OLDSKOOL2
Active member
Stockport’s tunnel air-raid shelters were constructed between 1938 and1939. The Chestergate shelters were a series of tunnels cut into the sandstone. The soft stone meant tunnelling was relatively easy.
The Chestergate tunnels were officially opened in October 1939, with room for 4000 people. At first they were little used but when the Blitz on London and other cities began in the autumn of 1940 the tunnels came into their own. Stockport Council announced at the end of October that the tunnels were to be extended to provide accommodation for 7000 and that bunk beds would be installed.
Stockport people say that the bulk of the space in the tunnels was taken up by Manchester folk and that most Stockport residents were unable to get in. It is certainly true that the Council decided to introduce a ticket system and people wrote applying for tickets, often explaining they had used the shelter regularly since being bombed out of their homes and stating which particular part of the tunnels they went to each night.
The tunnels were 7 feet wide and high and had electric lighting and wooden bench seating. There were toilets, mostly chemical although a few were plumbed into the mains. A warden’s post, a first aid store and a tool store were also provided.
As the threat of bombing receded in 1943, it was decided that the tunnels no longer needed to be open every night. After the end of the War, the tunnels were sealed and remained virtually as they had been.
Visited with host turned out to be an expensive day for me broke my camera £600 for a new one ha ha needed an upgrade anyway thank god for credit anyway heres the pics tried to do something a little bit differant besides beds and red sand stone walls...
The Chestergate tunnels were officially opened in October 1939, with room for 4000 people. At first they were little used but when the Blitz on London and other cities began in the autumn of 1940 the tunnels came into their own. Stockport Council announced at the end of October that the tunnels were to be extended to provide accommodation for 7000 and that bunk beds would be installed.
Stockport people say that the bulk of the space in the tunnels was taken up by Manchester folk and that most Stockport residents were unable to get in. It is certainly true that the Council decided to introduce a ticket system and people wrote applying for tickets, often explaining they had used the shelter regularly since being bombed out of their homes and stating which particular part of the tunnels they went to each night.
The tunnels were 7 feet wide and high and had electric lighting and wooden bench seating. There were toilets, mostly chemical although a few were plumbed into the mains. A warden’s post, a first aid store and a tool store were also provided.
As the threat of bombing receded in 1943, it was decided that the tunnels no longer needed to be open every night. After the end of the War, the tunnels were sealed and remained virtually as they had been.
Visited with host turned out to be an expensive day for me broke my camera £600 for a new one ha ha needed an upgrade anyway thank god for credit anyway heres the pics tried to do something a little bit differant besides beds and red sand stone walls...
