Dad spends £20k on WW2 bunker after wife says he 'deserves man cave'
A dad has spent £20,000 converting his garage into a WW2-themed bunker to shut out the modern world and reminisce about 'happier times'.
David Massey, 41, built the Winston Churchill bunker complete with 600-kilo submarine doors after his wife Magdalena said he 'deserved his own man cave'.
While at first it was meant to be a place of relaxation where he could kick back with a whisky, Dave has also put plans in place to use the shelter in the event of a nuclear attack amid the Russia-Ukraine war, having it equipped with protective military suits and enough food and water to last a month.
The dad-of-three, who lives with his wife and two daughters Sofia, nine, and Isabella, six, in Preston, has gone to extreme lengths to recreate a 1940s atmosphere, which is based on a WW2-themed pizza joint he visited as a child.
A steel frame was made by an engineer to support the submarine doors which weigh 600 kilos each (PA Real Life)
Dave meant for the bunker to be a place where he can relax with a glass whisky (PA Real Life)Wartime artwork lines the reinforced walls, playlists featuring artists from the era such as Dame Vera Lynn and Glenn Miller play out from his record player, and he has a collection of whisky at his very own bar.
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The 180 square-foot space also has its own toilet, shower and 55-inch TV - and Dave says it is worth every penny.
"My wife said why don't you turn the garage into a man cave, you deserve it," said Dave, who owns ADS Automotive and Eldon Street Garage in Preston.
"We have a relatively small house and I live with three girls, so, you know, I don't have a lot of man space really.
"So I was like: 'Wicked.'"
As a massive Star Wars fan, Dave first thought about making the bunker themed on the hit film franchise but decided it had already been done too many times before.
Instead, he took inspiration from a WW2-themed pizza joint, which his parents took him to as a young boy.
“When I was a lad, there was a pizza place in Preston called Winston's where my mum and dad used to take me if I did well at school," he reflected.
"It was fully immersive, so you would go in and they had bunkers in the basement, there were sandbags around the door, Vera Lynn was playing on the wireless, all the waitresses were dressed in 1930s gear, they had all the artwork up from the Imperial War Museum, they had church pews and candlelight – it was very much made to feel like underground London during the Blitz.
"They did it well and not just that, they had the best pizzas, just on a different level, I just loved it."
His first item for the man cave was a pair of submarine doors, which he tracked down on Google.
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He came across a marine salvage company in Exeter called Trinity Marine, which had a pair of Japanese U-boat submarine doors for sale.
Dave said: "I thought, 'I’ll be having them' - and they were not cheap."
The 180 square-foot space also has its own toilet, shower and 55-inch TV - and Dave says it is worth every penny. (PA Real Life)The dad paid a whopping £3,000 for each door, which weigh 600 kilos. They then had to be welded onto a specially designed steel frame concreted three feet into the ground.
"They lock and seal perfectly like a submarine," he added.
The bunker, which took around 18 months to complete and cost around £20,000 for everything, was completed on Dave's birthday in September last year.
He re-ordered all of the posters from the imperial war museum and had a custom-made Chesterfield sofa bed manufactured by Old Boot Sofas in Fulham.
The war room also boasts an antique writing desk and drinks globe with a collection of whiskies and other beverages.
"When you come into the room, you have to swivel the handle and pull open the door, and they're 600 kilos the doors – it's like going into a vault.
"I only play traditional music too, so I've got World War Two blitz-themed music playlists with all the classics from that era.
"So when you go in there, pour yourself a glass of whisky, light a cigar and listen to the music, you're just back in time – it's wicked."
While the bunker's primary purpose is to serve as a place for relaxation, it can also be used in the more traditional sense.
Dave has purchased chemical NBC suites for himself and his family, which are designed to protect against radioactive, biological or chemical substances.
"It's not the main reason why I built it, but Putin was kicking off at the time, so I thought, stuff him," Dave said.
"I don't trust the bu***r, so I've got some armoured boxes in my garage with NBC suits, food, water, all sorts of stuff."
Lorraine Rathbone, former owner of Winston's pizza restaurant in Preston which inspired Dave's WW2 theme (PA Real Life)Asked how long he could survive in the bunker for, Dave said: "Well I have about 15 bottles of whisky.
"Jokes aside, I've got a supply for a month for four people.
"But it all depends because I've got to get in there and close the door before the temperature reaches 10,000 degrees outside."
Dave managed to track down the former owner of Winston’s Pizza, Lorraine Rathbone and invited her round for tea so she could see the bunker with her own eyes.
"She came round and sat down in the chair and started weeping," he said.
"I asked her if she was alright and she said ‘I can’t believe it, you’ve completely recreated Winston’s.
"She brought me five of the original pieces of artwork from Winston’s Pizza."
The man cave has been "infiltrated" several times by his wife and daughters but Dave likes to lock himself away and reminisce about a "really happy time in his life".
"I'm a very social guy and I love people but I have to be honest with you, I don't like the way the world is going, with the erosion of moral values.
"So I wanted somewhere where I could go back in time to when things were different.
"I couldn't think of a better time than the 1930s, 1940s, when we were the best of British."
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