Thousands of miles away on the island of Espiritu Santo in the South Pacific Ocean, these US Marines were photographed enjoying some downtime in April 1944. They can be seen playing badminton on a court marked out next to their Quonset hut.

Inspired by the British Nissen huts, the US forces designed the Quonset hut in 1941. Named after Quonset Point in Rhode Island, USA, where the shelters were first used, they were simpler to build than a Nissen hut, thanks to the lack of internal framework.

Like Nissen huts and Anderson shelters, Quonset huts could be used as above-ground shelters or they could be sunk below ground. In fact, the adaptable structures were used in numerous ways, even after the war, and some remain to this day (but more on that later).

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