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Camden New Journal - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 20 September 2007

Did you shelter during Blitz?

• DURING the London Blitz, the Tube was used by thousands of Londoners for shelter from the bombing.
It may seem an obvious refuge but at first the government and the transport authority refused entry to shelterers believing that the mass use of the Tube would impede traffic and create a “deep shelter mentality” of fear and defeatism.
It was only when mass occupations of stations began in 1940, often led by the Communist Party, that the government climbed down, triggering the “biggest working class demonstration London has seen.”
Sheltering developed its own momentum, with planned sleeping arrangements, refreshments, first aid , newsletters and committees, attracting widespread press comment and even appearing in a Hollywood movie.
At the same time, Tube trains continued to run and carry Londoners to and from their battered homes and workplaces. There is no oral record of these times and we’d like to put that right. Were you a shelterer? We would like to hear from you if you were, or simply if you travelled on the Tubes in those years or worked on the Underground. We would like to record your experiences and hope to place them, on a website. Please let me know at davidwelsh83 btinternet.com or write to 15 Wellington Road, Norwich, NR2 3HT.
DAVE WELSH
Norwich

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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