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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Hockley Station: gwrhd732

Anderson Air-raid Shelters being distributed in Birmingham by Great Western Railway cartage services in early 1939

Anderson Air-raid Shelters being distributed in Birmingham by Great Western Railway cartage services in early 1939. The components of these corrugated steel shelters were provided free of charge to householders who lived in vulnerable areas if they had an income of less than £250 per year, or they could be purchased by those on higher incomes for £7 each. Across the UK, one and a half million Anderson Shelters were distributed between February 1939 and the outbreak of war in September 1939, with another two million distributed after the war had started.

The Scammell three-wheeled tractor No C3790 had a haulage capacity of three tons and can be seen here with a demountable trailer painted in the standard road fleet livery of the period. The tractor units were called mechanical horses because they were designed to haul demountable trailers in confined spaces and had an excellent turning circle. In front is a four wheeled trailer with spoked wooden wheels. There are at least eight uniformed staff in the photograph.

Robert Ferris

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