Aldwych tube station, closed since 1994, has reopened this month with a recreation of what life was like in a blitz shelter during the major bombing in World War II.
Organisers of the tours have admitted that they will never entirely be able to recreate what it was like to shelter from the relentless Luftwaffe bombings during one of the darkest periods of the Second World War, but using recreations of underground trains, posters and actors they hope to give the public an insight into nightly life for Londoners.
During the first nights of the blitz, sheltering in the underground stations was actually discouraged until the mostly working class residents of Central London insisted. Then an organised system was set-up with the stations open from 6.30pm to 7am to provide a safe retreat. During the height of the Blitz, around 177,000 people sheltered in the various underground stations, although that was only around 4% of Londoners.
The tours are part of a wider series of events marking the 70th anniversary of the Blitz. The London Transport Museum has an event called “Under Attack: London, Coventry and Dresden” and there is an exhibition running at City Hall until Monday.
Further details on the Guardian web site.
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