This intriguing picture shows the entrance to a First World War air raid shelter which was exposed in 2011 when a new supermarket at Chatham Street, Ramsgate was being constructed.

Bombing raids from Zeppelins and cross channel shelling had affected Thanet, but it wasn’t until 1917 that the Island was targeted by German Gotha bombers. Many of the air raid shelters on the Isle were dug into the chalk bedrock at this time.

The Chatham Street shelter was surveyed by Rod LeGear, assisted by other members of Kent Underground Research Group in January 2012. The survey, shown below, revealed that the tunnel included benches cut into the chalk and had been lit by simple candles some still remaining as stubs in niches in the wall.

An Ice factory occupied the site from around 1907 and this shelter was probably dug as a refuge for its employees in 1917 in response to the Gotha bombing raids.

Further Reading:

LeGear, R. 2012. Underground Thanet. Trust for Thanet Archaeology: Birchington.