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This poem has been written onto the ´óÏó´«Ã½ People's War site by CSV Storygatherer Ian Hollins on behalf of Catherine Turner. The poem has been added to the site with her permission. And Catherine Turner fully understands the terms and conditions of the site.

THE AIR RAID SHELTER 1940 -1945

We had a shelter in the garden
Strongly built of iron sheets and wood,
Where we slept safely through the night
Warmly dressed in slacks, a coat and pixie hood.

It was furnished with two folding chairs
And two wooden beds,
There was a beam across the roof
On which we always bumped our heads.

The shelter soon became quite cosy
When we settled with our flasks and light,
A wireless, books, games or knitting
Helped pass a noisy night.

All through the war we used to go there
Every evening just at six,
Knowing we’d be safe ‘til morning
From the worst of Hitler’s tricks.

Until early one May morning
When we’d moved indoors once more,
We heard a ‘crump’ out in the garden
Our shelter had caved in, we saw.

Did it know the war was over
And that it had proved its worth,
So it was filled in and buried
Lying underneath the earth.

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