COMFORT IN SHELTERS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 259, 30 September 1940, Page 7

COMFORT IN SHELTERS.

BUNKS AND COMPARTMENTS,

LONDON, Sept. 28. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food (Mr Boothby) made a two-hour dawn pilgrimage of shelters, investigating the need lor emergency feeding, and to-night, the Minister of Food (Lord Woolton) told the local authorities that they should arrange for adequate feeding “in the event of disasters such as are being inflicted on London.’’ The Minister of Home Security (Sir John Anderson) announced a regulation which empowers local authorities to order the opening of any premises day or night for use by the public as a shelter. Several London authorities signed the regulation in advance for the purpose of implementing it without delay. . Tho London boroughs are similarly expeditiously installing bunks in shejters, and some shelters are being divided into compartments providing family underground homes with double-decker bunks. Sir John Anderson announced that he will retain Lord Horder (Physician Ordinary to the King) on his committee to give advice regarding health problems in the shelters. Another member of the committee, Mrs Creswick Atkinson, said that the division of shelters into compartments 4 was most important, particularly for children, to prevent the risk of infection which was bound to be prevalent in the larger shelters. The heating of shelters is being carefully considered, but in this regard the fact that there is already inadequate ventilation is a serious, difficulty. A demonstration of “shelter comfort’’ was given in Stoke Newington, where Mrs Atkinson showed that compartments in public shelters can be fitted with two tiers of wooden bunks and made into comfortable self-contain-ed family sleeping spaces. By confining each compartment to two tiers only, enough spacers obtained to allow a family of at least four sufficient room to sit or sleep in comfort. It is suggested that the keys should be given to residents of houses nearby.