THIS APPARENTLY mundane photograph illustrates a tense period in the history of Keighley, as elsewhere.
It was taken at the start of the Second World War in 1939, and shows neighbours in Westburn Avenue, off Oakworth Road, preparing the foundations for a galvanised corrugated steel air raid shelter.
The standard shelter designed for six people, this came in 24 separate pieces, plus 26 nuts and bolts, 52 curved diamond washers and a spanner-tommy bar. It was erected over a hole and protected by the displaced earth.
Mercifully, in the event Keighley was not bombed, but its residents didn’t know that in 1939.
Guard House can be seen in the background on the opposite hillside, and nearer, visible over the wall, St John’s Hospital in Fell Lane. On the left is a new asbestos garage.
The photograph has been supplied by Mr Stuart Auty, of Brontë Caravan Park#, whose late father stands on the right.
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