Concrete Air Raid Shelters, 1935-1941: A study of the British cement industry’s influence on public policy

This paper assesses the British cement industry’s intervention in just one aspect of the UK’s preparations for war, one that combined commercial self-interest with an impressive contribution to the collective war effort. Founded in 1935 the Cement & Concrete Association was quick to identify air raid protection as a matter of national importance in which its members could have a beneficial interest and, as the Abyssinian Crisis and Spanish Civil War unfolded, undertook a huge publicity campaign combined with concerted efforts to influence public policy. Exploring foreign precedents, the Association turned to developing designs for air raid shelters, and technical training for the authorities charged with their installation. Then in 1939 the cement industry placed the resources of its Association at the Government’s disposal for the duration. In parallel the journal Concrete and Constructional Engineering also took up the advocacy of concrete shelters, published guidance and reported on uptake. By 1940 Britain was better prepared for the Blitz than would have been the case had the task been left to a wavering Government, and these early efforts to harness the cement industry to defence purposes honed its ability to deliver aerodromes, hutted camps and Mulberry Harbours later in the war.