Buried since the Blitz: Grandparents discover hidden ‘time capsule’ WW2 bunker

A huge World War II air raid shelter used during the Blitz has been found in a backyard.

Martin Tracey, 66, and his wife Allison moved into their new home in Coventry last summer and were shocked to discover an Anderson shelter buried in their back garden.

Anderson shelters were buried in gardens across the country as millions of Britons hid from German bombs and protected up to six people from flying shrapnel.

Since its discovery late last year, Martin’s great-grandson, James, eight, and granddaughter, Robyn, 32, have made it their mission to uncover the bunker and decorate it with plants and flowers.

Martin said the bunker was much bigger than he thought. The shelters are designed for up to six people

Martin says that the previous owners had lived in the house since the war and that a neighbor had casually mentioned that there might be a shed in the garden.

The grandfather said the time capsule hideout was much bigger than he thought.

He added, “It’s great to have a piece of history in our backyard. It was really cool when we first discovered it. It was also quite nostalgic as it is something related to Coventry’s history.

‘The family before us had been here since the war. The house had not changed hands since the beginning of World War II.

“The inside of the house was also a bit of a time warp.

‘My wife, who is an avid gardener, and my grandchildren decided to take it on as a project and have been cleaning up and opening around it since last September.

James, 8, helps clear out the bunker. Families are said to have sought refuge in the metal sheds, which were handed out for free by the government during the war

A number of objects were discovered in the bomb shelter, including some old battery-operated car lights, bottles and pipes

“Originally I wanted to have it taken out so we could level the yard, but they were all so excited about the discovery that they adopted it.

“It’s much bigger than I ever expected, and it’s perfectly preserved inside. It was a very well made shelter.’

First designed in 1938, the shelters were distributed free of charge by the government to lower and middle-income families to give them a place to go during air raids.

Inside the Anderson shelter were benches made from long pieces of slate, as well as some old battery-powered car lights, bottles, and pipes.

The hideout was well hidden for over 70 years and lay undiscovered in the garden.

James, 8, helped his family excavate the Anderson shelter, which they discovered in their garden in Coventry

James plans to sleep in the shelter once it’s converted into a small garden room. Many shelters were used by families as garden sheds after the war

Great-grandson James helps excavate the shelter. The family plans to decorate it with flowers and other plants

The shelter is said to have been buried in the garden to provide protection for the occupants of the house from falling bombs

The entrance to the shelter, found in the backyard of a Coventry couple, Martin and Allison

The family found a number of items stashed in the undiscovered hideout, including old glass bottles

Martin said: ‘When we started clearing the bunker, we had a lot of people sticking their heads over the fence because they were interested in what was being found.

“As far as we know, it’s the only one on the street.

“It’s such an unusual feature to have in your backyard, and when it’s all done we hope to have it as a little garden room.”

“James even plans to sleep in it when everything is clean and dry.

“They’re busy getting it ready for the summer, when we also plan to open it to the public for a day so they can look inside.”

Coventry was decimated by bombing during the Second World War, mainly due to the large number of factories in the vicinity of the city and its proximity to the coast.

In the aftermath of the war, the city center was rebuilt, although the ruins of Coventry Cathedral remain one of the most poignant reminders of the bombing in the country.

What is an Anderson Shelter?

In an early-war photo, a family sleeps in their Anderson bomb shelter

Anderson shelters were invented in 1938 and named after Sir John Anderson, who was in charge of air raid precautions.

The first Anderson shelter was built on February 25, 1939 in a garden in Islington, London.

They were designed to be dug into people’s gardens and given to lower- and middle-income families for free by the government.

The shelters are made by bending a sheet of corrugated iron or steel into a semicircular shape.

They are constructed of six curved plates screwed together at the top, with steel plates at both ends, and measure 6 feet by 4 feet.

Because they were covered with earth, they were damp and often crowded, as each space could hold up to six people for shelter from bombs.

But they were popular and many families slept in them every night during weeks of raids.

Over 2 million Anderson shelters were issued during the war and many kept them as garden sheds after 1945.

Those on higher incomes had to pay £7 (about £450 today) for the shelters.