’s interior also seemed stuck in an earlier era.
Martin said that since last September, his garden-loving wife and his grandkids have been working on cleaning the area surrounding it and opening it up as a project. He planned to have it removed so that the garden could be leveled, but the kids became too enthusiastic about the find and took control.
It’s considerably larger and more kept up than he had anticipated.
The government provided the shelters, which had their origins in 1938, to poor and middle-class households at no cost so that they would have someplace to go in the event of an air strike.
Long slate planks served as seats within the Anderson shelter, including bottles, piping, and car headlights that ran on batteries.
Many industries were in and around Coventry, making it a prime target for bombing during World War II.
The city center was restored after the war, but the remains of Coventry Cathedral are among the most moving symbols of the destruction caused by the bombings throughout the nation.
