Facts and Stories from WWII That We Won’t Find in History Books

Contrary to the popular image of masses taking refuge in Tube stations, only about 4% of Londoners actually used these underground shelters for protection. A more common choice, utilized by approximately 40% of the population, was to seek shelter in Anderson shelters.

These were small, corrugated steel structures buried in back gardens, designed to protect families from bomb blasts. Others opted for indoor cage-like shelters, offering a degree of safety within their own homes. The majority, however, remained in their usual bedrooms, relying on hope and perhaps a sense of fatalism as their defense against the aerial onslaught.