Have you ever discovered something unexpected in your own backyard? Well, a 37-year-old man named Simon Marks recently stumbled upon something incredibly strange. Even though he had been living in the same house for quite some time, it wasn’t until recently that he discovered what was hidden beneath his driveway.
One day, as Simon tried to park his car, he ran into trouble. His car’s wheels got stuck, and he heard strange cracking noises coming from the driveway. “Well, this day couldn’t get any worse,” he thought to himself. Curiosity got the best of him, and he kneeled down to inspect the issue further. That’s when he noticed that the pavers of the driveway had cracked, and the ground beneath was giving way. The sound of the cracking pavers led to an astounding discovery.
As he removed the dirt, Simon found a piece of metal underneath. It was a mystery to him what could be hiding under the driveway. He tried to pull out the metal piece but was unable to. The curiosity grew stronger, so Simon called his father for help. Together, they managed to clear away the densely-packed mud, revealing an opening. To their surprise, there was an old rusty ladder leading downwards. Eager to explore, the two men climbed down, unsure of where it would lead them.
“My dad saw it and instantly said it’s an air raid shelter,” Simon said. “We googled it and found there are quite a few in this area.” It turned out that the shelter they discovered in Simon’s garden was built during World War II. It seemed that the previous owner knew about it and filled it in when building the house and adding a garden.
These air raid shelters were meant to protect people from bombing during the war. They were invented by a man named Sir John Anderson. While exploring the shelter, Simon noticed that one of the walls had been bricked up. He speculated that there might not be any more rooms to discover, but there was a chance the wall was bricked up when the house was built to create space for the foundations. If that were the case, they would have to leave it as is.
Simon couldn’t help but share his amazing discovery with the world. He posted photos online, and his story went viral. Inspired by the historical significance of the shelter, Simon and his father plan on restoring it. They believe it should be considered an important historical monument, reminding us not to forget the past and giving us a glimpse of what life was like during those times.
