I was one of the 3,000 lucky people to get a ticket to the re-opening of Aldwych London Underground station and experience a re-creative of the Blitz. Aldwych was one of the 50 Tube stations used as a shelter when bombs were dropped 70 years ago. Carol and I met up on the Strand just before five this evening and before being allowed down to the platform level, the group were given the Health & Safety talk, which included a (exciting yet highly unlikely) possible evacuation down the tunnels and out Holborn station in the case of an emergency.

At the bottom of the steps on the platform level, we were greeted and entertained by various characters from the 1940's, all dressed appropriately. Sitting alongside the platform was a 1938 Tube train, decked out with many wartime adverts, apparently in the exact same state as it was back during the war.

After walking around the platform and the tube carriages for a while, an air rain siren began to sound and lights down the tube tunnel started flashing, followed by the sound of bombs dropping overhead. The whole experience was quite surreal, and rather chilling actually, and even though the reenactment was really well done, it still shadowed what it must have actually been like in the days of the war.

After the 'bombing' had ceased and the air raid siren was silenced, they allowed us time to walk around a bit more before all making up way up the stairs to the ground level, unfortunately not via the tunnels to Holborn. Very glad I managed to get to be part of it all, no idea when again they'll next open up the station to the general public.