Station Approach WW2 Shadow Factory, Reading Berkshire

Situated under Station Approach or shall i say the Former Vincents Site, This was a Purposely Built as a WW2 Shadow Factory.

The underground space was also said to have been used by Vincents Spitfire Parts where they made aircraft parts then later on shipped them to the underground factory in Henley. The story goes that Reading was one of the chosen production sites after the Vickers Submarine Headquarters in Southampton was bombed in September 1940, later on it was then decided that using one factory was to tempting a target from German Bombers. Therefore this meant Vincents opposite Reading Station, Great Western Motors on Vastern Road and Star Road were allocated for the construction of Spitfire, Wings, Fuselage and engines. After the engines were checked and installed the aircrafts were then shipped of to Cockpole Green near Henley. Its also said that Vickers Armstrong used Reading as dispersed production facility in World War 2 with major sub assemblies in Reading Town Centre this was, Central, Great Western and Vincents Garages.

Random Cash Till left inside the shelter my guess this was thrown out from Vincents when it was demolished.

***UPDATE REDEVELOPMENT HAS STARTED ON THE SITE WHERE THE SHELTER IS MEANING DEMOLITION OF THE FORMER SHADOW FACTORY HAS STARTED***

Improvements to Station Approach, Reading were started before the outbreak of war. This project was featured in September 1939 along with the new Fire Station to illustrate how the life of Reading continued. It was planned to use some of the area underneath the road for air raid shelters.

This photograph was published in the Berkshire Chronicle on 29 September 1939.

The Station Approach Improvement had been in progress since 1937. The outbreak of war had brought difficulties as labour and materials became scarce; there were also price rises that meant the original estimate of £50,000 had to be increased. However in April 1941, the Mayor, Councillor W.E.C McIlroy and Dr A.B. Howitt the M.P. for Reading were able to inaugurate the new road. Contractors on the development were the local firm of Collier & Catley Ltd. Underneath the road, an air raid shelter for 770 people and a cleansing station for gas casualties had been built. The ceremony was followed by a luncheon at Olympia. This structure was removed in 2013 as part of the large-scale redevelopment of Reading Station and the surrounding area. Credit : Reading Museum