North Queensferry School – WWII

1940 The Bomb Shelter Again!

 
The subject of a bomb shelter for North Queensferry was raised again in Parliament on 1st February 1940

Mr. Gallacher asked the Home Secretary which local authorities have submitted schemes for heavily protected air-raid shelters; which ones have actually carried out such schemes, and how many have been refused sanction so to do; and in what places have heavily protected shelters, as described in handbook 5a, been provided?

Sir J. Anderson

As I recently informed the hon. Member, local authorities have put forward a number of proposals for more strongly protected shelters. These proposals have generally been dependent upon the use of existing natural features capable of ready adaptation and, in pursuance of the Government’s policy, approval has not been given except when that was the case.

Mr. Gallacher

In the case of North Queensferry, so well-known to the Minister, in view of the fact that public servants there are right opposite the target, the Forth Bridge, will he not give encouragement to the provision of bombproof shelters along the cliff side?

Sir J. Anderson

No, Sir, I do not think that would be the best method of dealing with that particular case.

And again on 8th February 1940

Mr. R. Gibson asked the Home Secretary how many proposals for heavily protected air-raid shelters he has received from Scottish local authorities; how many of these were for deep shelters; how the proposals have been dealt with; and what was the regional distribution of the local authorities concerned?

Sir J. Anderson

I am advised that there have been proposals from five local authorities, namely Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Greenock, and North Queensferry. All involved the utilisation of some existing natural feature. In the case of Glasgow and of Greenock, the projects have not taken more than a very tentative form, while in the case of Edinburgh, certain objections were conveyed to, and apparently accepted by, the City authorities. The North Queensferry proposals, were rejected on the ground that the shelters would have been too remote to be reasonably accessible to those for whose protection they were designed. The Dundee proposal was approved by my Department, but I understand that other considerations have led the local authority not to pursue the matter further.