Stanton Ironworks & The Abandoned WW2 Air Raid Shelters
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
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Can we find and access Stanton Ironworks & The Abandoned WW2 Air Raid Shelters?
During WW2 Stanton Ironworks was a major player in the manufacture and distribution of there own Air Raid Shelters. So much that they constructed and installed a few of there very own on the edge of the vast Stanton Ironworks sites near Ilkeston in Derbyshire.
These abandoned shelters still exist and in this video i set off to find and hopfully explore any that remain and see if any are still accessable? Join me to find out....
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The alcove just inside each door is probably for a chemical toilet and would have had a door or curtain in front of it. That would explain why each alcove had its own vent and is conveniently situated by the door to make empting the toilets easier. The pulley system looks like it might have ceramic insulators for electric lighting.
Brilliant Roy thanks for the information. I imagine those toilet areas could pong quite a bit too
Below is an extract from post war book produced by The Stanton Ironworks Company “Stanton at War 1939-1945” This refers to air raid shelters Stanton produced not the ones in video.
Reinforced concrete proved an ideal material for the construction of air raid shelters, being strong and resistant to shock, with no deterioration with the passing of time.
We became accustomed during war time to seeing shelters of many kinds. Here the segment shelter was manufactured. This was of simple design and of low cost. Any length of shelter could be made up from the pre cast segments.
The segments were 20 inches wide, a pair of them formed an arch 7 feet high, and transverse struts were provided to ensure rigidity. These fitted into longitudinal bearers, which were grooved to receive the foot of each segment. Each pair of segments were bolted together at the apex of the arch and each segment bolted to its neighbour, the joint being sealed with bituminous compound.
The convenient handling of these segments enabled them to be transported to sites, where close access by motor lorry was not possible. Partly buried in the ground and with a suitably screened entrance, this bolted arch shelter afforded safe protection against blast and splinters.
Hello Ant - greetings from Poland.
What a fantastic video. Very exciting to find relics from WW2.
The zig-zag was constructed on purpose to counter the possibility of blast damage. The small concrete walls outside each entrance were put there again to stop blast damage. ,The photogra[phs at the beginning of the film show how esch prefabricated section was offset. From what I saw, I doubt that there were any internal doors as it was deemed unecessary because of the construction of the shelter. The smaller shelters would have had blast proof doors fitted. One at least was still in tact as shown in your film.
Superb old friend. Thanks for making the video. Stay safe. See you again soon
40 years ago I was a supplier to the whole works and remember vividly the operations across the sites including Bonna concrete .It was amazing to go onsite...I'm lucky to remember those days of a fabulous company supplying to the world its goods.I really feel sad about its demise.Thanks for this post !!
An amazing tour of the shelters. Thanks for the video. Your the best Antony! Cheers mate!🏴🙂👍🇺🇸
Cheers Martin thanks for watching 🙂🙂
Rolls Royces main works in Derby ( now sadly mostly demolished) had air raid shelters they had forgotten about untill they were installing a large machine in the late 8s or early 90s. They dug a hole and broke into the underground bunker. Apparently after checking it out the then filled it with concrete. Sad end to the old structure.
Our school at Hatton also had brick WW2 air raid shelters used as games stores into the 80s before they were also demolished.
Cheers for making this video. Really enjoyed it.
Thanks very much Eddy
Another fascinating trip with great footage and historical photos. Many thanks Ant.
Thanks very much for watching John
There's quite a few in Woodhall spa where RAF Woodhall Spa was
Did you not do rouses sand mine/air raid shelter when it was open? Its huge, under the streets of nottingham.
Those pulleys are cable insulators .the tunnels are staggered as to deflect bomb blast out the door ways so it does not travel through entire shelter
Thanks Ant. Apart from the entertainment value your posts always get me thinking. A good use of pipes made by the Company itself. I wonder if they did manufacture and sell these shelters for use during the war. What appear to be ventilation pipes, could they have been to release the pressure of a blast wave in conjunction with the zig zag design?
Might have a trip and see where exactly these are
.near the Sevenoaks pub on the main road?
Yes turn left after the pub as if you are coming from sandiacre... Then they are on your right
@@TrekkingExploration thanks.
Exellwnt well worth watching ,Neil
Cheers Neil thanks very much
Another good video Ant, love the music very dramatic. Might be a good idea to remember where those shelters are especially if that Russian monster attacks us.
My father has a WW2 air raid shelter in the top of his garden - the two rooms in the first shelter you went in would have been for toilets, albeit hole in a bench over a bucket variety
Wow i bet thats really cool. I bet many look untouched on the inside
What an interesting site Ant. I knpw very little about such things but I wonder if the staggered layout was designed to help mitigate the blast from a direct hit. If there was an explosion in one section, would the shape have prevented, at least partially, the blast from filling the whole length of the building?
If the factory was manufacturing concrete products, perhaps this whole installation was used to showcase their shelters to potential customers; with protection for the workforce being an added bonus.
My only other thought: what kind of brain-dead morons does it take to "systematically destroy" a historic location like this? I can, just about, understand a door getting broken, just to allow access for exploration, but trashing the whole place, then daubing gibberish all over it, is just wrong on so many levels. It would be a good site for convicted vandals/graffitti sprayers to carry out community service; get that drain all dug out and the walls cleaned-up.
Shame there wasn't more to see but we'll probably never know what 𝒘𝒂𝒔 there, prior to 1997.😠
the layout is likely more a factor of wanting to limit the passage of any potential shockwaves as a result of a bomb going off directly outside a doorway.
The 90° angles likely act as baffles meaning that the explosive effect of the shockwave is lessened quite quickly upon entering the bunker
Thanks for the information. I absolutly agree. Thanks for watching :)
I think the reason for all the offsets was a form of protection against explosion if it ever got breached by a bomb then only one section would be damaged
I think so too. Save the entire thing collapsing
Proof of Air Raid use required.
Fascinating to see this seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I guess the turns would have been to reduce blast damage like in the WW1 trenches. Great explore.
Yes i agree with the shape / turns. Glad you enjoyed it
As a kid growing up in South London in the early 60’s there were loads of old shelters around that you could access and explore. Sadly H&S intervened and they were either infilled or knocked down. I can remember one where we were chased through the place by the Police. They never caught us - we ran out of a side exit, just like the numerous exits these had, and they missed us. Great video Ant
Thanks very much Roger. I meant there are thousnads all buried / hidden around the UK. I bet there are many more like this one too :)
As children in the 60's, me and my brothers and a few friends would walk or cycle " down the bomb shelters" to play. In later years I took my two children to have a look, that would have been in the late 80's, the smaller shelters were flooded then too. Then in the early 90's I worked at the furnace department which was over the back from this field. Great video Ant which bought back some good memories.
Thank you Ged. I'm glad it returned some happy memories. I'd like to think i can find more places like this :)
If you like air raid shelters and bunkers check out some of the videos on sub exploration channel......some of them are absolutely HUGE....thanks again for another great video 😀 keep up the great work 👍
The walls at the entrances are blast walls to deflect any pressure wave from the entrance. Similarly that is why the shelter twists and turns as blast waves travel in a straight line and are reflected back instead of penetrating the whole shelter at maximum velocity.
Military bunkers and pill boxes are the same.
This has been on my doorstep for years and never knew it was there! Had a walk this morning and found the shelters and photographed a load of the old buildings through Stanton as I think they are on borrowed time.
i live in ilkeston, not far away from this, have you seen the random concrete block in the middle of a field between stanton ironworks and quarry hill industrial estate? i used to explore down there when i was younger, and the concrete block is strange, its got slots in its faces, they look like door ways, and its got steps up it on the corners from what i can remember, but the steps dont go all the way up to the top if i remember correctly
Very interesting Ant, i never knew these were there,,a very differant explore,🤔
These are 100% still assessable. Easier in summer tho
Shelters similar to these at Filton Airfield. Can see the shape of them as you drive past on the A38. The airshafts are clearly visible.
I think i'd like to find more places like this. Thanks for watching :)
A very good explore Ant 😎🚂🚂🚂
Thanks for watching 🙂🙂
Great video Ant. I was wondering how many were wondering if it should be made ready again...just in case. The quality of the concrete must be pretty good to last this long.
Thanks Bob. It does appear in good condition and little mess or graffiti too
Went down there a lot as a kid,we use to walk over the back fields from stapleford.
Some good memories of it.
I seem to remember other shelters too up near the pub thats down the road (or was) near the otherside of the golf course.
I wouldnt be surprised if there was a few knocking around in this area. I don't feel this site i looked at would have been anywhere near large enough for all the staff on such a huge site.
Yes there was about 10 in a line in the late 50s early 60s
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22:25
Have you been to the cave on tother side of the road beside the golf course?
Ooooh no.... Definitely worth a visit?
@@TrekkingExploration I was only informed of it tother day by my father who plays golf on the course. I'm going to check it out this week along with another cave at Bramcote Hills.
@@Adventures_with_Sog I went to school at Bramcote Hills
@@TrekkingExploration
Did you know there's actually an ancient hill carving there somewhere? A brother and sister who investigate ancient Britain wrote about it in one of their books. I'm trying to remember their names.
@@Adventures_with_Sog I need to do some investigating around this area 🙂
Nice one. Great find that photo during construction.
Please put up the Ironworks visit, that'll be interesting. Cheers.
Thanks Pete. I was surprised i found those images. The Ironworks visit should appear soon....
Absolutely loved that. Gosh the scenery was beautiful. Good for you I didn’t tag along as I would have been whimpering very loudly. Hate spiders. Give me snakes any day. Really loved going thru those tunnels that was so excellent. Thanks so much for taking me along. Please stay safe and take care
We have them near the old Bedford USAF base north of Bedford on the Keysoe Rd. Still intact, but worth avoiding if you suffer from arachnophobia. 😳
I'm ok with spiders if i can see them and know where they are :)
What a brilliant explore. Great fun. Great part of history you have documented for future references. Well done Ant. Another first.
Thanks Shirley. Very much appreciated 🙂
enjoyed the trip, great adventure , thanks for sharing, take care catch you
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching
@@TrekkingExploration thank you and welcome to thecaptainshow
Ant, back when I was a kid there was a weekly TV show called "If These Walls Could Talk." Those shelters would make for a good episode. Thanks for your time and work....
Thanks so very much :)
gee...interesting vid, hope to see more ... yeah i got tunnel vision...
Thanks very much for watching Jim
Fantastic. All the years I’ve been going up and down 7 Oaks Road and never knew that these were there….😄👍
Thanks very much for watching 🙂
The alcoves you refer to as storage spots was where people did their duty into buckets made for the time, hence the ventilation tube.
I imagine it could get rather stinky down there at times
That was amazing I've never seen anything like it really interesting and nice to see it intact thanks for finding it and sharing with us xx
Glad you enjoyed it. Its been on my to do list for a couple of years :)
Well I never knew they existed thanks for showing them us 👍
Thanks very much for watching Andrew 🙂
Many thanks. Was there a rail connection to the works?
Hi Roy yes there is. I did a disused railway walk in late 2019. It's been reactivated now for a new development on part of the site
That was different Ant, enjoyed that, right up my street. The little areas with the smaller vent pipe would have had an Elsan toilet in. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it. I'm a live in expert on Elsans these days too lol
@@TrekkingExploration I bet you are but they're not quite the same as the old "bucket and chuck it" version they would have had!!!😨😨😨
@@bobingram6912 I bet it could bloody stink down there