Didcot Railway Centre - Air-raid Shelter
An almost forgotten piece of wartime history was renovated and reopened to the public at one of Oxfordshire’s top attractions thanks to a grant of £20,000 from the Landfill Communities Fund of Waste Recycling Group Ltd (WRG), distributed by WREN.
The Great Western Society at Didcot Railway Centre was offered the grant to help with the complete refurbishment of one of the two ‘Beehive’ air-raid shelters hidden below the platforms at the site. Having been built at the start of World War II, the shelter has remained open to the public since the site became a visitor attraction but being overgrown on the outside and with little to be seen within the shelter itself, it has not been a key feature of a visit to the museum. However, the renovation recreated the look of the structure during wartime when it was liable to called upon for protection at any time. As well as returning to its former appearance, the shelter also had information boards installed, giving visitors an insight into life at the site during the Second World War and the shelter’s role within this.
Didcot Railway Centre is only two miles from WRG’s landfill site at Sutton Courtenay and the company is very supportive of the Centre’s work and this grant.
Chris Ellis, Waste Recycling Group’s Regional Manager commented: “We are really pleased to have been able to assist the Great Western Society with the restoration of the ‘Beehive’ air-raid shelter at the engine sheds at Didcot, particularly as the Museum is so close to the WRG Sutton Courtenay landfill site. Didcot has played such an important part in the history of railway life, in peace and war, and it is important that this historic wartime structure was restored and re-opened to the public.”