Brooklands became the worlds first motor racing ciruit in 1907. Financed by the enthuiast Hugh Locke King.
In 1914 with the start of the first world war the war office took over the site as a military flying school, and the Vickers company began building aircraft.
The manufacturing of aircraft contiunued into World War two and the Vickers company continued with the famous Wellington and other military aircraft such as the Hawker. The local Brooklands college buildings were also used in the research for the infamous 'bouncing bomb'.
Because of the threat of German bombing during the battle of Britain, a huge deep shelter was built to protect the workers at the factories in the event of an air raid. However during September 1940 the Germans did bomb Brooklands, but not everyone got to the shelters in time.
The air raid sirens did not go off to warn of the approaching bombers and the anti aircraft guns did not open up until after the bombs had fallen. 83 people died in the attack and 419 people were injured. The barrage baloons with should have been there... were delivered 2 days after the attack...
After the war Concorde and the 'V' bomber were developed at the site, and in 1987 the site became 'Brooklands museum'. Parts of the original race track are still there as are the anti aircraft gun towers and many original buildings.
The shelter itselfs still survives, but is on private property and not part of the museum.
