Wartime

Shelter underground

In two world wars, Londoners went down to the platforms to escape the bombs.

How this site works. Every fact is in our own words and linked to its source, beside it. Where good sources disagree, we show each version in a “Sources differ” box.

The First World War

The first ever air raid on London, on 31 May 1915, sent people into Underground stations for shelter. LT Museum, shelters

The Blitz

In the Blitz, from September 1940 to May 1941, deep Tube stations sheltered thousands of people every night. LT Museum, deep shelters

At first the authorities did not want people sheltering in the Underground, but the Blitz changed their minds. LT Museum, shelters

People slept on walkways, platforms and even tracks with the power switched off. LT Museum, shelters

A ‘Tube Refreshments Special’ train delivered food and drink to shelterers. LT Museum, shelters

A black and white photograph of people lying on blankets along a tube platform and the track bed, with coats hanging on the curved wall — People sheltering on the platform and tracks at Aldwych station, 1940.Picture: Ministry of Information Photo Division, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

A black and white photograph of a crowded tube tunnel with people sitting and lying on bedding — The scene at Aldwych tube station in 1940.Picture: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

Britannica says that in the wars the unused Aldwych tunnels stored treasures from the British Museum. Britannica

The Aldwych branch of the Piccadilly line closed in 1994, with too few passengers and high costs. TfL

The deep-level shelters

Ten were planned; the two at Oval and St Paul’s were abandoned during building. LT Museum, deep shelters

London Transport built eight deep-level shelters, at Belsize Park, Camden Town, Chancery Lane, Goodge Street, Stockwell, Clapham North, Clapham Common and Clapham South, each for 8,000 people. LT Museum, deep shelters

Their tunnels were dug by hand, 30 metres down and just over 400 metres long. LT Museum, deep shelters

Some opened to the public in July 1944, when V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets were hitting London. LT Museum, deep shelters

Each had eight canteens serving sausage rolls, meat pies and cakes, a treat in a time of strict rationing. LT Museum, deep shelters

Shelterers slept on hard three-tier bunk beds and brought their own bedding. LT Museum, deep shelters

After the war

After the war some shelters housed some of the first people from Jamaica to arrive on the Empire Windrush, in 1948. LT Museum, deep shelters

Our opinion

Our view: it is striking that the authorities did not want people in the Tube at first. Londoners decided for themselves, and the Underground became one of the best-remembered places of the war.

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