"The Anderson shelter was designed in 1938 by William Paterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison. 

It was named after Sir John Anderson, then Lord Privy Seal with special responsibility for preparing air-raid precautions before the outbreak of World War II.

Anderson shelters were designed to accommodate up to six people.

Six curved panels were bolted together at the top, so forming the main body of the shelter, three straight sheets on either side, and two more straight panels were fixed to each end, one containing the door — a total of fourteen panels. A small drainage sump was often incorporated in the floor to collect rainwater seeping into the shelter.

The shelters were 6 ft (1.8 m) high, 4 ft 6 in (1.4 m) wide, and 6 ft 6 in (2 m) long.

They were buried 4 ft (1.2 m) deep in the soil and then covered with a minimum of 15 in (0.4 m) of soil above the roof.

The earth banks could be planted with vegetables and flowers, that at times could be quite an appealing sight and in this way would become the subject of competitions of the best-planted shelter among householders in the neighbourhood.

School Air-raid Shelter May 2012

Anderson shelters were issued free to all householders who earned less than £250 a year, and those with a higher income were charged £7.

150,000 shelters of this type were distributed from February 1939 to the outbreak of war. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected.

At the end of the war in Europe, households who had received an Anderson shelter were expected to remove their shelters and local authorities began the task of reclaiming the corrugated iron. Householders who wished to keep their Anderson shelter (or more likely the valuable metal) could pay a nominal fee."

Acknowledgement:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu0ad17Yb98 (accessed 23rd April 2012).  If you are in school, remember that access to ‘Youtube’ videos is blocked. The school is not responsible for the content of external sites.