“I talked to some of my friends and colleagues and they said: ‘You can’t get rid of it it’s a piece of history,’” Johnson says. This is precisely what motivated Liz Johnson, a museum professional who works with the National Trust, to keep her Anderson shelter in Leicester. “The Germans had put up these awful rockets and the whole of that area every house was destroyed – 17 people were killed.” McConnell keeps the shelter, he says, because he believes in preserving history. “The area opposite the houses was completely devastated at the very end of the war,” he says. “I did offer younger members of the family to sleep in there, but it’s very damp.” The shelter in McConnell’s garden survived the war, despite a bomb falling on the house.
McConnell says the shelter is exactly as it was when constructed, save for the ends, which he replaced due to rust.
His shelter is also partially buried and covered with thickets. McConnell bought his Grade II listed house in 1968 from the daughters of the notable British craftsman and sculptor Nathaniel Hitch. Just down the road from Stanley, Robert McConnell, 87, also has an Anderson shelter in his garden.
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