Anderson shelter

Anderson shelter
Secretlondon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Name	Anderson shelter
Caption	An Anderson shelter installed in a suburban garden.
Type	Domestic air raid shelter
Designer	William Paterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison
Design date	1938
Manufacturer	John Summers and Sons
Unit cost	£7 (subsidised)
Number	2.1 million (by mid-1939)
Used	1939–1945
Wars	Second World War
Length	1.95 m
Width	1.35 m
Height	1.8 m
Crew	Up to 6 persons
Armour	Corrugated steel

Anderson shelter. The Anderson shelter was a mass-produced, domestic air raid shelter distributed in the United Kingdom on the eve of the Second World War. Designed in 1938 by engineers William Paterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison, it was named for Sir John Anderson, the Lord Privy Seal who oversaw the Air Raid Precautions programme. Intended for erection in a garden and partially buried, it became an iconic symbol of civilian resilience during the Blitz.

Design and construction

The shelter was ingeniously simple, constructed from six curved and three straight corrugated steel panels, which were bolted together to form an arch. This design was developed following research at the Building Research Establishment and testing at the Road Research Laboratory. The structure was intended to be sunk three feet into the ground and covered with a minimum of fifteen inches of soil, with the excavated earth forming a protective berm over the arched roof. The interior floor was typically a concrete slab or wooden planks, and the entrance was protected by a steel shield or a curved wall of sandbags to mitigate blast effects. The main contractor for manufacturing the millions of panels required was the steelworks John Summers and Sons of Shotton.

Distribution and installation

From February 1939, the government offered the shelters free to all households with an annual income under £250, a threshold that covered most of the population; others could purchase one for £7. Distribution was managed by local authorities, with London County Council and other city corporations organizing large-scale delivery. The programme was part of a wider civil defence effort that included the construction of large public shelters and the later introduction of the indoor Morrison shelter. Installation was the responsibility of the householder, often requiring significant digging and labour, a process frequently assisted by neighbours or local Air Raid Precautions wardens. By the outbreak of war in September 1939, over 1.5 million had been erected, a figure that would eventually exceed 2.1 million.

Use during the Second World War

During the Blitz of 1940–1941, Anderson shelters became a nightly refuge for millions of Britons, particularly in industrial cities like Coventry, Birmingham, and the East End of London. While offering good protection from blast and fragmentation, conditions inside were often damp, cold, and cramped, leading to issues with flooding and respiratory illnesses. Their effectiveness was demonstrated during major raids such as the Coventry Blitz and the Liverpool Blitz, where they saved countless lives, though direct hits from heavy ordnance could cause catastrophic failure. Use often involved entire families sleeping in them, and they became centres for community solidarity, with residents of Clydebank and Hull famously enduring sustained bombardment within them.

Post-war legacy

With the end of hostilities, many shelters were dismantled, their steel panels often repurposed for postwar reconstruction or as garden sheds. A significant number were simply buried in situ, occasionally rediscovered during modern construction projects in cities like Bristol and Portsmouth. Several preserved examples exist today in museums, including the Imperial War Museum and the Eden Camp museum. The shelter's design influenced later civil defence planning during the Cold War, and its story forms a key part of the historical narrative at the Cabinet War Rooms and other sites dedicated to the Home Front.

Cultural depictions

The Anderson shelter features prominently in British cultural memory of the war. It appears in literature such as Nina Bawden's novel *Carrie's War* and is a recurring motif in the poetry of the period. On screen, it has been depicted in films like *Hope and Glory* and television series such as Dad's Army and *The Chronicles of Narnia*. Artist Henry Moore captured the scene of families huddled within London's underground shelters in his renowned series of shelter drawings. The shelter remains a potent symbol in public commemorations at the Cenotaph and in exhibitions at the Churchill War Rooms.

Category:Second World War civil defence Category:Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Category:1938 introductions