RAID SHELTERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 September 1940, Page 5

RAID SHELTERS

PROGRAMME IN LONDON MANY IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED. USE OF TUBE STATIONS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 23. The indiscriminate bombing of the London civilian population has raised in an acute form the problem of night shelters, and the Government’s policy on this question was referred to today by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Home Security, Mr W. Mabane.

He said that the current programme of production of shelters was being accelerated, and there was no shortage of labour for rapid building. Other schemes which he outlined included a substantial increase in the shelters available for the whole of every day and the opening of basements where these were strong enough, which would be applied to blocks of flats that were unoccupied and possibly also to occupied houses. Mr Mabane also said that shelters would be provided'with bunks double and triple banked, so that they could be used as dormitories. A million of these bunks would be made at once. First aid posts were being established in large shelters. Speaking of tube stations, many of which have already been used by the public as night shelters, Mr Mabane said that this was now being recognised and arrangements were being made to provide supervision and adequate sanitary arrangements. The work has begun of converting the Holborn Aldwych section of the Piccadilly tube into a deep shelter. It is intended to install bunks. The shelters in use are being limited to those who are unable to obtain comparative safety. NAZI REPORT ELEVEN KILLED & 14 WOUNDED IN BERLIN. (Received This Day. 10.25 a.m.) BERLIN. September 24. Official: “The R.X.F. raid last night resulted in eleven persons being killed and fourteen wounded.”