WWII Stretchers: London's Hidden History

0:00On April 6th, Ever noticed those funky kinks in some London fences? Turns out, their repurposed stretchers from World War II, made during the blitz when over 600,000 got produced for emergency rescues. Those stretchers had smart bends at each end to lift the bed off the ground and make carrying injured folks easier, all from sturdy steel and one. Simple design. Folks on Reddig got curious about the odd shapes, and users quickly dropped the history bomb surplus gear from air-ray patrols by wardens who handled. Bombs, gas masks, and family reunions in the dark. After the war, original estate railings got melted down for metal. So in the 1960s, councils turned these stretchers into barriers for fire sputtering, housing spots. You'll spot them today around Brixton, Peckham, Dowich, and Southeast London with locals fighting rust to keep this wartime echo-standing. Strong heck, even Norwich has fences from old runway mats.