“Down the Tube”

Although the image of wartime Londoners sheltering in Underground stations is a familiar one, in fact relatively few people used them, most preferring to make their own arrangements at home. At the start of the war the government actually rejected the idea of using the tube system for the purposes of shelter, fearing that the public would crowd the stations and refuse to leave, that children
would fall on the tracks, the stations would flood in the rain, and become a breeding ground for infectious diseases. The government also felt the railways should be kept clear for troop movements, but once the Blitz bombs started to fall in earnest, Londoners simply bought a platform ticket and began to camp out on the platforms, stairs and in corridors. With such a show of “people power”, the authorities were forced to relent and gradually bunk beds and chemical toilets were supplied. In all, some 79 stations were designated as ‘official’ shelters, and by the end of September 1940, the tube system was providing refuge for 177,000 people. At the height of the Blitz, visits to the tube shelters were nightly. Later, there were also daytime raids to contend with – disruptive enough for adults, but equally tricky for the schoolkids forced to sit their 11-plus exam on a train platform!

Describing her child’s-eye view of events, Pat August in her wartime memoir vividly recalls her family heading down to the tube at around 8 o’clock in the evening and emerging around 6am as the trains started up again. She has vivid memories of having to tread carefully over the debris, broken glass etc. on the pavement as they left the shelter, and the fear that maybe their house would have been hit – hoping at the same time (obviously!) that her school had ‘copped it’! Many children recalling their wartime experiences talk of the fun they had – loads of other kids to play with, sing-songs or magic shows organised by the adults, even getting shouted at by the marshal for tearing up and down the platform – all good fun!

The particular shelter people chose to frequent was often a matter not only of convenient

location but also a family’s individual situation/preference. Pat August recalls sheltering not in King’s Cross tube (close to the family home in Somers Town and “too rough” in her mother’s judgement!), but at Leicester Square, near to her father’s shoe repair shop in Bedfordbury. Whichever location was chosen it was necessary to have a ticket to gain access to the platforms.

Once large numbers were occupying the tube, someone, of course, had to be in charge - so shelter marshals were appointed. Their function was threefold: to keep order, dispense first aid and assist in case of flooding of the tunnels. Rules were laid out: before 7.30 in the evening shelterers had to keep behind a line drawn 8 feet from the edge of the platform. From 8-10.30 they could go as far as a second line, 4 feet from the edge. When the trains stopped running, the lights dimmed and the current in the rail was cut, they could use the whole platform and even the tracks, stairs and escalators could be safely occupied.

Sleeping arrangements were basic. At first, there was only one option: “Us kids slept in our underwear on the ground, and took our own bundle of bedding down with us” remembers Pat August, but later bunks were provided. Many remember how difficult it often was to sleep, due to people snoring, talking (& worse!) And, as with everything, there was a certain hierarchy at work - some tried to reserve places by putting down their bundles in a prime spot. As Pat August recalls: “We liked to be near the lift – for a quick getaway, I think!” Rudimentary toilets were available, but there were no washing facilities.

Refreshment arrangements were never much more than basic. Many took their own provisions down with them: “We took a big flask of cocoa every night… and milk” recalls one person. Gradually ’official’ refreshments began to be introduced and cigarette machines were provided (no restrictions in those days!).  

  

And, of course, people needed entertainment. Most of the time they made their own – games of cards, playing the accordion, enjoying a sing-song - and there was generally someone who could be called upon to do magic tricks. Lending libraries
operated and some shelters even produced their own newspapers.  

The Swiss Cottager, for example, aimed at “nightly companions, somnambulists, snorers, chatterers and all who inhabit the Swiss Cottage station from dusk to dawn”. In its second issue it offered useful tips: “vibration due to heavy gunfire or other causes will be felt much less if you do not lie with your head against the wall”.

Despite making the best of their tube-dwelling existence, Londoners who lived through the whole experience admit there were many ‘hazards’ involved – many of them a mundane, but still unpleasant consequence of this kind of enforced communal living. Plagues of mosquitos descended on the shelterers’ warm bodies, lice were rife, people walked into the tunnels to relieve themselves and the stench was sometimes overwhelming. But, of course, it was the bombs that caused most havoc. Sheltering in the underground system was no guarantee of safety, given that a high-explosive bomb could penetrate 50 feet through solid ground. Pat August recalls the night an incendiary bomb landed at the top of the lift shaft above where they were sheltering – they survived (the lift was up at the time) but they were covered with smoke and soot as a result.

Others were not so lucky - in September 1940, twenty people died when a small bomb hit Marble Arch subway ripping tiles from the walls and turning them into deadly projectiles. The worst incident of all came in October of that year. Some 600 people were sheltering in Balham Station when a direct hit burst the water main directly above and flooded the station. Those not killed by the blast and falling rubble were drowned. A similar incident at Bank Station in January 1941 killed 111 people. Perhaps the most tragic incident took place on 8 March, 1943 when 1,500 people were being admitted to Bethnal Green Station to shelter for the night. The sound of anti-aircraft rockets, only recently introduced into the air defences, startled the crowd who pushed forward onto the stairs. A woman with a child in her arms tripped and the resulting crush killed 173 people.

 

References

East End Chronicles by Ed Glinert (2005)

London Under by Peter Ackroyd (2012)

Website: http://www.inlondonguide.co.uk/who-are-londoners/second-world-war-london-blitz.html

Personal recollections courtesy of Patricia August at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/94/a2287794.shtml