Couple discover air-raid shelter under their garden - great photos

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104808/Somerset-couple-Les-Sheila-Holmes-discover-WW2-air-raid-shelter-garden.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[h=1]Couple discover huge World War II air raid shelter buried under 70 tonnes of earth in their back garden[/h]

By ANTHONY BOND
UPDATED: 15:22, 22 February 2012

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After tending to the flower bed in their back garden for many years, little did Les and Sheila Holmes know of what really lay beneath.But following excavation work, the couple were stunned to find a long-lost Second World War air raid shelter hidden under their flowers.Relatives of the couple excavated 70 tonnes of earth to reveal the 6ft deep bunker.
What lies beneath: Les Holmes, pictured, and his wife Sheila were stunned to find a long-lost Second World War air raid shelter hidden under their flower bed


Big job: Relatives of the couple excavated 70 tonnes of earth to reveal the 6ft deep bunker, which has now dwarfed their back garden

The 13ft x 5ft hole has now swallowed up most of their tiny back garden in Street, Somerset.Mr Holmes, 73, and his 72-year-old wife now believe the tin-roofed bomb shelter was built after a local milk factory was bombed by the Nazis.Their niece Estelle Sparks and her partner Darren Mapstone, both 40, carried out the back-breaking excavation work.
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Ms Sparks, a security services worker, said: 'I cannot believe we’ve finally uncovered it after all these years.'It is only 6ft-deep so people may have had to stoop into it back during the war.'It is a real piece of history right in our family’s back garden. There were a few old artefacts inside as well - which were exciting finds.



Great find: This image on the left shows how close the air raid shelter is to the house. While, right, Les Holmes stands in the shelter which was underneath his flowerbed


'We’ve had people from the villages around here coming to visit it - some of whom actually sheltered inside during the Second World War.'The family - led by William Foxwell - moved into the stone cottage in 1962.He was told there was a large shelter buried underneath the rockery in his garden - believed to have been built after a milk factory in nearby Somerton was bombed.Two years later farm labourer Les married William’s daughter Sheila and took over the house, inheriting the legacy.Lack of space: The air raid shelter is only 6ft-deep. This image gives an idea of how cramped the conditions inside would have been

Community spirit: This picture show evening classes taking place in an air raid shelter during the Second World War

Although interested in the idea of uncovering the structure, Mr Holmes was put off by the prospect of having to excavate it by hand.He said: 'I didn’t know where to start, it was such a big job and I’d have had to do it by hand so I just put off doing anything about it.'But Ms Sparks and her partner, also from Street, used modern-day excavating equipment to dig out the shelter this week.The pair moved more than 70 tonnes of earth in a mini digger before uncovering stone steps into the entrance.Inside they found several artefacts, including broken pieces of pottery and a large collection of bottles - dating back decades.Now the family are looking to transform the air raid shelter into an underground room.Mr Mapstone, a civil engineer, said: 'I want to put a roof back on and turn it into a room again.'I’ve always wanted an underground room, ever since I was a boy. To me, this is just a hole.'

Read more: Somerset couple Les and Sheila Holmes discover WW2 air raid shelter in back garden | Mail Online​

 

Nice. Wonder why the roof collapsed?

 

Nice. Wonder why the roof collapsed?

 

Nice. Wonder why the roof collapsed?

 

Now they have a great wine cellar!

 

Gordon, If the roof was tin it is a miracle it had not fallen in years before. It was probably corrugated for strength and made of iron coated with zinc or perhaps steel plated with zinc that quickly pin-holes letting oxygen reach the ferrous part causing rust. Earth can also be acidic speeding the process. I am surprised someone has not fallen through it years ago. It obviously was temporary with very little protection from above, more like a foxhole . Neat to find it still there after all these years. I grew up on a farm and we constantly were repairing or replacing tin roofs on barns and sheds.

Gaines

 

Lucky, lucky B*****d...
I'm almost as jealous as I am of the chap near me with two pillboxes in his garden.

Two.
Show-off.
Humph.

~A

 

Gaines-
That's what I was thinking too. It looks more like what they called a seagull trench- a glorified slit trench, but most of them had concrete roofs too.

Adam,
Covet not thine neighbour's pillboxes!

 

Thanks for the information, I never heard of a seagull trench, good to learn new terms. Not many in Alabama!!! When in London I stay at a wonderful student grade hotel called the Cavendish, near the British Museum and Russell Sq. When I walk to Trafalgar I use to pass a sizable concrete structure now painted red and white just off the side walk. All sorts of warning signs and electrical wiring so I thought it a power station of some sort for for about 20 years. I recently discovered it was an entry to one of the underground office/vault/storage areas from WW2 far beneath the street. Huge buried structure and also connected to the underground station nearby. I understand still used for storage.

Interesting what one discovers.

Gaines

 

You'll love these then-
Home - Subterranea Britannica
SEAGULL TRENCH, PILLBOX STUDY GROUP

 

Good bit there Greg.... I see the English prefer long and narrow. My back yard is short and fat. About 50 feet wide and 50 foot deep....The only thing I might find buried in my yard could be old Indian artifacts or coal. Jealous of y'alls history...Wish we could dig up an old 5oo kg bomb that was dropped then built over a nursery. Or something.

 

Hmm , maybe I should start looking in my garden. I recently found a horse iron there, you never know.

 

What's a horse iron?

 

Think he means horseshoe, pops.

 

Ahh. Do y'all play "horse irons" rather than our "horse shoes"?
Horseshoes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An excellent backyard game. Drinking could be involved. Although the government might become involved if someone gets hurt:
Lawn darts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Gordon, Thanks to you I back traced my steps and using your links and found it!!!! The Googe St Deep Level Shelter ( Eisenhower Center). Color pictures and all. Facinating stuff. BTW, it is cream and red, not white.

RSG: Sites: Goodge Street: Deep Level Shelter