So that’s what it was!
Many thanks to Vaughan Williams for sending me a photo along with an explanation of why there’s a grassed mound in a garden in Firshaw Road, Meols.
I’ve often walked past the front garden of a house in Firshaw Road and wondered why there’s a tiny, lawned hill there surrounded by hedges (pictured above). It turns out it was an air raid shelter!
Vaughan captured the demolition of it earlier this week as seen in the photo below:
Vaughan believes it was built for the Venezuelan Consulate which was based there during the war.
I’ve had a quick search but haven’t found anything to confirm this. I did find this article on the BBC about there being guns sited on the promenade during WW2 though.
This could just be coincidence, but an old property listing for a house in nearby Garden Hey Road, lists an air raid shelter in the garden.
Does anybody know anything about the Venezuelan Consulate at Meols? Please leave a comment if you do!
My Mum, Iris Howe, worked in Meols Post Office from the mid 1960s through to the early 1980s, and I remember her telling us that a Venezuelan family lived (if I remember correctly) somewhere on the Prom. They would frequently visit the Post Office to send parcels and letters back to Venezuela. This would probably have been in the late 60s, we of course had never heard of Venezuela, and had to look it up in the atlas!