A wartime surprise in pair's backyard

Jul 23 2008 Staines News

Two Staines women made an unusual discovery while digging in their back garden. RUSSELL BUTT learns they were delighted with their little piece of history

Bulbs, stones, bricks, broken flowerpots and old coins all turn up once in a while when turning over the soil in the garden. But it's not every day that your spade comes into contact with a genuine Second World War artefact.

Two Staines women did just that when, two inches below the soil of their garden, they found the six-foot by four-foot remains of a more than 60-y ear -old Anderson air raid shelter.

Karen Finch and Lorraine Knight moved to their home in London Road from Ashford two years ago.

They had decided to landscape their garden and begun digging over the soil about three weeks ago, when Lorraine came across a surprise.

Karen said: "We were going to start digging to landscape the garden. In one patch there was a lot of water lying on the top and Lorraine went to dig there and she hit something.

"We went to dig around it, thinking it was a fireplace surround, but then it just got bigger and bigger and we did not know what we had got."

The women had suspicions as to what they had uncovered, but it was only after Lorraine's son had searched the internet that he came across a picture that fitted what they had found - the base of an Anderson air raid shelter from the Second World War.

Lorraine said: "I feel quite elated to have found it. "It's surprising nobody found it before as it was literally two inches below the surface."

The gardening plans have been shelved while the two women decide what course of action to take next.

Both are reluctant to destroy their small piece of history and said they would prefer a local museum or historical society to take it off their hands.

Karen added: "We are open to suggestions about what to do with it, but ideally we would like it to be preserved.

"It would be a shame to destroy it, it's amazing to think that it has been there for around 60 years without being found. We would prefer someone to take it out real-ly, and put it on show."

Unfortunately for the women, it would appear the find is not as valuable though as they had hoped.

John Delaney, of the exhibitions and firearms department of the Imperial War Museum, London, said: "They're not that rare to be honest. The museum here has two complete examples and I know of three or four others that are already on display in other museums.

"I don't think there's any problem with it digging it up and throwing it away."

However, it's unlikely this option is one the women will take and the idea of a novel flower bed memorial is already being considered.

"We had been trying to find out all about the local area, history-wise," added Karen, "and now we have it in our back garden."