Talbot Heath School for Girls, Bournemouth - WWII Air Raid Shelter (1)

Image: © Mike Searle Taken: 9 Sep 2017

- Air Raid Shelter: DoB ID: e42058 The visible remains above ground of one of four deep underground air raid shelters built during 1939 for the pupils and staff of the school. This one was opened to the public specially for a Heritage Open Day event. Used as a storeroom after the end of the war, this is the only accessible shelter, the others remain buried and unexcavated. This air raid shelter was refurbished and made habitable again in 2011, and is in use today as a 'Living History' classroom. Together, all four shelters could accommodate up to 125 pupils and staff at any one time. The School's archives show that the shelters were used extensively day and night throughout the war, and particularly during the most intensive period of 1939 - 1940. In the foreground protruding above the protective earth bank can be seen the concrete surround of the emergency escape hatch. The basic construction of the shelter consisted of sheets of corrugated iron bolted together supported by a framework of curved steel girders. After being given a concrete roof, the whole structure was then banked over with a covering of earth. Image

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