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Battlefields Trust Online Talk: The Shelter of the Tubes: Taking refuge in the London Underground in two World Wars

Monday 12th May 2025

From the first horrors of Zeppelin raids on London in 1915, at times of peril, ordinary Londoners have sought refuge on the platforms of the London Underground. Though fears of a 'shelter mentality' would mean the authorities would ban sheltering in the next world conflict, the action of ordinary Londoners overturned this in a day in September 1940. This extraordinary vignette into life in a capital city under serial assault from the air includes such notables as Churchill, FDR, the Communist Party of Great Britain and British Union of Fascists, the last two a tussle over control of the platforms. This was a genuine political crisis at a moment of maximum peril for the nation against the Germans and their allies in 1940. It is a tale of order finally emerging from chaos on the platforms, a collective will to survive but also awful tragedy as the events at Bethnal Green in March 1943 sadly demonstrate. The striking memorable images of the crowded platforms still help define the capital under bombardment.

Niall Devitt was proudly raised in an Underground railway family, studying for five years history at King’s London. His interests include, all trains, especially steam, QPR FC, The Fall, naval history, German opera, film and TV comedy, Warner Brothers cartoons, Will Hay and importantly, where to find the best doughnut in London and how to make the perfect pot of tea to go with it.

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