Wartime Wednesday: DIY Morrison Shelter

Wartime Wednesday: DIY Morrison Shelter

Last week, I looked at the use of Anderson bomb shelters in Britain during WWII. Devised in March 1941 and named for Herbert Morrison, the Minister of Home Security at the time, the Morrison Shelter was a solution for people who didn’t have an outdoor location suitable for an Anderson Shelter.

Like the Anderson, the Morrison shelter came in a kit that was assembled once brought into the house. The completed size was six-feet-six-inches long, four feet wide, and two-feet-six-inches high. The sides were welded wire “mesh” sides with a solid 1/8 inch (3 mm) steel plate “table” top and metal “mattress” type floor. Three tools were supplied with the kit to put together the more than 350 parts. Occupancy was rated at four adults, although many anecdotes exist that tell of many more people jammed inside. A “double decker” version came out later.

Also like the Anderson, the Morrison shelter cost £7, but was distributed for free to members of the public who earned less than £350 per year. Half a million shelters had been distributed by the end of 1941, and one of the first Morrison’s to be installed was at 10 Downing Street (the Prime Minister’s office).

In his 1960 autobiography, Herbert Morrison states: “The experts – engineers and scientists – would have argued for weeks {about the design}. However, I told them that I intended to lock them up in a room until they agreed, promising to arrange to send food into them. I reported to Churchill that I had taken this attitude and he was delighted, saying that he would back me to the limit. The experts had their designs agreed upon and completed within twenty-four hours. So was born what became known as the Morrison table shelter.”

Advertising claimed the shelter was “good for table tennis and it made a find den for children’s games.” It also doubled as a table in many homes.

A concern by many people was being trapped inside the Morrison if a house collapsed during a bombing raid. Hence, families often had an Anderson shelter as well if they had the outside space.

Which shelter would you prefer?

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Love's Harvest, a modern retelling of the biblical story of Ruth takes place in London during the early part of WWII. The first in my Wartime Brides series, the novella is Permafree on Amazon, Kobo, and Apple Books. Download your copy today.

Noreen Hirsch loses everything including her husband and two sons. Then her adopted country goes to war with her homeland. Has God abandoned her?

Rosa Hirsch barely adjusts to being a bride before she is widowed. She gives up her citizenship to accompany her mother-in-law to her home country. Can Rosa find acceptance among strangers who hate her belligerent nation?

Basil Quincey is rich beyond his wildest dreams, but loneliness stalks him. Can he find a woman who loves him and not his money?

Three people. One God who can raise hope from the ashes of despair.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB)

Wartime Wednesday: DIY Anderson Shelters

Wartime Wednesday: DIY Anderson Shelters

As someone who suffers from claustrophobia, I can’t imagine enduring a night in a bomb shelter let alone weeks or months. However, that’s what folks in Britain experienced during World War II.

In cities such as London, the population would often hide out in Tube stations, tunnels, railway arches, or basements available under some of the larger buildings, but for most people personal shelters were the only option.

Dark and damp, the shelters measured six-and-a-half feet by four-and-a-half feet. They tended to flood if built in low-lying areas, and the design didn’t keep out the sound of the bombings, probably making it tough to sleep.

Anyone earning £5 a week (the equivalent of £300) or more could purchase an Anderson Shelter for £7, which may not seem like a lot of money, but consider that the amount is twenty-five percent of their monthly salary. A large, but necessary expense. Shelters were given to families who earned less than £5 weekly.

An interesting fact to note is that the shelter was designed in 1938 by William Paterson and Oscar Kerrison in response to a request from the Home Office. Obviously, they didn’t believe Chamberlin was going to be successful negotiating “peace in our time.” Named for Sir John Anderson, Lord Privy Seal who had the responsibility of preparing air-raid precautions, the shelters could hold up to six occupants.

The shelters were purchased or distributed unassembled so it was up to the families to build them. By all accounts, the shelters were easy to build and featured six corrugated steel panels that curved and were bolted together at the top. Three straight sheets were used on the sides with two more straight panels on each end, one of which contained the door. They were buried up to four feet into the ground hen covered with a minimum of fifteen inches of soil which could then be planted with flowers or vegetables. Some people built them inside their homes and covered them with sandbags.  

More than 1.5 million shelters were distributed to people in areas considered at risk for German bombing. The first shelter was built in an Islington, London garden in February 25, 1939. An additional 2.1 million were constructed over the course of the war. However, indications are that only about twenty-five percent of the population regularly used one.

At the end of the war, households who received an Anderson shelter were expected to dismantle it and turn it in to local authorities. Folks who wanted to keep it (providing them with valuable metal) could pay a small fee.

Want to see a replica? Visit the Tillamook Air Museum in Oregon.

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Set in 1942, Under Fire tells the story of Ruth Brown whose missing sister, Jane, is declared dead. Convinced her sister is still alive, Ruth follows clues from their small New Hampshire town to war-torn London trying to find her. Discovering that Jane has been murdered results in a faith crisis for Ruth, and she decides she must find Jane’s killer.

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