TWENTIETH CENTURY DEFENCE SITES of TYNE and WEAR

Section 3 The Second World War
Two air raid shelters have been
archaeologically recorded to the rear of No.
205 Park Road. They were built of brick with
reinforced concrete roofs. The shelters would
have been able to accommodate about 100
people. Facilities were minimal, but included
Elsan type chemical toilets. Stencils of “MEN”
and “WOMEN” still survived. Alongside the
shelters was a former ARP Post. Built in the
same materials as the shelters, the ARP
Post was different in plan. It was accessed
via a low concrete ramp and unlike the
shelters it had windows (Simon 2005).
66 Wilkinson’s Shelter, North
Shields (HER 7675)
There was a large shelter under Wilkinson’s
lemonade factory. It could hold up to 210
people and was frequently used by families
living in nearby streets. The shelter had three
rooms, one of which was a smoking room,
and each was equipped with bunk beds.
Critically the ceiling was not reinforced and
so at 11.12pm on Saturday May 3 rd 1941,
when a single bomb directly hit the shelter,
105 people were killed, 41 of whom were
children. However, Ellen Lee, the ARP
warden for the shelter bravely rescued 32
people from the explosion, despite having
been badly burnt herself. It was the worst
bombing incident in this part of the country
during World War Two.
www.gatesheadgrid.org/westallswar
67 Newcastle, Victoria Tunnel
(HER 4091)
This tunnel, built in 1839-1842, was originally
designed to allow coal to be carried from the
Spital Tongues colliery to the banks of the
Tyne. Although it fell out of use in the 1860s,
the tunnel was reused in World War Two as
an air raid shelter, whitewashed, fitted out
with blast walls, lighting, benches and bunks.
Seven extra entrances were constructed,
allowing the 9000-person capacity to be filled
quickly in the event of a raid. The whole
construction cost £37,000. The tunnel is still
in good condition, although most of the
57
Blast walls in Victoria Tunnel
Remains of wartime seating
fittings have been removed (sections of
seating survive and visitors can see where
the bunk beds and toilets were located), and
all but one of the entrances have been
bricked up. Some graffiti dating from the
1940s can be seen throughout the tunnel.
Members of the public are able to visit the
tunnel by special arrangement and during
certain restricted periods such as Heritage
Open Days (Ripley and Pears 1994-2006,
Ayris and Linsley 1995, Rowe 1971, Tyne