London's Underground at War

Alexander Korda's 1936 film The Shape of Things to Come predicted the nightmare of aerial bombing against London. Even as the storm clouds gathered, the government was woefully slow in protecting its civilian population. Some problems, such as the risk of a catastrophic flooding of the Underground network, were anticipated. But the enduring image of the Blitz is the spontaneous and community driven adoption of the Underground stations as a safe refuge from the raids. As Londoners settled in...