Simon Marks, a 37-year-old man, had been living in his house for years without realizing what was hidden beneath his own driveway. It wasn’t until one fateful day that he stumbled upon something incredibly strange.
As he attempted to park his car, Marks found himself stuck on what he thought was a simple flowerbed. To his surprise, the wheels of his car encountered resistance and strange cracking noises emanated from the driveway. “Well, this day couldn’t get any worse,” he mumbled to himself.
Kneeling down to inspect the issue further, Marks discovered that the pavers of his driveway had cracked, and the ground beneath was giving way. It was the sound of the cracking pavers that led to an astounding discovery.
After removing the dirt, Marks uncovered a hidden piece of metal. Completely unaware of what lay beneath his driveway, he attempted to pull it out, but with no success. Determined to solve the mystery, he sought his father’s assistance.
Together, they excavated a large amount of densely-packed mud, eventually revealing an opening. And there it was—a rusty old ladder leading down into darkness. Eager to uncover its secrets, Marks and his father descended into the depths.
“My dad saw it and instantly said it’s an air raid shelter,” Marks exclaimed. “We googled it and found out there are quite a few in this area.”
As it turned out, the shelter they discovered in Marks’ garden was built during World War II. It was a protective structure designed to shield people from bombings during that turbulent period. Marks explained, “The previous owner must have known it was there, and when he built the house and put a garden in, he must have filled it in.”
The wall of the shelter had been bricked up, leaving Marks unsure of what lay beyond. “I’m 90 percent sure we won’t find any more rooms, but we don’t know. They might have bricked up one of the walls when the house was built to make way for the foundations,” he contemplated. “If that’s the case, we’ll just have to leave it.”
Once Marks shared photos of his extraordinary discovery, his story quickly went viral. Now, he and his father plan to restore the shelter, recognizing its significance as an important historical monument. To them, even though that tumultuous period of history is behind us, it should never be forgotten. The shelter provides a small glimpse into the past, reminding us of the resilience of those who lived through those times.
