15. 6.2011 World War II shelter found under the parking lot
Categories: Calendar , Nálezy nejenom s detektorem ve Velké Británii a Irsku
Workers who discovered the World War II school shelter beneath the parking lot ten years ago remained stunned. It was on the grounds of the former Keighley College in West Yorkshire, England.
The hiding place was discovered about a metre underground when the workers were demolishing the boiler house. It is brick and has a reinforced concrete ceiling. Inside, there are four connected corridors. The shelter is rectangular in shape. There was old equipment inside. For example, wooden benches, but most of them were already rotten. But it's still clear at a glance that they were attached to the walls.
As for the floor, it was covered with wooden boards, but people didn't have to tread on cold concrete. "I find this discovery absolutely fascinating. The remains of the air raid shelter are a clear reminder of the fear that people had to live in during the Second World War. I am delighted that we can record such discoveries in the local archive," said Susan Hinchcliffe, who is responsible for the local culture.
The owners wanted to sell the land where the school stood. So the workers set about demolishing the site to make it more attractive to developers and sell it quickly.
"The cover was not in the plans for the building at all. This type of wartime construction was usually done very quickly and not recorded in the relevant documents," said Paul North, director of Airford, which sold the site.
He said it would be one of a number of shelters that were located in the area. "Others were located under the Town Hall Square and under the roundabout at the bottom of Oakworth Road," North revealed.
During World War II, shelters were provided by factories, businesses, schools and other institutions to prevent a large loss of life. "Also, homeowners were encouraged during the war to modify their own homes or build small home additionsroofs in response to fears about the threat of gas or bomb attacks," said Elizabeth Chamberlin, who is in charge of archaeology in West Yorkshire.
She appreciated that the firm had made no secret of the shelter's discovery and reported it. She urged others to contact the relevant authorities if they came across anything similar.
Sources: www.dailymail.co.uk
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