With fears of World War III looming as Vladimir Putin’s ally calls the UK a “satanic island”, Brits may start looking at ways to keep themselves safe – including finding suitable shelter.
But one city already has such a space right underneath its residents’ feet.
London, which was heavily bombed during the Blitz, has a network of underground tunnels.
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There were eight originally built across the capital, though only five ever opened to the public.
Each one could house up to 8,000 guests.
One of them, which is open for tours, is located 36.5m – or 180 steps – underneath Clapham South tube station.
The shelter first opened its doors in 1942, as part of an effort to protect the people during World War II.
It became a permanent home for residents for weeks, months or years as bombs rained down.
Visitors were offered free medical care and the shelter held enough food to last three days, with a canteen selling delicacies like jam tarts.
Due to the sheer size of the space, each tunnel was given its own name so that residents could easily find their way around – such as Parry, Hardy and Nelson.
You could smoke inside, though thankfully, there was a ventilation system.
Everyone was given a mattress but had to bring their own bedding.
Many people, especially families with young children, would also bring along their own items – if they had not lost them – such as small rugs or a curtain or cloth to hang for privacy.
There was entertainment and performances for the little ones, and the staff would play music to lift people’s spirits.
Since the sewage system was above the shelter, flushing was not possible so bucket-type toilets were used.
These were emptied into a ‘Slop Hopper’ – a pressurised machine that could hold five days’ worth of waste.
And each visitor had to leave the site at 7am every morning so staff could clean up, before returning back later that day.
After the war, many of the shelters closed while others were repurposed.
The Clapham South one was used as a “low-budget hotel” for the Windrush generation with 500 men from Jamaica living at the site.
The cost for a bed was approximately £4 a night (in today’s currency).
There was a work exchange as well. The shelter was also used to house guests during the Festival of Britain and as a temporary space for army troops.
In more recent years, it was transformed to grow vegetables underground but sadly the company didn’t survive the financial pressures of the pandemic, as reported by Need To Know.
Now, the site is used mainly for one purpose: tours.
But who knows what the future holds?
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