Anderson shelter used in St Thomas
Anderson shelter used in St Thomas
From the collections at RAMM, Accession No. 92/1991
A little history of the Anderson shelter
By Sarah, Curator of West Exe
This Anderson shelter comes from Woodville Road,St Thomas. By the time of the Blitz, 2.25 million houses had one in their garden. Each one was made up of fourteen sheets of corrugated steel. They were bolted together to form a hut, placed in a hole in the ground and covered with earth. They were strong enough to protect four to six people from anything but a direct hit.
Anderson shelters were first issued in 1938 at a cost of £7 (free to poorer homes). The Home Secretary John Anderson came up with the idea, but they are named after their designer Dr David Anderson.
After the war the shelter in Woodville Road was used as a garden shed until 1991 when it was passed to the museum.