London Prepares for War: The City Engineer’s Office in World War II
By 1936, the City Engineer’s Office for the City of Westminster, London, England, had been directed by the Home Secretary to identify potential shelters in case of war for all the resident population, as well as for employees in Westminster, shoppers and retail outlets. By 1938, the staff members of the City Engineer’s Office were going from house to house, and business to business on every street and back alley of the city, assessing the area, strength of basements, suitability for shelter, and potential capacity, of each of the underground spaces visited.