tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77660990398148947422024-03-19T08:33:06.430+00:00BlitzwalkersA look at wartime Britain, usually with a London slant. Mostly the Second World War but sometimes we look at other conflicts - notably the First World War and sometimes the Cold War too. Zeppelins, The Blitz, Battle of Britain, V Weapons. Local heroes and villains, the equipment, the offbeat. Book reviews and sometimes films as well. You name it, we've covered it - come and join the party!Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.comBlogger192125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-68678863111719853502024-02-15T13:50:00.003+00:002024-02-15T14:11:36.574+00:00From Doodlebugs to Devon - by Sarah Shaw<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8qSro6_Tq22FcE6TF3cP3BXziq_86IlFSBCHIcPOU4_3jMEBOPAAqgN7N8aDOl5KHkDmgz38XSvRZxNk_c8UhkKpZZ2DtNQOFG4zZ4t5b258ysEf2x9nyjS_TEje6B8rC5mC6e3OPOgih-xmI7b8vQd5C_zr45_OpTSPMWeFC4_1qFv8qWFiWPPdzHuc/s3528/Photo%2015-02-2024,%2011%2059%2044.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3528" data-original-width="2270" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8qSro6_Tq22FcE6TF3cP3BXziq_86IlFSBCHIcPOU4_3jMEBOPAAqgN7N8aDOl5KHkDmgz38XSvRZxNk_c8UhkKpZZ2DtNQOFG4zZ4t5b258ysEf2x9nyjS_TEje6B8rC5mC6e3OPOgih-xmI7b8vQd5C_zr45_OpTSPMWeFC4_1qFv8qWFiWPPdzHuc/w258-h400/Photo%2015-02-2024,%2011%2059%2044.jpg" width="258" /></span></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">From Doodlebugs to Devon cover (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Sarah Shaw's latest book <i>"From Doodlebugs to Devon" </i>is subtitled <i>"one war...one woman...one year..." </i>and is very much a personal journey for the author, for the "one woman" mentioned in the title happens to be Sarah's mother, Yvonne Shaw, whose letters to her husband form the basis of this book.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have to declare an interest in this book now because during the various Covid lockdowns and the periods in between, I assisted Sarah in a very small way by checking and verifying the various BC4 Bomb Census reports for some of the V-1 and V-2 incidents that are referred to in this book, both in Yvonne's letters and in the narrative that the author skilfully weaves around them, which help provide context to the letters and help the reader get a real idea of what was happening in the wider world of the British "Home Front" at this later stage of the Second World War.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yvonne Shaw and her four-year-old son, Oliver begin the period covered in this book living in Foxley Lodge, a Victorian detached house in the outer London suburb of Purley, to the south of Croydon and at that time, still in the county of Surrey. Yvonne is almost 33 and her husband Clem, is an army officer stationed in Scotland. His work is something of a mystery to Yvonne but we soon learn in the author's narrative that he is actually working with the Home Guard in Scotland.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first letter to him we read is dated 1st April 1944 and apart from mention of an air raid late in the preceding month (one of the last such raids by manned Luftwaffe aircraft), most of these early letters cover the relatively mundane life of a young wife with a husband serving in the armed forces, somewhat struggling to make ends meet and finding life in wartime London fairly boring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is when the Doodlebugs mentioned in the book title start falling that the tone of the letters suddenly change. As most people know, <i>"Doodlebug"</i> was one of the nicknames given by the British people to the V-1, the first of Hitler's so-called "Vengeance Weapons", a pilotless aircraft as they were somewhat quaintly called initially by the British Civil Defence service, before they were given the name of "FLY" for "Flying Bomb", which is essentially what these weapons were - an early form of cruise missile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Croydon was to become the most "Doodlebugged" borough in London. This was not due to any particular singling out of the citizens of the south London suburbs but more due to subterfuge on the part of the British, who had double agents on the ground whom the Germans were convinced were providing them with accurate information regarding the fall of shot of the V-1s. Whereas in fact most of them were initially falling as intended on the central area of the capital, false information fed to them by one agent in particular, Juan Pujol Garcia, better known as Agent Garbo, persuaded the Germans to adjust the targeting of these devices downwards, so that they would fall on what in 1944, were the much more lightly populated areas of outer suburban London, rather than the densely packed inner London.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a terrible decision by the authorities to have to take, for whichever option ensured that people would die. In the end, it was just about numbers and sadly, Croydon became the recipient of 141 these weapons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yvonne's growing anxiety is reflected in her letters to Clem and she reports some very close calls nearby which although they do not directly impact the family home, happen to be far too close for comfort and it is clear from the tone of her writing that the mental strain is growing, as well as concern for the well-being of young Oliver.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a result of this and a phone call from her uncle in Exmouth, Yvonne and Oliver decamp to Devon, at first staying with her Uncle Dudley and family but later moving to Budleigh Salterton and enduring something of an odyssey of moves and re-locations to various parts of that delightful seaside town, although doubtless in 1944, it was somewhat different to the Budleigh Salterton that I am quite familiar with today.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The letters home, which sometimes cover seemingly quite mundane matters, actually provide an interesting window of this important period of British history and the author's accompanying commentary and explanations, provide a fascinating context.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The book ends with a chapter which tells us about the family from 1945-1973, which sadly doesn't provide us with a particularly happy ending to the story - but there will be no further spoilers from this reviewer!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sarah Shaw has produced a delightful social history of wartime Britain which I would thoroughly recommend to you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Available from <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doodlebugs-Devon-Sarah-Shaw/dp/B0C8Y4RMHV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1R0Z13NXF0QA6&keywords=From+Doodlebugs+to+Devon&qid=1708003493&sprefix=from+doodlebugs+to+devon%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-1" target="_blank">www.amazon.co.uk</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RRP: £11.99</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">softback, pp 227 (also available as an e-book)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-64104383439723275162024-01-22T17:17:00.005+00:002024-01-22T17:20:38.143+00:00Book Review - "Unbroken Glory" The Great War Story of Anson Battalion, The Royal Naval Division by Dr Robert Wynn Jones<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cpeuipAFS_LPFgXVzRpDQPQYrzkCikeB40tlnC8Zgio0WVeCdk-k6ynp6_WzN769qhM6KhNr5BcVqQaFZeBloPdxbu8MdjUicSR30bVE5YLDlLkEDPqy66cD7QLQ48Nm8cznkbg7xUTitYUWQxycJv0AYzJQ2ZYJUoQL2fPiaHF35QB_muMM9rKgPo59/s2923/Photo%2022-01-2024,%2015%2033%2001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2923" data-original-width="1843" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cpeuipAFS_LPFgXVzRpDQPQYrzkCikeB40tlnC8Zgio0WVeCdk-k6ynp6_WzN769qhM6KhNr5BcVqQaFZeBloPdxbu8MdjUicSR30bVE5YLDlLkEDPqy66cD7QLQ48Nm8cznkbg7xUTitYUWQxycJv0AYzJQ2ZYJUoQL2fPiaHF35QB_muMM9rKgPo59/w253-h400/Photo%2022-01-2024,%2015%2033%2001.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is Dr
Jones’ second foray into the world of military history and as with his first
book, “Soldiers and Sportsmen All”, the subject matter has a definite family
connection for the author, as his paternal grandfather, Able Seaman Francis
Wynn Jones served in both the Nelson and Anson Battalions of the Royal Naval
Division, spending the final eight months of the war in captivity, having been
captured on 23 March 1918, during the German Spring Offensive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author
begins by explaining the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">raison d’etre </i>of
the Royal Naval Division and telling us something of his paternal grandfather, who
in normal life was a Post Office clerk in London, although he hailed from
Llandrillo in North Wales.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The book
charts the formation of the Royal Naval Division, which immediately became
known to some as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Churchill’s Private
Army”</i> or perhaps worse as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Tuppeny
untrained rabble”</i> and explains the makeup of the various battalions, all
named after Royal Navy heroes of the past and how, perhaps confusingly to those
on the outside, the men all retained their naval ranks, ensuring that Able
Seaman, Leading Stokers and Chief Petty Officers could be found far away from
their usual maritime locations!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We hear
about the training process for war, something that is vividly illustrated by
letters written by Rupert Brooke, himself a member of Anson and later Hood
Battalions and includes a hilarious description of the latter Battalion’s
Christmas celebrations in 1914 at Blandford Camp.</span></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A wider
description of the war on the Western Front follows, with interesting
comparisons of the arms, equipment and organisation of the combatant nations
involved, as well as a good description of how life on the Western Front would
have been for the typical British soldier in the dugouts and trenches along the
front line – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“either frightened to death
or bored to tears”</i> – as one contemporary account succinctly put it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The bulk of
the remainder of the book is taken up with descriptions of the various actions
that the Division were involved with starting with the ultimately unsuccessful
attempt to defend Antwerp, followed by the Gallipoli and Salonika Campaigns,
before we return to the various campaigns on the Western Front that occupied
the Division for the remainder of the war, culminating in the German Spring
Offensive of 1918 and the Allied “Hundred Days” Offensive that resulted in the
ultimate German collapse. The author vividly describes not only the Anson
Battalion’s involvement but also the battles in the wider context of the war
and has drawn not only from War Diaries but also from contemporary publications
and letters from those involved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author
has visited many of the battlefields himself and as any of us who have trodden
the ground can testify, has found it often to be a profoundly moving
experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The book
concludes with an extensive and comprehensive series of maps, photographs and
biographical sketches of men from the Anson Battalion, as well as a chapter
covering the life of the author’s paternal grandfather (or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Taid) </i>Francis Wynn Jones. Without wishing to give away too many “spoilers”,
we last heard of Wynn, as he was universally known, ending the war in captivity
but before this was confirmed, he had in fact been posted as “missing” on the Flesquieres-Havrincourt
Salient on 23 March 1918 and it was not until over a month later on 25 April,
that word was received that he was still alive and was being held in captivity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author’s
description of his grandfather as an elderly man, whom he regularly met during his
childhood in the late 1960s, is heart-warming and ends this book on a suitably
optimistic note.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As with this author's previous military history volume, this is a well-research and fascinating read which I have no
hesitation in recommending to you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Available
from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/">www.amazon.co.uk</a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">RRP £9.99<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">softback,
pp 314</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-7313034680309915392023-11-15T16:06:00.001+00:002023-11-15T16:06:28.785+00:00In Memoriam: Neil Bright 1958 - 2023<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEYWzyNZ0xfnjsQN3-QzdRrhzyS4HsS72b_cu918xYAHs090AzYpXBx4S_fTcaBdrnt_PW54Nr1IGkrHVVdc1Ig3800Ad4boZvQplYdtuGEymTdkpSou-ZLZKfd2r1ywGSw9im3E-ZcmBm7mDQk-iYQf6lHR6fOacPofhBGbaw4RSlUy_Oql6n_-rdHfU/s1558/Neil%20Bright%20guiding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1558" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEYWzyNZ0xfnjsQN3-QzdRrhzyS4HsS72b_cu918xYAHs090AzYpXBx4S_fTcaBdrnt_PW54Nr1IGkrHVVdc1Ig3800Ad4boZvQplYdtuGEymTdkpSou-ZLZKfd2r1ywGSw9im3E-ZcmBm7mDQk-iYQf6lHR6fOacPofhBGbaw4RSlUy_Oql6n_-rdHfU/w400-h306/Neil%20Bright%20guiding.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Neil Bright guiding in Westminster during 2010 (author's image)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Last week, I received the sad news that Neil Bright had passed away following a short illness. Neil was one of the co-founders of Blitzwalkers in 2010 and although he and I had gone our separate ways in recent years, the news of his passing came as something of a shock. In recent times, Neil had stepped away from guiding walks in favour of writing but most recently had been a volunteer guide for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and could be found most Saturday mornings at the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My condolences go to Neil's widow Tracey, as well as to his family and friends at this sad time. </div><p></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-38854431663140487152023-10-31T14:06:00.007+00:002023-11-15T14:21:26.307+00:00Book Review: Streatham's 41<p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoNkahwQ7aFrGa8VqgnF6SPIqDarWke4ruaSmH9dpk2IvBgyafd646rz104KtjmjaMgiwQnaF4lznj693O4KkagXbR5xznCJIMjgS9HIfEY7AeUMrEhyexVFEK_WD-rPSDaZcrCfjhVt8flXFVv_nhkIX-HDoWXCoRTrPikH7-rdlJdfb_LJ-P80uESDZ5" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3623" data-original-width="2564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoNkahwQ7aFrGa8VqgnF6SPIqDarWke4ruaSmH9dpk2IvBgyafd646rz104KtjmjaMgiwQnaF4lznj693O4KkagXbR5xznCJIMjgS9HIfEY7AeUMrEhyexVFEK_WD-rPSDaZcrCfjhVt8flXFVv_nhkIX-HDoWXCoRTrPikH7-rdlJdfb_LJ-P80uESDZ5=w227-h320" width="227" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cover of <b>Streatham's 41</b> (author's image)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">In mid-June 1944, Londoners could
perhaps have been forgiven for thinking that the days of attacks on them from
the air were a thing of the past but on 13 June, a new threat to their safety
appeared in the form of the V-1, the first of Hitler’s <i>Vergeltungswaffen </i>or “Vengeance Weapons”. In excess of 2,400 of
these early cruise missiles were to fall upon London in a campaign that was to
last until early September 1944, in which the various neighbourhoods of south
and southeast London bore the brunt,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The original edition of this account
was written by Kenneth Bryant, Senior District Air Raid Warden of the Metropolitan
Borough of Wandsworth and appeared in 1946 as a basic record of the forty-one
flying bombs that fell upon the south London suburb of Streatham. In 2019 an
updated and expanded edition was produced by the Streatham Society to mark the
75th anniversary of the campaign and which has recently been re-issued once
again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This attractive A4 softback booklet
provides a detailed analysis of each of “Streatham’s 41” flying bombs, each one
accompanied by a map, as well as personal accounts from those affected by each
incident and where available, contemporary photographs of the aftermath of each
bomb.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In addition, there are useful and
informative chapters on the organisation of the ARP (Air Raid Precautions),
later the Civil Defence Service in general and in particular within the Borough
of Wandsworth. There is also a brief history and timeline of the V-1 offensive
and the counter-measures put in place, as well as an interesting chapter
covering the human cost of the campaign and financial cost of rebuilding in Streatham,
most notably the “pre-fabs” that sprung up across London as a temporary
solution to re-housing those who had been rendered homeless.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is also a chapter on the design
of the V-1, which leads to my only minor gripe with the book, in so far that the
authors describe the propulsion system as a ram jet, whereas in fact the V-1s
were propelled by a pulse jet system, which gave rise to the peculiar rasping
sound made by the engine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Overall though, this is an excellent
local history publication which should be of interest to Home Front historians
as well as those with a love of our capital city’s history.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i>Streatham's 41: The V-1 Flying Bomb Offensive as experienced in Streatham</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i>Author: Kenneth Bryant (updated edition prepared by John W Brown)</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Published
by The Streatham Society (www.streathamsociety.org.uk)<o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i>RRP £11.00<o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i>Softback,
pp 90</i></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-8254309241487883442023-06-20T17:26:00.000+01:002023-06-20T17:26:55.135+01:00Old Palace School - the largest Fire Service tragedy on British soil<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1Itr9_3HCEs8CTyv86pgzK0bdSsGdBqVHwFGklcaZru7ieegSbzEsuq8fQLhsajFodWAJdsBCVOWM1Rs2d40PKNYzONxGaARYBHmTSyMxKGnKb6yATBe0uNRyRfiOEzJ--9eoirIq1ppsoNWE0uQIj8jf2N12gL4jtWy_ONqo5nR6p04uEOcZgnbhDMh/s3793/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2003%2013.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3793" data-original-width="2621" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1Itr9_3HCEs8CTyv86pgzK0bdSsGdBqVHwFGklcaZru7ieegSbzEsuq8fQLhsajFodWAJdsBCVOWM1Rs2d40PKNYzONxGaARYBHmTSyMxKGnKb6yATBe0uNRyRfiOEzJ--9eoirIq1ppsoNWE0uQIj8jf2N12gL4jtWy_ONqo5nR6p04uEOcZgnbhDMh/w276-h400/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2003%2013.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The order of service for the ceremony (author's photograph)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Towards the end of last month, I was honoured to be invited to the dedication and unveiling of the latest commemorative plaque placed by the charity Firemen Remembered, at the Old Palace Primary School in Bow, in London's East End.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In many ways, this represents a full circle for the charity as the first commemorative plaque ever placed by the charity was at Old Palace School in 1997. Whilst this plaque is still in situ, it is no longer visible to the public and although the names were known at the time, they were not listed on original blue plaque and so it was right that the story was brought up to date.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GHeq2ATKgjRPFamTHXt3VHOkTXdD91F1NeXs2yQVBnFsoPPsRg6wJ8U46Te1KWHaz8KJu4GFvGnBkrQn8CxLTegsq2mNajXmV1nSCfGUO0sXNhMRzhAMSHnSzgH_9EeDWtmNj-3tZxkzCi5stftDm8yGEEvA5dlmBgfe0gAVChoygJvupnxbIqR0jTiW/s2735/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2010%2041%2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2735" data-original-width="2663" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GHeq2ATKgjRPFamTHXt3VHOkTXdD91F1NeXs2yQVBnFsoPPsRg6wJ8U46Te1KWHaz8KJu4GFvGnBkrQn8CxLTegsq2mNajXmV1nSCfGUO0sXNhMRzhAMSHnSzgH_9EeDWtmNj-3tZxkzCi5stftDm8yGEEvA5dlmBgfe0gAVChoygJvupnxbIqR0jTiW/s320/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2010%2041%2010.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The original plaque, now obscured from public view (author's photograph)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In common with many London schools, whose pupils had largely been evacuated out of the capital, Old Palace School, in St Leonard's Road was taken over by the Auxiliary Fire Service to serve as Sub-Station 24U, under the control of the erstwhile Brunswick Road Fire Station. It had served throughout the Blitz, including the dark days of <i>"Black Saturday" </i>on 7 September 1940, the great fire raid of 29 December 1940 and countless other raids affecting the East End of London. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6h0Iv_lLYhpogZ2GywR4sh1URE1sKM0pJcAZMcFL1oIn8Ldvlj_8JS0-DD3HBgudF0c7__hk-T-LiOzFrMddMZKvrttxBBu66UUOdJbm9vgorSWj34ZrMjpycz6fVybgx3ki3UQYstone4Vo8MHr8tZYAzw7tdiREkaEzF3rkJGDjHgfDNCFk4Yc7Gn2/s2889/Photo%2020-06-2023,%2015%2022%2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2889" data-original-width="2605" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6h0Iv_lLYhpogZ2GywR4sh1URE1sKM0pJcAZMcFL1oIn8Ldvlj_8JS0-DD3HBgudF0c7__hk-T-LiOzFrMddMZKvrttxBBu66UUOdJbm9vgorSWj34ZrMjpycz6fVybgx3ki3UQYstone4Vo8MHr8tZYAzw7tdiREkaEzF3rkJGDjHgfDNCFk4Yc7Gn2/w361-h400/Photo%2020-06-2023,%2015%2022%2008.jpg" width="361" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Old Palace School before the war (Firemen Remembered)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By April 1941, although Londoners didn't know it at the time, the Blitz was drawing to an end. Hitler was about to strike east at the Soviet Union and despite the misgivings of senior figures within the Luftwaffe such as Hugo Sperrle, the majority of the Luftwaffe's bomber forces were redeployed east. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the impending changes, bombing on London continued for the time being, with another particularly heavy raid being mounted on the night of 16/17 April 1941, a raid which became known to Londoners simply as <i>"The Wednesday".</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Three days later, on the night of 19/20 April came another heavy raid, said by some to coincide with Hitler's 53rd birthday and again, it was a sufficiently heavy and devastating raid to be given the simple label <i>"The Saturday" </i>by those that experienced it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the purposes of the Auxiliary Fire Service was for the various units to act as a mobile reserve to be deployed wherever the need was greatest and on this night, as all of the local crews had been called out to fires in the local area, the call went out to Beckenham Fire Station for reinforcements. The twenty one Beckenham Firefighters arrived at 01.30 on Sunday 20th April and were mustering for orders alongside fellow crews from Homerton and Bow, when at 01:53 a high explosive bomb scored a direct hit on the school, demolishing a large part of it and setting the remainder on fire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The results were catastrophic; all thirty two Firemen at the school as well as two Firewomen (1941 ranks used) were killed outright. It was - and remains - the largest loss of Fire Service personnel in a single incident in British history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6T8cqh1Bb9kjB6BgkeaT_G-pRS6A6-vngprUurrDz4aJeL-a62xfU2GBsSOxRwYwiYWVa3Yq9g_WX0w4rfIITYXp68U8mX6eFo9OWov-TJc2sd3gZSdXPcwaeTtPMhpmlwhuSi6tY8LEwVQ_9z6dgm7rF2r06-V4Mah35WLM9dAJPm9pM1IGrWp-kneOw/s2320/Photo%2020-06-2023,%2015%2022%2035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1649" data-original-width="2320" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6T8cqh1Bb9kjB6BgkeaT_G-pRS6A6-vngprUurrDz4aJeL-a62xfU2GBsSOxRwYwiYWVa3Yq9g_WX0w4rfIITYXp68U8mX6eFo9OWov-TJc2sd3gZSdXPcwaeTtPMhpmlwhuSi6tY8LEwVQ_9z6dgm7rF2r06-V4Mah35WLM9dAJPm9pM1IGrWp-kneOw/w400-h284/Photo%2020-06-2023,%2015%2022%2035.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The grim task of recovery (Firemen Remembered)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The ceremony was presided over by Stephanie Maltman of the charity Firemen Remembered and the Rev'd Cathy Wyles; it was attended by Steve Dudeney, the former London Fire Brigade Borough Commander for the area when the original plaque was unveiled, as well as members of the present day Beckenham and Bow Fire Stations. As always, it was an extremely moving ceremony, especially as the names of the fallen were read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVx6sNe83G8e3os9cD4sXrmi2WKdR7dQTDKNRI306ICCpuvXQXTcpx4db0N-_d3828THanpCIhrkaL_rhgiojO29RCeF_fvjbyqhOhtKC2oyCSdi5GzFJ9h5htENiqqhSZtQDP8FbEsk11-VrrfaBZUHv8yCA0km7eRQk9w06UVt17RZUvDBvdPDVThRW/s3424/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2032%2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3424" data-original-width="2886" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVx6sNe83G8e3os9cD4sXrmi2WKdR7dQTDKNRI306ICCpuvXQXTcpx4db0N-_d3828THanpCIhrkaL_rhgiojO29RCeF_fvjbyqhOhtKC2oyCSdi5GzFJ9h5htENiqqhSZtQDP8FbEsk11-VrrfaBZUHv8yCA0km7eRQk9w06UVt17RZUvDBvdPDVThRW/w338-h400/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2032%2010.jpg" width="338" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stephanie Maltman and the Rev'd Cathy Wyles (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzK6BklJDlP2teTa4rBEoe_hYRkg5QQbekMQydswPZ19Z-ODDBEWpIfSIvppiEBVFueQMLgMUg25dNom0SMkwQmg_pnEkAjNxPgX1Xr70pCMLcwpUD2K_FPFie5RspkhoH4GW4njVUlL70EhPX8OwOVqXHbpsBJWQt45H96k3W-ExS7VzC54_OL-eXRAX/s4032/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2012%2002%2055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzK6BklJDlP2teTa4rBEoe_hYRkg5QQbekMQydswPZ19Z-ODDBEWpIfSIvppiEBVFueQMLgMUg25dNom0SMkwQmg_pnEkAjNxPgX1Xr70pCMLcwpUD2K_FPFie5RspkhoH4GW4njVUlL70EhPX8OwOVqXHbpsBJWQt45H96k3W-ExS7VzC54_OL-eXRAX/w400-h300/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2012%2002%2055.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fire Brigade guests, past and present (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After the ceremony, we repaired to the school for tea and cakes but before we did, the School Caretaker invited us to the rear of the school buildings, where he showed us the splinter-strewn car park walls, the only part of the original school still standing, mute witnesses to an appalling horror. The walls had been slated for demolition a few years ago, he told us but the-then Head Teacher had mounted a campaign to save them, which ensured that they are now listed and saved for future generations to see.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7uIpIGmt01-rcCCZDEWMFF9wcEzF0VGvxCQMHeI1Xa17Ims9IhZr3mWgg4vxcDbqLvVnyvWLa5m7SvqIqF_asP4eBuNVsxXsslmiTy0DXyGs--dQy0PDrQ6FMRUEkmU0yoFvypFyoJEeuwgt61HqtGKfPoHYd4rg1NgSAlw6caEhOCJnX7gwXYuzsuUU/s4032/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2056%2032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7uIpIGmt01-rcCCZDEWMFF9wcEzF0VGvxCQMHeI1Xa17Ims9IhZr3mWgg4vxcDbqLvVnyvWLa5m7SvqIqF_asP4eBuNVsxXsslmiTy0DXyGs--dQy0PDrQ6FMRUEkmU0yoFvypFyoJEeuwgt61HqtGKfPoHYd4rg1NgSAlw6caEhOCJnX7gwXYuzsuUU/w400-h300/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2056%2032.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Splinter strewn wall at Old Palace School (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilK4zvh11Af5mwoS2R7KwaEK0u-0vhhUvamLzgALRSXxsBQtmgJxhDq1A9OWd3IwpYi2wHkAUuHHl24lTESk6INbJZunBfLBUjIAi7bPuqB5hor-iTJyTvMXJSmwGLNnLg0NGT-uawm4ILpz9jenECOn_G0Ntx3TF0cflYPBh3azQDhd4UUaCljvUlSy6P/s4032/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2055%2048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilK4zvh11Af5mwoS2R7KwaEK0u-0vhhUvamLzgALRSXxsBQtmgJxhDq1A9OWd3IwpYi2wHkAUuHHl24lTESk6INbJZunBfLBUjIAi7bPuqB5hor-iTJyTvMXJSmwGLNnLg0NGT-uawm4ILpz9jenECOn_G0Ntx3TF0cflYPBh3azQDhd4UUaCljvUlSy6P/w300-h400/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2011%2055%2048.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Splinter strewn walls (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks are due, as always to Stephanie Maltman and Bill Hickin of Firemen Remembered for organising the ceremony and for inviting yours truly to attend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TFC8kNrDf91K4zqzDLs_jtTzNGRLKCaF7zOfegBrwy1PaKnotX6qrSP_q1vdYDSIYh-z9MXTdZud54k6oVpoTULaxTGCcBjlS2pywkxNOG5FBvWP7vnIOpIhnlvIbvmiGYWXCCw6dB6QJUNVmGcU8F_Lc9mOSMw4lq4ayDgupEP-b7T1S4ul3DpK3TTt/s1314/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2010%2047%2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="1195" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TFC8kNrDf91K4zqzDLs_jtTzNGRLKCaF7zOfegBrwy1PaKnotX6qrSP_q1vdYDSIYh-z9MXTdZud54k6oVpoTULaxTGCcBjlS2pywkxNOG5FBvWP7vnIOpIhnlvIbvmiGYWXCCw6dB6QJUNVmGcU8F_Lc9mOSMw4lq4ayDgupEP-b7T1S4ul3DpK3TTt/w364-h400/Photo%2030-05-2023,%2010%2047%2017.jpg" width="364" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The new plaque in situ (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-47679741564412394432023-05-08T17:38:00.002+01:002023-05-08T17:38:46.262+01:00The Joys of Guiding<p style="text-align: justify;">One of the many joys of guiding is the "surprise factor" brought to the party by our guests - when starting out with a group, whether it be from the Army, RAF, a school or college group, overseas visitors or a home-based group of history lovers, one never knows what to expect and this certainly helps to keep me as the guide, on my toes!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZK-i1tibQRR8QXgfnFkGEHVeyVHKg6Js2b-2-c7B6Gk_KddH_thgnYcVnTkz7iVQ5TpcVuVd-1mV4yHW6pS7jRAC1W63SMbvTodf_MkU473xd3b9H5jZBYLk5lyULervwoMZr7D77499AYC70G3EFCfgI5T46jQjy-SNsImJrSl5b4fQXq5oqmMP0w/s3574/Hungerford%20Bridge%20parachute%20mine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2505" data-original-width="3574" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZK-i1tibQRR8QXgfnFkGEHVeyVHKg6Js2b-2-c7B6Gk_KddH_thgnYcVnTkz7iVQ5TpcVuVd-1mV4yHW6pS7jRAC1W63SMbvTodf_MkU473xd3b9H5jZBYLk5lyULervwoMZr7D77499AYC70G3EFCfgI5T46jQjy-SNsImJrSl5b4fQXq5oqmMP0w/s320/Hungerford%20Bridge%20parachute%20mine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Hungerford Bridge parachute mine made safe (author's collection)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">A recent walk with a London-based group of history enthusiasts brought one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises in my thirteen-year guiding "career".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The group's organiser had requested a bespoke walk starting at Hungerford Bridge, which for non-Londoners is a bridge that carries the railway from Charing Cross Station across the Thames and which also doubles up as a footbridge. To be brutally honest, this isn't the most picturesque part of London but is one which has a wartime history, so I had a suspicion that at least one member of the group might have a connection in some way.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So when the group met on a dank Sunday morning in March, I began by explaining the wartime history of Hungerford Bridge, which began on the night of 16/17 April 1941, when a parachute mine settled on to the tracks just outside the station. Incendiary bombs were also falling and had started a major fire in the signal cabin at the end of platform one, with the flames creeping towards the mine, which had failed to explode.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPzJ5sNui93gtWvkFJULnA-Ku2esr9n3_FYjXjxPN1mP3L3nJwA04bBUIC6AqhxbhrPbtFYkb1HM4Dq3zaxXm6jPCrNpLm9JVL8LH1ZHsNSSABH-TazMQc9m5JCx9HqO4FfTp-gRqujEPIKwdY4cD516s7gjIkxNIO0_mqRiLP2PHgu9_EXNXb6vCAZw/s643/Lieut%20Ernest%20Oliver%20Gidden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="418" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPzJ5sNui93gtWvkFJULnA-Ku2esr9n3_FYjXjxPN1mP3L3nJwA04bBUIC6AqhxbhrPbtFYkb1HM4Dq3zaxXm6jPCrNpLm9JVL8LH1ZHsNSSABH-TazMQc9m5JCx9HqO4FfTp-gRqujEPIKwdY4cD516s7gjIkxNIO0_mqRiLP2PHgu9_EXNXb6vCAZw/s320/Lieut%20Ernest%20Oliver%20Gidden.jpg" width="208" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lieut. Cdr. Ernest Oliver "Mick" Gidden GC, RNVR (fotostock)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As parachute mines were adapted anti-shipping weapons, they were always dealt with by the Royal Navy who had the necessary expertise to deal with them and accordingly, a team led by Lieutenant Commander Ernest "Mick" Gidden RNVR. </p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Gidden worked on the mine for over six hours, breaking it free from the live rail, from which it had welded itself and forcing it back into some sort of shape with a large hammer, so that he could unscrew the fuse from the weapon and in doing so, earned himself a George Cross into the bargain. While Gidden was working on the mine, he was aware of the large fire burning in the signal cabin and noticed that two Auxiliary Firemen were tackling the fires, seemingly oblivious to their own safety - he later spoke of these men thus:<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>“When I arrived at the incident on Hungerford Bridge I found about half a dozen firemen working within 15 feet of the unexploded mine. This had already lost its filling plate, exposing the explosive to the naked fire should it have reached it. Luckily for the bridge and several important Government offices the firemen were able to prevent this happening. I warned the men of their imminent peril but they seemed not to care a jot and I had to order them away. They left with great reluctance.”</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The two firemen in question were Station Officer George Watling, a London Fire Brigade "regular" with 21 years service and Auxiliary Fireman Alf Blanchard, a chef in civilian life, who had joined the Auxiliaries shortly before the outbreak of war in 1939. The men were based at Holloway in North London and in keeping with the work of the Auxiliaries, had been summoned down from their usual base of operations to assist in Westminster. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirojfp6wdnfn8oF7AIuVuJ7TJWL1PLE5bgP0t2vEwllwy47ZFo591RVRcwrscygS0GnBF5PYaXXfUNTLfv9_1F82T4S5w8ltHiKrEDCI4ZWN6EIfWY9F5kGgTF1Q7qjlkspgcznSqg2UosdLVEONdOfcmLB-w6Oh1AeJwDAtiVX3OnlntjYd-QNn8P3w/s3141/Aux%20Fm%20Alf%20Blanchard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="3141" data-original-width="2078" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirojfp6wdnfn8oF7AIuVuJ7TJWL1PLE5bgP0t2vEwllwy47ZFo591RVRcwrscygS0GnBF5PYaXXfUNTLfv9_1F82T4S5w8ltHiKrEDCI4ZWN6EIfWY9F5kGgTF1Q7qjlkspgcznSqg2UosdLVEONdOfcmLB-w6Oh1AeJwDAtiVX3OnlntjYd-QNn8P3w/s320/Aux%20Fm%20Alf%20Blanchard.jpg" width="212" /></i></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Auxiliary Fireman Alfred Blanchard BEM (Kevin Ireland)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">For their work on the night, Blanchard and Watling were awarded the British Empire Medal, which was gazetted on 3 October 1941. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After explaining this incident to the group and the subsequent near-destruction of the bridge in a V-1 incident in July 1944, one of the group stepped forward and informed me that he was Alf Blanchard's grandson and had some mementos of his late grandfather to show me.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Alf's grandson was called Kevin Ireland and produced Alf's B.E.M. as well as a souvenir that his grandfather had secured for himself once the mine had been made safe - this was a piece of one of the cables that suspended the mine from the parachute. For once in my life, I was speechless!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47g9rtfJdrlYbeECbxh5ibUEPeSMPT-MhaQ4P1TgI98cq8aVaUUWSEd4mEqNRiRJEotMhBfwPlO0aY6U5kdP0NeaexM9pfU827aTVCRqqOT8c8a-SlhzweKc1PwdMKqbkZsX4u7GjhFayR4-qLxK3MG-UH4T4nRv8O7zbbf6Y7JDEJs9mu0NuiclHrQ/s4032/Kevin%20Ireland%20with%20Alf%20Blanchard's%20GC%20and%20Parachute%20cable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47g9rtfJdrlYbeECbxh5ibUEPeSMPT-MhaQ4P1TgI98cq8aVaUUWSEd4mEqNRiRJEotMhBfwPlO0aY6U5kdP0NeaexM9pfU827aTVCRqqOT8c8a-SlhzweKc1PwdMKqbkZsX4u7GjhFayR4-qLxK3MG-UH4T4nRv8O7zbbf6Y7JDEJs9mu0NuiclHrQ/s320/Kevin%20Ireland%20with%20Alf%20Blanchard's%20GC%20and%20Parachute%20cable.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kevin Ireland with his grandfather's souvenirs (author's photograph)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">To say that I went into geek mode would be an understatement and many photographs were taken at the time and after the walk, when e-mail addresses were also exchanged.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnnjrz0Yz7Rs2AP3H1AlN1k73w2j6sKMh2fFIja8zrTPtVqP40vAhSWI-gkmtWZpLEio33zUO8SocjW0oNg-YQAgp6N_dJfjEzA_Iw_IRlCGip-mHkGC7HoyQDYcTAb0BkTXHOe431o5wOWOS0gMuBHrTTPGZI_5tJok3YBGTDZIQW9Ewg7vEzwqUcg/s2931/Alf%20Blanchard%20BEM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2931" data-original-width="2198" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnnjrz0Yz7Rs2AP3H1AlN1k73w2j6sKMh2fFIja8zrTPtVqP40vAhSWI-gkmtWZpLEio33zUO8SocjW0oNg-YQAgp6N_dJfjEzA_Iw_IRlCGip-mHkGC7HoyQDYcTAb0BkTXHOe431o5wOWOS0gMuBHrTTPGZI_5tJok3YBGTDZIQW9Ewg7vEzwqUcg/s320/Alf%20Blanchard%20BEM.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Close up of Alf's BEM (author's photograph)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyt0RUvNqoiowtW43LRWYpMH8MtV3OF4K4lSMtREv8arw0FY5BI7-Zdq7jgX86o4Qy8bT6ApMl46su6ErkjhUNBW-OqsewSpY8ELLdcf71NxQ1eBYVj2YiUjrqWDuwN1_qgyQD1hit1fnWYDE3TJKh0yKxF7_MKEtttRW_GFX8uU9Hl4KXTmtryZMpA/s2780/Alf%20Blanchard%20BEM_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2780" data-original-width="2085" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyt0RUvNqoiowtW43LRWYpMH8MtV3OF4K4lSMtREv8arw0FY5BI7-Zdq7jgX86o4Qy8bT6ApMl46su6ErkjhUNBW-OqsewSpY8ELLdcf71NxQ1eBYVj2YiUjrqWDuwN1_qgyQD1hit1fnWYDE3TJKh0yKxF7_MKEtttRW_GFX8uU9Hl4KXTmtryZMpA/s320/Alf%20Blanchard%20BEM_2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; font-style: italic;">Close up of Alf's BEM (author's photograph)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXhOVLfUeBR8yF7Q3rl_THl7T1e4EkE0lHiLs8mNNAJb5ryYvXjKRf9Tdik565DO6kqOqkqdONniTZh6I00M0YKLrz-oGA9HOhZF2ppKD5s2fx9-wIadkb_2aqv3gHGcw6QnqYNvTnGYVnn9MqZU9RJ5xjvjZCAUYsPK4kasJR8UdphQpy5h04EaxYQ/s4032/Parachute%20Mine%20rope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXhOVLfUeBR8yF7Q3rl_THl7T1e4EkE0lHiLs8mNNAJb5ryYvXjKRf9Tdik565DO6kqOqkqdONniTZh6I00M0YKLrz-oGA9HOhZF2ppKD5s2fx9-wIadkb_2aqv3gHGcw6QnqYNvTnGYVnn9MqZU9RJ5xjvjZCAUYsPK4kasJR8UdphQpy5h04EaxYQ/s320/Parachute%20Mine%20rope.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The section of parachute cable (author's photograph)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">After the walk, the group kindly invited me to join them for a curry and as mentioned above, email addresses were exchanged. I was able to obtain Alf's Fire Service record card from the London Fire Brigade archives, as well as his British Empire Medal citation. In return, Kevin sent me some copies of letters that Alf had received from his then employers informing him of his impending medal award and perhaps rather sadly, a letter informing him of his release from the Fire Service in early 1945. After the war, Alf returned to his old occupation and passed away, aged 73 in 1982.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxBjpbskg9OuRERKl1I4YchkCoim90uozsD2PJZ85BbbfoA_In0jOoH_UNySxH07YCV1OWc86yUxU_MbyAbUl2I5NHWwa3c7EJU7WlgBBVDB97DIenM03D7bChWceW-h_NVbAmZ-ACvR_tFMmloTKhrQRonBFgQTH116AC-xj9uvWVudtDX8eg6ACAQ/s4000/Blanchard%20letter_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxBjpbskg9OuRERKl1I4YchkCoim90uozsD2PJZ85BbbfoA_In0jOoH_UNySxH07YCV1OWc86yUxU_MbyAbUl2I5NHWwa3c7EJU7WlgBBVDB97DIenM03D7bChWceW-h_NVbAmZ-ACvR_tFMmloTKhrQRonBFgQTH116AC-xj9uvWVudtDX8eg6ACAQ/w300-h400/Blanchard%20letter_3.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Alf's letter of release from the Fire Service (Kevin Ireland)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">I am indebted to Kevin Ireland and indeed to the rest of the group for a memorable afternoon and for providing me with yet another reason to love the job that I do.</div></div><br />Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-61864590031477130492023-03-07T00:00:00.000+00:002023-03-07T11:04:45.806+00:00Sidney Alfred Holder, The Wall and the Unknown Soldier<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Firemen Remembered Plaque to Sidney Alfred Holder in Shoe Lane (author's photograph)</i></td></tr>
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<i>This post was originally written in August 2011 but since then, one or two discrepancies in the original story as recounted to me have come to light. These corrections have now been incorporated into the text, which is updated accordingly.</i><br />
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On Thursday 11 August 2011, I was lucky enough to be invited to the unveiling ceremony of one of the memorial plaques to be erected by the charity <i><b>'Firemen Remembered'</b></i> which does so much excellent work in preserving and honouring the memory of the <b>firefighters</b> of the <b>Second World War</b>, who went from being described as <i><b>"£3-a-week Army Dodgers"</b></i> according to some of the more unscrupulous organs of the press, to receiving a ringing endorsement from Prime Minister <b>Winston Churchill</b> no less, who described them as <i>"<b>Heroes with grimy faces."</b></i></div>
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This particular plaque is located close to the scene of the incident at Shoe Lane, just off London's Fleet Street and commemorates a tragedy that was immortalised on canvas by the War Artist Leonard Rosoman R.A., who at that time was a member of the Auxilary Fire Service and who witnessed the event at first hand. Deeply troubled by what he had seen, Rosoman created a powerful image, which he found himself painting and re-painting, as if trying to exorcise what he had witnessed from his own consciousness. The artist subsequently stated that he was never entirely happy with the work and at first thought it was too raw for public consumption but it is today recognised as one of the iconic images of the Blitz. The image entitled <i>'The Falling Wall'</i> by the artist but for some reason re-titled by the Imperial War Museum as <i>'A House Collapsing on two Firemen, Shoe Lane, London EC4'</i> is reproduced below, courtesy of the IWM. The original is currently on display at the IWM North in Manchester, although perhaps would be better located in London, given that is where the incident occurred.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"The Falling Wall" by Leonard Rosoman (IWM collection)</i></td></tr>
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On the night of 29th/30th December 1940, some 140 medium bombers of the Luftwaffe dropped some 24,000 incendiary bombs concentrated on the City of London in a raid that became known as <i>"The Second Great Fire of London". </i>The raid had been carefully planned to coincide with an exceptionally low tide on the River Thames, which once the water mains had been damaged by the high explosive bombs which were also dropped on the Square Mile, made it nigh on impossible for the beleaguered firefighters to obtain emergency supplies of water from the river. The spread of the fires was further compounded by the fact that many nightwatchmen and fire watchers employed by the various businesses in the City, had taken advantage of the Christmas and New Year holidays to sneak away for a long weekend, so leaving fires to spread unchecked. This failing was the subject of an official Government Enquiry after the event, the result of which was to compel companies to provide full-time fire watches on their premises.<br />
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As part of the ceremony, the redoubtable Stephanie Maltman, one of the leading figures behind the charity, explained what to the best of our knowledge today, had happened on this night in Shoe Lane and how Auxiliary Fireman Sidney Alfred Holder and a now unknown helper who had simply been passing by had come to perish beneath fifteen feet of white hot bricks and masonry.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The programme cover for the unveiling event (author's photograph)</i></td></tr>
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Sidney Holder, Leonard Rosoman and the future travel writer and novelist William Sansom were part of an AFS squad from Station 13 at Belsize Park, detailed to fight a major fire in Shoe Lane, just off Fleet Street, adjacent to the Daily Express building. The three men were controlling a branch directing water onto the blazing building and although it looked a hopeless task, stuck bravely at their task. Amazingly, but not uncommonly during a major raid, there were still passers by going about their business and the firefighters were joined by an off duty soldier and an RAF airman, who offered to help. During the course of their toils, a more senior AFS Officer appeared on the scene and instructed Rosoman to leave the branch to the others and accompany him on a recce from an adjacent building to see if they could find another spot from which to direct their branches at the by now out of control fire. As they surveyed the scene, Rosoman heard the ominous crack of the wall crumbling under the heat and collapsing onto the men below, one of whom was Rosoman's close friend, William Sansom.
<br />
<br />
Incredibly, Sansom and the RAF man survived the incident by dint of good fortune; the wall had collapsed almost as a solid slab of masonry but they had had the luck to be standing more or less in line with a window aperture which framed them as the wall collapsed. The two men were showered with masonry but were not seriously injured and were quickly able to free themselves in order to clamber to where Holder and the soldier had been directing their branch. The two men tore at the red hot bricks with their bare hands, severely burning themselves at the same time. They were quickly relieved by a Rescue Squad and it was only when they were taken aside, that Sansom and his colleague realised the extent of the injuries to their hands.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55I4YP-hbb3ELbNLbQCgyryI9tdZw69JYHM-GhEGSUQKYr2wwimjgpTBYP6ZM2SqMFLSKesLiBzL3ELym13oWQUyUX75GNSzVnumf8x9hgV2BpWSyt0_a8Zbs4wOYO_KVSI3OtAFy4P-u/s1600/Shoe+Lane+015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55I4YP-hbb3ELbNLbQCgyryI9tdZw69JYHM-GhEGSUQKYr2wwimjgpTBYP6ZM2SqMFLSKesLiBzL3ELym13oWQUyUX75GNSzVnumf8x9hgV2BpWSyt0_a8Zbs4wOYO_KVSI3OtAFy4P-u/s400/Shoe+Lane+015.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wreath laid at the unveiling ceremony (author's photograph)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The rescuers eventually reached the two buried men; the soldier was dead when they found him. His steel helmet had been crushed almost flat and he was burned beyond recognition. Although the details are sketchy, history tells us that Sidney Alfred Holder was alive when pulled from the rubble; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission tells us that he died <i>'near to St Bartholomew's Hospital' </i>which suggests that he died in an ambulance whilst being taken to hospital.
<br />
<br />
Sidney Alfred Holder was born on 21 April 1907 and lived at 69 Denmark Road, Hendon, with his mother, Emily. His peacetime job as shown on the 1939 Register was a Temporary Railway Porter but he had obviously joined the Fire Service at some point after this. Despite fairly extensive research by Stephanie and her colleagues at Firemen Remembered, the identity of the soldier who heroically offered to help on that fateful night has never been established and he remains 'known unto God' but to us mere mortals, one of the many 'unknown soldiers.'
<br />
<br />
<br />
Dark City alleyways and passages,<br />
curtained for a century by tall walls,<br />
exchanged their twilight gloom for<br />
a flood of yellow light in one<br />
theatrical moment...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i> William Sansom</i></b> </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Published Sources:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">
<br />
<br />Fireman Flower - William Sansom, Hogarth Press 1944</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">
<br />The London Blitz: A Fireman's Tale - Cyril Demarne OBE, After The Battle 1991</span>
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">Unpublished Sources:</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-style: italic;">1939 Register - UK National Archives</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-21790051667922261762022-12-31T15:40:00.008+00:002022-12-31T15:40:57.020+00:00Grenfell Road - a previous tragedy<p style="text-align: justify;">It is probable that most people around the world will be aware of the tragedy that befell the residents of Grenfell Tower in 2017 but fewer will know the area in which the 1974-built block is located. Grenfell Road, on which the tower stands, is today part of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, a product of the reorganisation of London's local government in 1965. Prior to this date, Grenfell Road had formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Kensington, a solidly working class area known as Notting Dale and as we can see from the extract from the 1939 A to Z atlas, a warren of smaller roads running to the east of Latimer Road Station, which was then part of the Hammersmith & City Branch of the Metropolitan Line.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhwDDj1j-NSe35eJGybT5CCmqXilnwliOE9204y0cH4VsBAW_hX6riELQYjXO8B6XsoaPQaHpjL0g5YJxFC1KrPLSkRVGw5ycJ2FMqzj1rgAPL26GTC6OSPtfoHM_maF0mgHSfP8O6IaN_PChynOGW-6fXRo0VqCAQqAVJiytZOPkZUeiYkt-y8gPkQ/s1595/1939%20A-Z%20Extract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1595" data-original-width="1346" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhwDDj1j-NSe35eJGybT5CCmqXilnwliOE9204y0cH4VsBAW_hX6riELQYjXO8B6XsoaPQaHpjL0g5YJxFC1KrPLSkRVGw5ycJ2FMqzj1rgAPL26GTC6OSPtfoHM_maF0mgHSfP8O6IaN_PChynOGW-6fXRo0VqCAQqAVJiytZOPkZUeiYkt-y8gPkQ/s320/1939%20A-Z%20Extract.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The impact area (arrowed) on the 1939 A to Z <i>(author's image)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">As Christmas 1944 approached, the war-weary residents of the area, along with all Londoners were hoping for a quiet Christmas and perhaps had begun to have thoughts about the end of the war in Europe being on the distant horizon. Since September 1944, London had been under attack from the latest of Hitler's vengeance weapons, the V-2 rocket but on the evening of 12 December 1944, the residents of Notting Dale were hoping for a peaceful night - there had been no nearby incidents since 6 December, when the "Red Lion" pub in Marylebone had been destroyed by a direct hit but at 22:40, the silence was shattered by an explosion in the area between Treadgold Street, Lancaster Street and Grenfell Road.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As was usual with these weapons, destruction was widespread and not limited to the immediate area of impact. As we can see from the extract reproduced below from the LCC Bomb Survey, many buildings were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable but remarkably, just two people lost their lives in the incident; 61-year-old Edith Bryant of 21 Grenfell Road and 39-year-old Edith Ryell of 9 Grenfell Road. The BC4 report held at the National Archives in Kew informs us that 30 people were seriously injured, with another 20 "lesser injuries". The missile had been fired just minutes earlier from Battery 444 at Scheveningen, in the Netherlands and was one of ten fired by this particular battery on the day and one of twenty two in total fired on that day.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixG2-EdVuZb5yuejJO5R-2FdD1ZSJVc_JYsfBHTkL3RlRilYNiSLB4soS_sLBQvA81uri27hntXk0f-wAdot5n8p9iJXAuMJ27y-ZFrQzd4iG4w_oSQa928L3O1FPKlj_C7kNeo2Fwko_xIuLt9Iw2vTENQSXvma4WjG7kOTCYhYvMPxuYzRzdwZtmsQ/s3369/Treadgold%20Street%20BC4%20Report.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2819" data-original-width="3369" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixG2-EdVuZb5yuejJO5R-2FdD1ZSJVc_JYsfBHTkL3RlRilYNiSLB4soS_sLBQvA81uri27hntXk0f-wAdot5n8p9iJXAuMJ27y-ZFrQzd4iG4w_oSQa928L3O1FPKlj_C7kNeo2Fwko_xIuLt9Iw2vTENQSXvma4WjG7kOTCYhYvMPxuYzRzdwZtmsQ/w400-h335/Treadgold%20Street%20BC4%20Report.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Extract from BC4 Report held at the UK National Archives <i>(HO198/106)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The National Archive file connected with this incident also contains some useful sketch maps and photographs, with which it is possible to compare some of the views with a "then and now" perspective, although such was the level of damage incurred not only as a result of this incident but also due to earlier damage in the Blitz, that when the London County Council began the post-war redevelopment of the area, the local geography of the road network was changed, further compounded by the construction of the Westway in the 1960s and 70s, which submerged many of the roads in the north of the area seen on the 1939 map.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFuE8zG6CUj_6Db52sxln9jocryNzluvTTuiyaFOI6RJTvGC0nj2AJpiKRBh-w6kMDUVPQdyV0WDsXnW0BvWhKC1JKpmrNOZBBLA3yjT495AjxI7ZqOzGFElvQJqGlBxDsLfSfcihJCW8fk4rITYA6tPlWlG9ujnY3xJNmPHHcZNpzL2yI9emPD6FZQ/s1590/Treadgold%20Street%20Full%20Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1590" data-original-width="1558" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFuE8zG6CUj_6Db52sxln9jocryNzluvTTuiyaFOI6RJTvGC0nj2AJpiKRBh-w6kMDUVPQdyV0WDsXnW0BvWhKC1JKpmrNOZBBLA3yjT495AjxI7ZqOzGFElvQJqGlBxDsLfSfcihJCW8fk4rITYA6tPlWlG9ujnY3xJNmPHHcZNpzL2yI9emPD6FZQ/s320/Treadgold%20Street%20Full%20Map.jpg" width="314" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The 1944 map drawn immediately after the incident <i>(HO198/106)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVyEXIe-CkL2iY5fg38Y_rTpop4WAYgtRyq99hX0jj_OZFCOOb_xJJzuK0FMw6j1ASUXE10gy6d8undUjgBa0HHScv9BjtLMJZEeEIgznBG6Gs9GIHwF2zD1zUEHrEba0R_NFND9--IBCzRPLQl94fpEmk33iTzbNelwh-g9gH-iyBLTXmz62HJFCAA/s745/Treadgold%20Street%20Grenfell%20Road%20(site)%202020%20map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="745" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVyEXIe-CkL2iY5fg38Y_rTpop4WAYgtRyq99hX0jj_OZFCOOb_xJJzuK0FMw6j1ASUXE10gy6d8undUjgBa0HHScv9BjtLMJZEeEIgznBG6Gs9GIHwF2zD1zUEHrEba0R_NFND9--IBCzRPLQl94fpEmk33iTzbNelwh-g9gH-iyBLTXmz62HJFCAA/s320/Treadgold%20Street%20Grenfell%20Road%20(site)%202020%20map.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Google Maps view of the comparable area today <i>(author's screen grab)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">We can see above some of the changes on the geography by comparing the BC4 map drawn immediately after the incident, with the Google Maps view of the comparable area today. For example, Lancaster Road no longer exists, apart from a short section of it which has now been renamed Whitchurch Road and Grenfell Road today continues north on a new alignment, crossing the site of Lancaster Road, at the end of which lies the ill-fated Grenfell Tower.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvdybmX5HkJ9V69KNL9N3etP02PCDtPusa9o9t-lFffqgVFKA2txDpGdjR11y29f0Jj1pz1bDgH1OPjw9z0GJ7HT0fcS9NCAtW8NK9D7PKI6PJReA3aoe8KPE_611u02qcKX5jMMMRmnAyrd0DrkJ6waZWLpmg0WFR0IhM3znCnzSO-dtvR-TklQJVg/s3003/Treadgold%20Street%20photo%20locations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3003" data-original-width="2792" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvdybmX5HkJ9V69KNL9N3etP02PCDtPusa9o9t-lFffqgVFKA2txDpGdjR11y29f0Jj1pz1bDgH1OPjw9z0GJ7HT0fcS9NCAtW8NK9D7PKI6PJReA3aoe8KPE_611u02qcKX5jMMMRmnAyrd0DrkJ6waZWLpmg0WFR0IhM3znCnzSO-dtvR-TklQJVg/s320/Treadgold%20Street%20photo%20locations.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photograph Plot from BC4 Report <i>(HO198/106)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">There is also a useful map in the file which references where each of the bomb survey photographs were taken and using this map, it is fairly easy to use Streetview to take a comparable view of the same scene today. In the first comparison shots below, we see image #1, which is the view from Bomore Road, looking towards Grenfell Road, compared with the similar view today.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehUr02vXQyo9D8R2Is3gterR50BwTowuUaatbYCFAfOL-2mzRNka1whsxWKypY2NJrJ5VLxDP7vfRO3n_uFLJYcj0vNHGPucBYZ_WN1YDLykol2tZGY_q_blwAQzHiMcbOU6IXsfWvirrxMXV-liLBmFa59ZT46s_vJCjNMjP0ubVOtBaAcHvMChbPw/s2030/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20Grenfell%20Road%20(1)%2012.12.1944%20LRR_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2027" data-original-width="2030" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehUr02vXQyo9D8R2Is3gterR50BwTowuUaatbYCFAfOL-2mzRNka1whsxWKypY2NJrJ5VLxDP7vfRO3n_uFLJYcj0vNHGPucBYZ_WN1YDLykol2tZGY_q_blwAQzHiMcbOU6IXsfWvirrxMXV-liLBmFa59ZT46s_vJCjNMjP0ubVOtBaAcHvMChbPw/s320/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20Grenfell%20Road%20(1)%2012.12.1944%20LRR_6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is image #1 from 1944 looking from Bomore Road towards Grenfell Road <i>(HO198/106)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqWy2ffn8BfARmsMe0x2DLzhJoDmd5_EuvpkXUQhCS5KNF7mbNpOCrjcyJFXMKSDqvKaDzHgLD93y_UA3HW_tTcE6ogZn0PyvgC7MiQ5g3p3s-jHe16bAiCypQ4w_E4w3gSW71Tyw7QCsZtcsMfZDHb4ahynFYkbwVpWE3EpbSLZJhxd08MQVRd2khQ/s959/Treadgold%20Street%20(now%20Bomore%20Road)%20(photo%201)%20looking%20to%20what%20was%20Grenfell%20Road%202020.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="959" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqWy2ffn8BfARmsMe0x2DLzhJoDmd5_EuvpkXUQhCS5KNF7mbNpOCrjcyJFXMKSDqvKaDzHgLD93y_UA3HW_tTcE6ogZn0PyvgC7MiQ5g3p3s-jHe16bAiCypQ4w_E4w3gSW71Tyw7QCsZtcsMfZDHb4ahynFYkbwVpWE3EpbSLZJhxd08MQVRd2khQ/s320/Treadgold%20Street%20(now%20Bomore%20Road)%20(photo%201)%20looking%20to%20what%20was%20Grenfell%20Road%202020.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The same view taken in 2020 <i>(author's screen grab from Google Streetview)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Whilst in the views below, we see 1944 images #3 and #4 which show Treadgold Street forking off to the right, with Grenfell Road bearing left. The modern image has been incorrectly labelled Barandon Walk by Google Maps, when this is actually a public walkway in the Lancaster West Estate which is out of sight behind the camera operator.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKI6DKm63-14udWxN3kjyHke95sIuOAzll7kVNL-X8gPb2O_OCh0HjoBs9gFi1yywK7CvApO66ELXSmv0v5_ZiU7BqrIj6tnQvVWsxogHKCI9BU4otUen7c-n0iPoMLofRRblsnNPNTyMIIfMp3th6NIjgWG1_wfIeJNppIDJ3MPMyT5JztH6mG9tGTw/s3255/Grenfell%20Road%20(3)%20jw%20Treadgold%20Street%20(4)%2012.12.44%20LRR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1678" data-original-width="3255" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKI6DKm63-14udWxN3kjyHke95sIuOAzll7kVNL-X8gPb2O_OCh0HjoBs9gFi1yywK7CvApO66ELXSmv0v5_ZiU7BqrIj6tnQvVWsxogHKCI9BU4otUen7c-n0iPoMLofRRblsnNPNTyMIIfMp3th6NIjgWG1_wfIeJNppIDJ3MPMyT5JztH6mG9tGTw/w400-h206/Grenfell%20Road%20(3)%20jw%20Treadgold%20Street%20(4)%2012.12.44%20LRR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Treadgold Street on the right with surface air raid shelter, with Grenfell Road bearing left <i>(HO198/106)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFLlbQlcqs7DhT4XGx8GKHBdySkaxXRkyfoBFCzbHwEJ-cTNVJjrDj_hO_mrmuPhna3XEWSh500KM1CQdPO4VKpYKh3JGqqNkQjTCSMbXsQ5SPVyePaDm6ycsZUNqHjTDuM2lINhc0lP6-tUjXQve-1AYndgMuCSaFZsWNfbjSSMarVRDARQ6rWsRFw/s1017/Grenfell%20Road%20(3)%20now%20Barandon%20Walk%20jw%20Treadgold%20Street%20(4)%20in%202020.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1017" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFLlbQlcqs7DhT4XGx8GKHBdySkaxXRkyfoBFCzbHwEJ-cTNVJjrDj_hO_mrmuPhna3XEWSh500KM1CQdPO4VKpYKh3JGqqNkQjTCSMbXsQ5SPVyePaDm6ycsZUNqHjTDuM2lINhc0lP6-tUjXQve-1AYndgMuCSaFZsWNfbjSSMarVRDARQ6rWsRFw/s320/Grenfell%20Road%20(3)%20now%20Barandon%20Walk%20jw%20Treadgold%20Street%20(4)%20in%202020.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Comparable view today, with Grenfell Road mis-captioned as Barandon Way<i> (author's screen grab)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Next, we see 1944 photographs #8 and #9, taken from the corner of Treadgold Street looking into Grenfell Road. We can see in the modern comparison view that the Victorian houses in Grenfell Road have been totally demolished and replaced by the Lancaster West Estate.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQp86e3JpGvwAapkmssNpBkyisnCoZB9FBT4hFiMyegEdUFPwfYePyR0yI6YP1uoBSpcW3CcOickZpJfsyYEg1yEuHZgYb3SfJUJatumL1mGY40ScI05cRi_yXGyymnh2io5Rk_FsFPbzXoIVdDnvpoFV8VrYXCP3CA1QtpYZAPqVOHBDPWAEHc4bjQ/s2979/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20Grenfell%20Road%20(photos%208&9)%2012.12.1944%20LRR_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2979" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQp86e3JpGvwAapkmssNpBkyisnCoZB9FBT4hFiMyegEdUFPwfYePyR0yI6YP1uoBSpcW3CcOickZpJfsyYEg1yEuHZgYb3SfJUJatumL1mGY40ScI05cRi_yXGyymnh2io5Rk_FsFPbzXoIVdDnvpoFV8VrYXCP3CA1QtpYZAPqVOHBDPWAEHc4bjQ/w400-h251/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20Grenfell%20Road%20(photos%208&9)%2012.12.1944%20LRR_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photos #8 and #9 looking from Treadgold Street into Grenfell Road <i>(HO198/106)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00-jRAQS8e0KLPgLvjc0tCEF9Fc5vz8k-l-iw3FF2DGcJgSE7tphTgU8c-mBnnewhY4sGNVjSHlXbsShsrnRrA2NPcuuc9osRSTqPk_Ozcoss3gdxH46H7zEXE4Ah0xgQpgG1PjMnLAVPuI8peyYfF0WxCTtQ7N39lbehhrnMzLU03m2iDJ5Evppc8w/s1039/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20what%20was%20Grenfell%20Road%202020%20(same%20as%20photos%208%20and%209).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1039" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00-jRAQS8e0KLPgLvjc0tCEF9Fc5vz8k-l-iw3FF2DGcJgSE7tphTgU8c-mBnnewhY4sGNVjSHlXbsShsrnRrA2NPcuuc9osRSTqPk_Ozcoss3gdxH46H7zEXE4Ah0xgQpgG1PjMnLAVPuI8peyYfF0WxCTtQ7N39lbehhrnMzLU03m2iDJ5Evppc8w/s320/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20what%20was%20Grenfell%20Road%202020%20(same%20as%20photos%208%20and%209).png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The comparable view today looking towards the Lancaster West Estate <i>(author's screen grab)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The final view is a montage of photographs #10, #11 and #12, which is impossible to compare with a modern view as the houses in the photograph have been demolished but it does demonstrate the level of blast damage caused to the houses in Grenfell Road.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDnxkJ793GNMjmLakz90G9OAsJAg1HkuwzUS8-ysQ9_6sGW_0ZGH-6efGJQA-kdSvh9CREVKNjA3sFj6nHZu6lmcQn8NmW9vmCDszk0S9fwj-JyfYcWDIo4H3aWMj1ErRSmjTNnpUJSkf0Xoa5lQoEaLkXEkTVFzZf3Qlmg5YCc2wg_CRT-U9emMuJg/s883/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20Grenfell%20Road%2012.12.1944%20LRR_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="883" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDnxkJ793GNMjmLakz90G9OAsJAg1HkuwzUS8-ysQ9_6sGW_0ZGH-6efGJQA-kdSvh9CREVKNjA3sFj6nHZu6lmcQn8NmW9vmCDszk0S9fwj-JyfYcWDIo4H3aWMj1ErRSmjTNnpUJSkf0Xoa5lQoEaLkXEkTVFzZf3Qlmg5YCc2wg_CRT-U9emMuJg/w400-h141/Treadgold%20Street%20jw%20Grenfell%20Road%2012.12.1944%20LRR_5.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Images #10, #11 and #12 taken from the rear of Lancaster Street, looking towards Grenfell Road <i>(HO198/106)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">This then is Grenfell Road, like many parts of London, an area who's modern geography is framed by events of almost eighty years and ago and which has seen tragedy in war and more recently.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Unpublished Sources:</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>HO198/106 - Region 5: London Headquarters Forms BC4 12 Dec 1944 to 1 Feb 1945 - UK National Archives, Kew</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Web Sources:</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="http://www.v2rocket.com/start/deployment/timeline.html">http://www.v2rocket.com/start/deployment/timeline.html</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-3810095060272185842022-09-26T17:25:00.000+01:002022-09-26T17:25:00.787+01:00The Little Reminders.....<p style="text-align: justify;">I've been guiding regularly now since 2010 but have been interested in our wartime history for as long as I can remember and in that time, have come to appreciate that as well as the formal memorials and plaques commemorating incidents and events from the Blitz and beyond, there are so many more reminders that can be seen, often hiding in plain sight.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We've covered some of these in previous posts, such as surviving signage, bomb splinter damage and air raid shelters but today we're going to look at some of the quirkier and perhaps more subtle reminders of our wartime past.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We start at St Margaret's Church, adjacent to Westminster Abbey, a 12th Century place of worship that is sometimes called <i>"The parish church of the House of Commons"</i>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNhxI7jMSqG7JqQ3kQGrFTkJ3fkPnrA2NYDLKVFy01irzhhahv2BA4BjIV6nVmVRB2DwmIY2Ls4280Y3Ehlaahg_6as3YrnMDFh6p2US9P8WVtpJNwkDEGf8kcIhZpkpiCOxEYdqlR5NkWVOTpTlQWJcrmqUuLdeu0ZZ-JYhCDy_dVDPaY3ORid0r2g/s4032/St%20Margaret's%20Church%20damaged%20window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNhxI7jMSqG7JqQ3kQGrFTkJ3fkPnrA2NYDLKVFy01irzhhahv2BA4BjIV6nVmVRB2DwmIY2Ls4280Y3Ehlaahg_6as3YrnMDFh6p2US9P8WVtpJNwkDEGf8kcIhZpkpiCOxEYdqlR5NkWVOTpTlQWJcrmqUuLdeu0ZZ-JYhCDy_dVDPaY3ORid0r2g/w300-h400/St%20Margaret's%20Church%20damaged%20window.jpg" width="300" /></span></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The now mostly plain glass window marks the entry point of the bomb (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQn2fVftMUTMWe5OxNaUazo9tzXKcOPUwSM87X7gWXTQRXL2AFiiCWR31pMVmLRly7w6bQroiePeseqEBv3-EdpHSYSIo8lK2gP4ULI0czFdCboIHazvorERR1C763HXhXTcMNNddu-7B-YxZY-vpkppqB4IpmED3UP_NX-l6qywgyIfoYzNQXvIh4w/s4032/St%20Margaret's%20Church%20charred%20pew_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQn2fVftMUTMWe5OxNaUazo9tzXKcOPUwSM87X7gWXTQRXL2AFiiCWR31pMVmLRly7w6bQroiePeseqEBv3-EdpHSYSIo8lK2gP4ULI0czFdCboIHazvorERR1C763HXhXTcMNNddu-7B-YxZY-vpkppqB4IpmED3UP_NX-l6qywgyIfoYzNQXvIh4w/w300-h400/St%20Margaret's%20Church%20charred%20pew_3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgay6Fh8EV2jI3EiJU0IP4_mIPClCkzgZ0n1tl0ghatD1D56f6Duyk-N5nkuF7vggxRaSDp8SdT8diO9xHwO382ZHggk9udapqg466mqVUakhItTPlsfgmJB6_cF8Uj_Z6K-N4iqKqphwQnVvVVJaWSZyeUFLnoe458WrNP_PF3plCRrIyegdQx2WyjFg/s4032/St%20Margaret's%20Church%20charred%20pew_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgay6Fh8EV2jI3EiJU0IP4_mIPClCkzgZ0n1tl0ghatD1D56f6Duyk-N5nkuF7vggxRaSDp8SdT8diO9xHwO382ZHggk9udapqg466mqVUakhItTPlsfgmJB6_cF8Uj_Z6K-N4iqKqphwQnVvVVJaWSZyeUFLnoe458WrNP_PF3plCRrIyegdQx2WyjFg/w300-h400/St%20Margaret's%20Church%20charred%20pew_2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Scorch marks still apparent on Pew 38 (author's photos)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On 25 September 1940, an oil-incendiary bomb smashed through one of the stained glass windows on the eastern side of the church and started to burn inside the ancient building. The fire was soon extinguished but even some 82 years later, we can still see a plain window where there was once stained glass and scorched timber at the end of Pew 38.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some reminders are so elusive that they can only be seen at certain times of the day, depending on the state of the tide in the River Thames. Walk from St Margaret's around to the Victoria Tower Gardens and if your visit coincides with low water, carefully look over the embankment wall and you will see rubble left over from when the river wall was breached by a high explosive bomb on the night of 16/17 April 1941. The wall over which you might very well be leaning was repaired using a concrete infill and it is quite fitting that this repair carries a City of Westminster green plaque commemorating Sir Thomas Peirson-Frank, the London County Council's Chief Engineer and the man responsible for that organisation's Thames Flood team, who were responsible for ensuring that speedy repairs were made whenever the river walls and flood defences were breached by the enemy's bombs and missiles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOroaARJyCSZGVKcZODWvEWpJlOdxYI8M_t8LXRLYzfLxTdwBPWnPsqZxgtOQYb4GSsYB2XpsdS2RdABc3JaOSpsn__Yw5VftD0BJjEHV4O6_m-E9cBNZes_BswZ0AFRWlSJJ96gCyAbqrd0oh9yxJpxXMh2wN-h6QxpkRVHCIgbtOOtdbpZqcTLRkfw/s1525/Victoria%20Tower%20Gardens%20Wall%20Rubble%20from%20Blitz_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1525" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOroaARJyCSZGVKcZODWvEWpJlOdxYI8M_t8LXRLYzfLxTdwBPWnPsqZxgtOQYb4GSsYB2XpsdS2RdABc3JaOSpsn__Yw5VftD0BJjEHV4O6_m-E9cBNZes_BswZ0AFRWlSJJ96gCyAbqrd0oh9yxJpxXMh2wN-h6QxpkRVHCIgbtOOtdbpZqcTLRkfw/w400-h300/Victoria%20Tower%20Gardens%20Wall%20Rubble%20from%20Blitz_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Rubble from the Thames embankment wall now on the beach below the Victoria Tower Gardens (author's photo)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSdAH9GlsJXJbKE2JU2laeqavOq3TYn3qUlWt2CQ6Qc1ucA62lI3Gli7xB43qZXqfsF1Jnv0WRAj2tUO5WXj42cGREPUgYedOcPn0Xki88DwYZCBsLJyCYCHGRZMdsgMeOky2iHOUG_JWazls0pvXX5vZeZwyZWlow-IH0XBS7Jl9ojw4Ztq2u2YXiQ/s4032/Victoria%20Tower%20Gardens%20River%20Wall%20Repairs_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSdAH9GlsJXJbKE2JU2laeqavOq3TYn3qUlWt2CQ6Qc1ucA62lI3Gli7xB43qZXqfsF1Jnv0WRAj2tUO5WXj42cGREPUgYedOcPn0Xki88DwYZCBsLJyCYCHGRZMdsgMeOky2iHOUG_JWazls0pvXX5vZeZwyZWlow-IH0XBS7Jl9ojw4Ztq2u2YXiQ/w400-h300/Victoria%20Tower%20Gardens%20River%20Wall%20Repairs_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The repair - a concrete infill (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgso9prb8N-nAK_Y3GntgJXg8eufgTitoJhOcqAnnYXw6SWny9NxxZg02ljBnUneyw-ZO0WAh0X0ljXdeOLA41S_MI5phKMuewKFFMdiLPhHfu6k3kGzX-qfLtIZDG4vNxsprrs4qbMHUqL54XIoATh35Fm_KXsp04Zq-Vo3WrXvySZVC7GSjWOxndh8Q/s2610/Sir%20Thomas%20Pierson-Frank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1807" data-original-width="2610" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgso9prb8N-nAK_Y3GntgJXg8eufgTitoJhOcqAnnYXw6SWny9NxxZg02ljBnUneyw-ZO0WAh0X0ljXdeOLA41S_MI5phKMuewKFFMdiLPhHfu6k3kGzX-qfLtIZDG4vNxsprrs4qbMHUqL54XIoATh35Fm_KXsp04Zq-Vo3WrXvySZVC7GSjWOxndh8Q/w400-h278/Sir%20Thomas%20Pierson-Frank.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sir Thomas Peirson-Frank green plaque (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Contiust a mile or so upstream on the Thames from the Palace of Westminster lies Vauxhall Bridge, the northernmost buttress of which carries splinter damage from a V-1 which like the rubble at Victoria Tower Gardens, can only be seen at low water. This too dates from the night of 16/17 April 1941, the second heaviest (and penultimate) raid of what we now call the First, or Night Blitz.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpB6gcQqEJxy_h190MsoxYMDEEN4HyuShjyCUlbORGV1JkRUrFPgbNn_rdlokhO8QE2EJuw5FpbfIGK2eoucNjGOVuby_cgY34qKjLV9EYRTCv2llQcfADalBF6rpfgIvMAxX20yxbdrYAu7gEdGQUiXv2yYuIsbMsOowtS7fq7G9qL-1HvXjWQdiGDQ/s4032/Vauxhall%20Bridge%20V-1%20splinter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpB6gcQqEJxy_h190MsoxYMDEEN4HyuShjyCUlbORGV1JkRUrFPgbNn_rdlokhO8QE2EJuw5FpbfIGK2eoucNjGOVuby_cgY34qKjLV9EYRTCv2llQcfADalBF6rpfgIvMAxX20yxbdrYAu7gEdGQUiXv2yYuIsbMsOowtS7fq7G9qL-1HvXjWQdiGDQ/w400-h300/Vauxhall%20Bridge%20V-1%20splinter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjig8oBbAkkwVGvrL-T1U0iJEfLVg0pUscy6LpIFSgNTglAysnRlG8efYDWQ-nO4VrnQH8E_BNsbikZ1UJPRAGkLYY1fwE7H24IYoy6m6JP_vhIpjhUwLkJ2hrILoStH_s-TUEHnSyQZecZLiRR99_QdXr0pkBVsIaGwIwgyMp2PKCa9a-BgeM13IGFrg/s2455/Vauxhall%20Bridge%20north%20V-1%20splinter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2455" data-original-width="1841" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjig8oBbAkkwVGvrL-T1U0iJEfLVg0pUscy6LpIFSgNTglAysnRlG8efYDWQ-nO4VrnQH8E_BNsbikZ1UJPRAGkLYY1fwE7H24IYoy6m6JP_vhIpjhUwLkJ2hrILoStH_s-TUEHnSyQZecZLiRR99_QdXr0pkBVsIaGwIwgyMp2PKCa9a-BgeM13IGFrg/w300-h400/Vauxhall%20Bridge%20north%20V-1%20splinter.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Close-up of the splinter damage at the northern end of Vauxhall Bridge (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Continue north along Vauxhall Bridge Road until you reach Victoria Station. On the forecourt of the station, behind the new entrance to the busy Underground Station, one can see damage to the wall of the mainline station. This is not bomb splinter damage but instead is damage caused by a Luftwaffe bomber, the wreckage of which plunged to the ground on to the station forecourt on 15 September 1940. This was part of the Dornier 17 that was brought down when Sgt. Ray Holmes' Hurricane collided with it in the skies over central London on the day that is now commemorated as Battle of Britain Day. The Dornier, which had already been abandoned by it's surviving crew members, was flying on autopilot, and apart from two dead crew, contained a full bomb load, most of which flew from the bomber during its uncontrolled descent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The contemporary photo shows the wreckage being guarded by soldiers and police to discourage would-be souvenir hunters. The new entrance to the Circle and District Line platforms stands almost exactly where the wrecked "Locks and Cutlery" shop once stood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYipJgMWctuHQ8jh1acKEEYxq5US7B-mmnpR8S5wS1lwcr-LdtVOxJ1i_ZuaJIjJEB80xPu7G_XcsvpoqSrp4Dp5dpQwODBIuehSXmBk8yAkWAM1Lctrue3n7Ksf-DJBmqU1o8k04znRKCKBg1eaMjwxAQAyxjgY1UE-dORS61Hx1jCq4LNyS_esdE-Q/s1720/Victoria%20Station%20Dornier%2015.09.1940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="1720" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYipJgMWctuHQ8jh1acKEEYxq5US7B-mmnpR8S5wS1lwcr-LdtVOxJ1i_ZuaJIjJEB80xPu7G_XcsvpoqSrp4Dp5dpQwODBIuehSXmBk8yAkWAM1Lctrue3n7Ksf-DJBmqU1o8k04znRKCKBg1eaMjwxAQAyxjgY1UE-dORS61Hx1jCq4LNyS_esdE-Q/w400-h285/Victoria%20Station%20Dornier%2015.09.1940.jpg" width="400" /></span></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dornier 17 wreckage on the forecourt of Victoria Station (author's collection)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the modern photographs, we can see the masonry of the station wall, which although recently cleaned, is still disfigured by the impact of the German bomber on that late summer lunchtime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKm64MnMJfc8lAuEmM3PUr4CDQ-ln_raI_r-KShx8BolkIjAXbsM_uat66OMIGc9WmLFMhFJR01fQ7Dehe1rab9b4Je8GRKmtdomApSkCo-nO328HfVLQMsNbrm9QBPYMYpk8iYVHRg3uAUgj7kKiM-mF692GO3SJvwStvIvx7ahzamiAL_NkF_U4jfg/s2630/Victoria%20Station%20Do17%20Damage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1971" data-original-width="2630" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKm64MnMJfc8lAuEmM3PUr4CDQ-ln_raI_r-KShx8BolkIjAXbsM_uat66OMIGc9WmLFMhFJR01fQ7Dehe1rab9b4Je8GRKmtdomApSkCo-nO328HfVLQMsNbrm9QBPYMYpk8iYVHRg3uAUgj7kKiM-mF692GO3SJvwStvIvx7ahzamiAL_NkF_U4jfg/w400-h300/Victoria%20Station%20Do17%20Damage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydGqmHyWh9_FtFumfvshtFs_jcJIa0SgAp1PUruUfyp-J7CSkPybXsjTS9IH63T9SZzzy_SMlutBqHd3zkMi2A-bt1eue8vcPcc8_zb3aPoUN7mRJ2NBo9MhuxgW7d5kdE6gMeS5ZhAByNFVuclwwPuh6hcEs9RF7yj3-6v7dbcc0e2BEOIpcCi8mWg/s2333/Victoria%20Station%20Do17%20Damage_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1667" data-original-width="2333" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydGqmHyWh9_FtFumfvshtFs_jcJIa0SgAp1PUruUfyp-J7CSkPybXsjTS9IH63T9SZzzy_SMlutBqHd3zkMi2A-bt1eue8vcPcc8_zb3aPoUN7mRJ2NBo9MhuxgW7d5kdE6gMeS5ZhAByNFVuclwwPuh6hcEs9RF7yj3-6v7dbcc0e2BEOIpcCi8mWg/w400-h286/Victoria%20Station%20Do17%20Damage_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The battle-scarred walls of Victoria Station (author's images)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In the next edition, we shall take a look at similar reminders of our wartime past elsewhere in the capital.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Please note that all photographs in the above article are the property of the author and may not be used elsewhere without my express written permission. Offenders will be pursued ruthlessly!</p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-51772919319374714372022-06-09T00:00:00.012+01:002022-06-20T13:22:29.474+01:00"Soldiers and Sportsmen All": The Great War story of the 24th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers by Dr. Robert Wynn Jones<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi0P3rJ2twOxVLxUa-md0Mbr7oyUXSPsQyN2Cep8LIE99bXThQ7t4t2uTvHmeJ7vhevynNtj9wr-x0zYrbXLpUy-lSDr15WDBZfm9SmrVsYJNX_7gKoX9-aZqUFgREGpPOt1I8lb2KOIpLYN-wvWtFK_PGr7JHojzmnthT22zYY6qRCLyyJZBO32q1A/s3739/Photo%2031-05-2022,%2014%2027%2017.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3739" data-original-width="2392" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi0P3rJ2twOxVLxUa-md0Mbr7oyUXSPsQyN2Cep8LIE99bXThQ7t4t2uTvHmeJ7vhevynNtj9wr-x0zYrbXLpUy-lSDr15WDBZfm9SmrVsYJNX_7gKoX9-aZqUFgREGpPOt1I8lb2KOIpLYN-wvWtFK_PGr7JHojzmnthT22zYY6qRCLyyJZBO32q1A/w256-h400/Photo%2031-05-2022,%2014%2027%2017.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />Bob Jones is a retired professional geologist and palaeontologist, as well as being a keen amateur historian specialising in the pre-1666 City of London. He writes an excellent blog which can be found at <a href="www.lostcityoflondon.co.uk/ ">www.lostcityoflondon.co.uk/</a> and so this interesting history of the 24th (2nd Sportsmen's) Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers, is something of a departure for him.<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Dr Jones
explains in his dedication that he had a family interest in writing this book;
his maternal grandfather, Private Charles Reuben Clements served in the
battalion until he suffered serious wounds at the Battle of Havrincourt on 12
September 1918 and spent the remainder of the war in hospitals in the United Kingdom,
before returning to civilian life in 1919The
Sportsmen’s Battalions were an extension of the idea of the various “Pals”
Battalions of Kitchener’s “New Army”, except that these men were not work or
professional colleagues but instead were bound together by their love and
proficiency at the chosen sports. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These Sportsmen’s Battalions were the
brainchild of Emma Pauline Cunliffe-Owen, a remarkable woman of mixed
Anglo-German parentage, who reputedly met two big-game hunters in London
shortly after the outbreak of war and jokingly asked them why they had not
enlisted. When they asked her in reply why she had not raised her own
battalion, the idea stuck! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 23rd
(1st Sportsmen’s) Battalion had been raised in September 1914 and had quickly
become over-subscribed, leading to the formation of the 24th (2nd Sportsmen’s)
Battalion during the following November. As the Battalion’s title suggests, the
vast majority of the recruits came from a sporting background, or could at
least shoot or ride. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The author
explains that there were three professional footballers amongst the recruits –
Serjeant Adams of Southend United and Fulham, Serjeant Arthur Evans of
Manchester City, Blackpool and Exeter City and Private Henry George Purver of
Brentford – the latter two of whom were killed at Delville Wood on 31st July
1916. Another of the recruits was Charles Percy “Charlie” McGahey, one of
Wisden’s “Cricketers of the Year” in 1901, who played for Essex as well as
representing MCC in two test matches in Australia in 1901-02. In common with
many of his contemporaries, McGahey was also an excellent footballer who
appeared for Millwall, Woolwich Arsenal and Spurs. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We hear of
the Battalion’s training regime and later of their involvement during the
various battles and campaigns of the war on a year-by-year basis and learn of
the casualties inflicted upon the Battalion at each of the battles they were
involved in. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The author
has managed to glean many photographs of the personnel involved in the
narrative and finishes the book with some useful appendices in which we can
read many biographical sketches of the various men who served with the
Battalion, as well as a separate appendix that tells us something of the life
of Charles Reuben “Charlie” Clements, the author’s maternal grandfather,
another accomplished footballer – this time at club level – for Ealing
Wednesday, a team formed largely of shopworkers, who preferred to play on their
early closing day rather than on Saturday, so as not to lose their best day’s
takings. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As one
would expect when considering the author’s background, this is a meticulously
researched and nicely written book that manages to combine the wider history of
the Battalion with some family history and I have no hesitation in commending
it to you. The book is available to buy direct via the author’s website as
detailed above.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Published by Amazon</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Available from <a href="https://lostcityoflondon.co.uk/books/">https://lostcityoflondon.co.uk/books/</a></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Price: £8.99</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Softback, pp 296</b></div>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-73668349990644923582022-05-10T15:40:00.003+01:002022-05-10T15:40:47.951+01:00Book Review: Zeppelin Inferno: The Forgotten Blitz by Ian Castle<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ki0iPLFc1I795jDkVocRskXg5HKxbLilI3vmKE4g0ahPm6HiKSC3XDnQ0L52jSgdNpk2vtJqW8l43uTOGXHYo-u3Hooybbu9qQPSLrAzVXncSqc7Zmi-8sVfE8UHaqq6y1oR6BhrEp0l9LCzyJUm5fx4pNn2aHWZdUV0re4oqWFQtgetEpnzBm4_uA/s3665/Photo%2010-05-2022,%2012%2043%2038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3665" data-original-width="2426" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ki0iPLFc1I795jDkVocRskXg5HKxbLilI3vmKE4g0ahPm6HiKSC3XDnQ0L52jSgdNpk2vtJqW8l43uTOGXHYo-u3Hooybbu9qQPSLrAzVXncSqc7Zmi-8sVfE8UHaqq6y1oR6BhrEp0l9LCzyJUm5fx4pNn2aHWZdUV0re4oqWFQtgetEpnzBm4_uA/w265-h400/Photo%2010-05-2022,%2012%2043%2038.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the second book in a planned trilogy by author Ian Castle and is a detailed study of the German air offensive against Great Britain during 1916.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As with the previous volume which covered the years 1914-1915, the author deals with each individual raid in some detail, whether it was carried out by conventional aircraft, or as was more often the case, by airships either the lesser-known wooden-framed Schütte-Lanz type, or those constructed by the Zeppelin Company, which give the book it’s title. The descriptions of these raids are enlivened by eyewitness personal accounts by those on the ground and in the air, as well as reports from contemporary newspapers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As well as describing each raid, the author also deals with the countermeasures introduced by the British such as the improvement of the anti-aircraft defences on the ground and the work done to bolster the squadrons devoted to home defence. We also learn about the work done to develop and introduce into service incendiary ammunition for the fighter aircraft that was capable of bringing down the hydrogen-filled airships.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We also read about the personalities on the German side, vilified by the British press as “Baby Killers”, such as Joachim Breihaupt, Heinrich Mathy and Peter Strasser, the commander of the Imperial German Navy’s Airship Division. We also learn about the development and introduction into service of the “R” Class Zeppelins, known to the British as the “Super Zeppelins”, impressive machines that were 198 metres long, with a diameter of 24 metres, capable of carrying a bomb load of up to four tons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the British had brought down their first Zeppelin on 31 March 1916, it had crashed into the sea off the Kent coast. The British public had to wait until 3 September before an airship was shot down over British soil, when the SL-11 was brought down by the guns of a B.E.2c aircraft piloted by Lieut. William Leefe Robinson, who was awarded a VC for his work. The fact that this was a Schütte-Lanz airship rather than a Zeppelin was kept from the public as this stage of the war, as it was felt that this might detract from the achievement!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was a portent for the future and during the remainder of 1916, the German side lost a further five Zeppelins and although the British weren’t to know it at this stage, 1916 marked the peak of the Zeppelin offensive against the United Kingdom; the majority of future air attacks against this country would be made by conventional aircraft.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The book is well illustrated and also contains many useful maps charting the location of German airship bases in 1916, Air Raid Warning Districts, the penetration of the various Zeppelin raids during the year, location of RFC Home Defence squadrons, and tracks of the final flights of many of the destroyed airships. There are also several useful appendices, which explain the airship numbering systems used by both the German Navy and Army, lists of airship and conventional aircraft raids in 1916, which give the numbers of casualties and the values of material damage caused. The final appendix follows the pattern introduced by the author in the first book, by providing a list of the names of those killed in Britain by enemy air attacks during the year in question. Unlike the later Blitz, there is no central register as such and Mr Castle has done a considerable amount of detective work to identify all but six of the 300 British deaths on the ground in 1916.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As one would expect from this author, this is a superbly-researched and well-written work that will interest anyone who wishes to discover more about this sometimes overlooked aspect of the air war in 1914-1918 and I have no hesitation in recommending it to you.</div><br /><b>Published by Frontline Books</b>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>RRP £25.00<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>hardback,
pp 382</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-48304558921349369612022-03-27T02:00:00.000+01:002022-03-27T10:48:22.232+01:00The Last Rocket: The Tragedy of Hughes Mansions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ys40FrTmRoyFhBxRv_Vu-kNyA89SNVPom6Jd-pw9G43IUfsbSX5rZ0lkcyCYSVUly1JzRx7Qe7NIY2vewP6C8ccm2GkD0mbjhRDXqZxjhxQuNld7TQnkXq1amD8aaSseu6RlMSHxmiZA/s2048/Hughes+Mansions+Vallance+Road+1927+pre-war.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1474" data-original-width="2048" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ys40FrTmRoyFhBxRv_Vu-kNyA89SNVPom6Jd-pw9G43IUfsbSX5rZ0lkcyCYSVUly1JzRx7Qe7NIY2vewP6C8ccm2GkD0mbjhRDXqZxjhxQuNld7TQnkXq1amD8aaSseu6RlMSHxmiZA/w400-h288/Hughes+Mansions+Vallance+Road+1927+pre-war.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">One block of Hughes Mansions as built in 1929 (Evening News)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">As we head into March and a new spring, perhaps we should cast our minds back to the early spring of 1945; Germany was in its death throes, assailed on all side by the Russians in the east and by the British, Americans and Canadians in the west. In Berlin, Hitler was already in the bunker where he would soon meet his end but lived in a fantasy world where he still spoke of some miraculous final victory.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the capital of arguably the biggest thorn in Hitler's side, war-weary Londoners were still under fire from the most technically advanced of his so-called <i>Vergeltungswaffen</i> or "Vengeance Weapons" which still fell upon their familiar streets, as well as on eastern England and across the North Sea in Antwerp with disheartening regularity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The other day, I paid a visit to the site of where the very last of these missiles to hit central London impacted, on a now quiet estate in Whitechapel, in the inner eastern suburbs. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCdiuc3EAe2zrBQeinQ5ZNb3Fu9ocrJxVOBM6wM3xzgRgLfSNgsAWc-ShQwYEz-VQyA61k5bLf_KPrQm4d7hRr8Cb6sQm1brse0qs5oGQ9B3uwxPrPI_r12LQAFE8v18SCbEwabD2JSOd/s2048/Hughes+Mansions+Vallance+Road+1927+in+2021.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCdiuc3EAe2zrBQeinQ5ZNb3Fu9ocrJxVOBM6wM3xzgRgLfSNgsAWc-ShQwYEz-VQyA61k5bLf_KPrQm4d7hRr8Cb6sQm1brse0qs5oGQ9B3uwxPrPI_r12LQAFE8v18SCbEwabD2JSOd/w400-h300/Hughes+Mansions+Vallance+Road+1927+in+2021.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The surviving original block of Hughes Mansions on Vallance Road (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Hughes Mansions, on Vallance Road consisted at that time of three roughly similar apartment blocks which contained 93 flats spread over the three buildings. They had been completed in 1929 and were regarded as a welcome improvement on the old "back to back" slums that had once stood here. The blocks were named after Mary Hughes JP, a Quaker philanthropist and erstwhile member of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney's Housing Committee.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Born in Mayfair in 1860, Mary, or "May" as she was often known, was the daughter of Thomas Hughes, author of <i>Tom Brown's Schooldays. </i>She had left home in 1883 to become her uncle John Hughes's housekeeper in Newbury, where he was a vicar and had soon become involved on the Board of Guardians at the local workhouse, where she soon caused a stir by insisting on better conditions for the paupers who lived there. Upon her uncle's death in 1895, she moved to Whitechapel to live with her sister, who was married to the Rev. Ernest Carter and whilst there, continued her work as a Poor Law Guardian, as well as becoming a volunteer visitor to the local hospital and children's home. She had joined the Quakers in 1918 and in 1926, purchased a former pub in Vallance Road, which she renamed the Dewdrop Inn (a play on the words "Do Drop In"), which she turned into a community centre and refuge for the homeless.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIv51CpAstxJ3VAdehtWC1_3YJ4XUzZDgDeuZewdDW2k8bpe1oX9etmpkOPHRgYmLKztZ3NEudgt3rEACkwM_nx4n6zFQcDy8TBp_pq2ac-LF7TXUbIHU8QVXYNnvHOLVn0a595B6csowF/s1761/Mary+Hughes.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1761" data-original-width="1321" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIv51CpAstxJ3VAdehtWC1_3YJ4XUzZDgDeuZewdDW2k8bpe1oX9etmpkOPHRgYmLKztZ3NEudgt3rEACkwM_nx4n6zFQcDy8TBp_pq2ac-LF7TXUbIHU8QVXYNnvHOLVn0a595B6csowF/w300-h400/Mary+Hughes.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blue Plaque to Mary Hughes in Vallance Road (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Mary was an indomitable character, who had once been run over by a tram. Before being taken to hospital, she had insisted on writing a note stating that the tram driver was not to be blamed for the accident and when she was in hospital and told that she was recovering faster than expected, she apparently sat up and shouted <i>"Three cheers for vegetarianism and teetotalism!" </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">She had died, aged 81 in 1941 but today is commemorated by a blue plaque on the former Dewdrop Inn building in Vallance Road, which stands opposite the blocks that bear her name. Mary would doubtless have been appalled at the terrible fate which would befall Hughes Mansions just four years after her passing.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJE6UXKZeKvjzAMEnrXpI8np9hj2vC9nXzJoV0G6iNPye9YhEQ7pT-Vc5i7WdF6JpO17QnsASgW1PRBgAJ7SMMEfZeUhTMeJZE48U0hEYuCq9mw8Rs0Fjw_aVDDAAgqxUsN_sgxTx3zrH/s2048/Hughes+Mansions+LCC+Map.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1693" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJE6UXKZeKvjzAMEnrXpI8np9hj2vC9nXzJoV0G6iNPye9YhEQ7pT-Vc5i7WdF6JpO17QnsASgW1PRBgAJ7SMMEfZeUhTMeJZE48U0hEYuCq9mw8Rs0Fjw_aVDDAAgqxUsN_sgxTx3zrH/w331-h400/Hughes+Mansions+LCC+Map.jpg" width="331" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hughes Mansions on the bomb damage map, showing the two blocks marked in purple at the top, centre (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday 27 March 1945 at 07:12 GMT in the Haagse Bos area of Den Haag in The Netherlands, Battery 3/485 fired a V-2 rocket in the direction of London and just nine minutes later, reports came in to the Stepney Borough Civil Defence Control of a major incident at Hughes Mansions. The missile had scored a direct hit, on the very centre of the three blocks, making a crater some 30 feet by 10 feet and totally destroying the centre block in the process. The block immediately to the east was almost completely destroyed, whilst the rear of the western block, which faces on to Vallance Road was severely damaged. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCD3qVqiicdpD_qYygbfzS80JP5Z-gENm53XxIiVs_YVYIq9lP19_9ew2iyAwh7K_SsiSQ_0TwfMzIcFV_lrcShIQZvfYfJ4csYG6z-ZLl6HbnNUdVVydBiiTAVBV_O7fESD7v_ybAIHaZ/s1500/Hughes+Mansions+impact.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="1500" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCD3qVqiicdpD_qYygbfzS80JP5Z-gENm53XxIiVs_YVYIq9lP19_9ew2iyAwh7K_SsiSQ_0TwfMzIcFV_lrcShIQZvfYfJ4csYG6z-ZLl6HbnNUdVVydBiiTAVBV_O7fESD7v_ybAIHaZ/w400-h281/Hughes+Mansions+impact.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The impact crater and aftermath of the V-2 (UK National Archives)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Some victims were never found, vaporised by the blast whilst many others were trapped where the blocks had collapsed. Rescue work continued apace, with sixteen heavy rescue teams and five cranes on the scene, as well as eleven light rescue squads and over seventy National Fire Service personnel assisting in the work. The last survivor was extricated at around 22:00 that night, after which the squads concentrated on the grim task of recovering the victims. Many of the rescuers were veterans of the Blitz but found this particular job, especially at this eleventh hour of the war, the hardest they had ever encountered.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvUvs4G9grIQsr2NXFvkX58WkREuAhm8gSKT16snDYq1m6zg0eYr9L0bZnzMbGIR_NVSS7g4ZDAFbuJ2mRWAMOUuTNY9HeSfaC91E1x7MGnb9KtlqKpdV1rqmUB0UjEVzAa5z3XF2uV8O/s2642/Hughes+Mansions+site+post-war.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1191" data-original-width="2642" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvUvs4G9grIQsr2NXFvkX58WkREuAhm8gSKT16snDYq1m6zg0eYr9L0bZnzMbGIR_NVSS7g4ZDAFbuJ2mRWAMOUuTNY9HeSfaC91E1x7MGnb9KtlqKpdV1rqmUB0UjEVzAa5z3XF2uV8O/w400-h180/Hughes+Mansions+site+post-war.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Hughes Mansions site after clearance (Evening News)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Hughes Mansions, in common with much of the East End of London at this time, was home to a considerable Jewish population and so no doubt Hitler with his twisted mind, would have been extremely pleased had he known that what proved to be his penultimate missile fired at London had taken 120 Jewish victims out of the total of 134 people who perished in their own homes that morning.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hughes Mansions was rebuilt after the war and ironically, some of those who survived the V-2 incident were rehoused here. Today, the demographic of the area has totally changed and the residents here are overwhelmingly from London's Asian community.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7mIwD8foA3FPKED3kxBCHtUaYGWN2F1dZ1wBg1KMQOc3sQu_-IPJtHdBXaW4mRGSsD36NMZOu3oLjGTG-82BpPuZiJfFfs71pRpciEwV8xt14TMMWV_MhpiQBMgNKYDrvlVuqK4QTDXk/s2048/Hughes+Mansions+new+block+2021.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1305" data-original-width="2048" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7mIwD8foA3FPKED3kxBCHtUaYGWN2F1dZ1wBg1KMQOc3sQu_-IPJtHdBXaW4mRGSsD36NMZOu3oLjGTG-82BpPuZiJfFfs71pRpciEwV8xt14TMMWV_MhpiQBMgNKYDrvlVuqK4QTDXk/w400-h255/Hughes+Mansions+new+block+2021.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The replacement block at Hughes Mansions (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">There is a very modest memorial to those who died here in the garden area of the rebuilt portion of the estate; so modest in fact, many of the local residents appear to be unaware of what happened here. Whilst I was taking my photographs, I was challenged by a resident and asked what I was doing - when I pointed out the memorial, showed him some of the archive photos and told him what had happened here almost 76 years ago, he was visibly shocked and thanked me for informing him. Perhaps this will lead to the memorial being better cared for, or perhaps supplemented by something more fitting.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdFmockd0gTo8Q2YgoxEVwmF2JDMt5kSlzyVmugO-3DiYEeMVXzFyAYLayII6ip2M7lON7jVcsn5RPjvpjLkneoUYkA2oBdcMIdRljgG2ygSuO9-0d_-_jn6ipweGv_aRyqI5YCMl95O1/s2048/Hughes+Mansions+memorial.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1861" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdFmockd0gTo8Q2YgoxEVwmF2JDMt5kSlzyVmugO-3DiYEeMVXzFyAYLayII6ip2M7lON7jVcsn5RPjvpjLkneoUYkA2oBdcMIdRljgG2ygSuO9-0d_-_jn6ipweGv_aRyqI5YCMl95O1/s320/Hughes+Mansions+memorial.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The memorial plaque at Hughes Mansions (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At 16:48 the same Tuesday, one further rocket was fired which impacted a few minutes later at Kynaston Road in Orpington in suburban Kent, killing 34-year-old Ivy Millichamp in her own kitchen and seriously injuring twenty three other people. These proved to be the final civilian casualties in Great Britain of the war, some six weeks before the end of the war in Europe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Published Sources:</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Hitler Passed This Way: 170 pictures from the Evening News - Evening News, 1945</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Hitler's Rockets - Norman Longmate, Front Line Books, 2009</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Unpublished Sources:</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>HO 182/808, Ministry of Home Security, Air Raid Damage Region No. 5 London (Stepney) - UK National Archives, Kew</i></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-10381980430017944412022-02-17T00:00:00.000+00:002022-02-18T12:33:01.989+00:00Battle of Britain Day, Churchill and The Few<i>"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed, by so many, to so few."</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyc49UeXU0gWt4WxS5tjlJ0HpyY8858fIoUVFM982xrp9fk5IHIx0ECoON2VgWntZHdozs9ce6Whe9iEzyKB6qD9O4yDsh91E8xIoMa8sSbLLnY3W_fJRyVYPe_pbqukoLMp0K6eF72NP/s1600/Royal_Airforce_Badge.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyc49UeXU0gWt4WxS5tjlJ0HpyY8858fIoUVFM982xrp9fk5IHIx0ECoON2VgWntZHdozs9ce6Whe9iEzyKB6qD9O4yDsh91E8xIoMa8sSbLLnY3W_fJRyVYPe_pbqukoLMp0K6eF72NP/s200/Royal_Airforce_Badge.png" width="200" /></a><b>Winston Churchill</b> was a master of the use of the English language, whether in it's written or spoken form but of all of his inspirational wartime speeches, his address to the House of Commons on August 20th 1940, in which the above passage formed a part, is arguably his most famous. Certainly the phrase '<b>The Few</b>' which was how Churchill described the <b>RAF</b>'s pilots and aircrews, passed immediately into folklore.</div>
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The origins of this phrase go back to a few days before Churchill made this speech to the House and appears to have been the result of a spontaneous piece of emotion on the Prime Minister's part. During the Battle of Britain, Churchill, always wanting to be close to the action, made a habit of calling into the Uxbridge Operations Bunker of Number 11 Group, RAF Fighter Command to see the battle developing. Uxbridge was conveniently en route from London to Chequers. His first visit came on August 16th and he was accompanied by his Chief Staff Officer, General Sir Hastings Ismay. As the afternoon's battle developed, the two watched Keith Park, AOC 11 Group, deploying his forces and seemingly having no reserves to spare. What the 'plot' in the Uxbridge bunker did not show, was that Park did in fact have reserves to call upon from the neighbouring 10 and 12 Groups. This was the strength of the defensive system perfected by Dowding and Park but all Churchill could see was that all forces had seemingly been committed. He was also very conscious of the fact that just a few weeks previously, before the fall of France, he had asked General Gamelin about the location of his strategic reserve, only to receive the terse answer <i>"Aucune", </i>meaning<i> "None."</i></div>
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It was perhaps with this experience still fresh in his mind and unknowing of some of the other factors involved in Park's deployments, such as the neighbouring Groups' reserves, sizes of raids and the turnaround times on the ground of the RAF's fighter squadrons, that Churchill and Ismay departed by car for Chequers. The first thing Churchill said to Ismay was <i>"Don't speak to me; I have never been so moved." </i>Then about five minutes into the journey, he leant across and said to Ismay: <i>"Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few."</i> Ismay was so struck by this comment that he repeated the phrase to his wife upon his return home.</div>
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So, the phrase that would mythologise the RAF's fighter pilots was born, but when Churchill made his speech just four days later, he spoke of the RAF as a whole when he said:</div>
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<i>"The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed
throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to
the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant
challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by
their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see
with our own eyes day after day, but we must never forget that all the
time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel
far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest
navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire,
often with serious loss, with deliberate, careful discrimination, and
inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making
structure of the Nazi power. On no part of the Royal Air Force does the
weight of the war fall more heavily than on the daylight bombers who
will play an invaluable part in the case of invasion and whose
unflinching zeal it has been necessary in the meanwhile on numerous
occasions to restrain…"</i></div>
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It was clear that the Prime Minister was speaking equally of the RAF's bomber squadrons, who were committed to attacking the German invasion barges and targets in Germany and their occupied territories<i>. </i>But to the British public, who could see the battles developing overhead on a daily basis, the phrase of 'The Few' struck a chord; it was the fighter pilots who were the saviours of the country. Whilst this was undoubtedly true, the men of Bomber Command felt somewhat hard done by that their equally vital work was going unnoticed by the British public and was summed up eloquently, although with natural overstatement by one Bomber Command veteran and quoted in Stephen Bungay's excellent work, <i>The Most Dangerous Enemy</i>:</div>
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<i>"There was no fighter Battle of Britain. I was at Lympne in light bombers in 1940. There was some fighter activity overhead but no more than you would expect. We went out every night, destroying the German invasion barges in the Channel Ports. That was why the Germans never came. We fought the real Battle of Britain."</i></div>
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Despite this, the fighter battle continued and on Sunday September 15th 1940, whilst having breakfast at Chequers, Churchill decided once again to visit Uxbridge. By now, the Blitz on London had started and the Premier had decided that the weather being fine, that it was a <i>"Blitzy Day"</i> to use his own phrase. At just after 11 a.m., the British Chain Home radar at Dover picked up the first raid of the day forming up over Calais. During the day, some 1,120 German fighters and bombers would be pitted against 630 Hurricanes and Spitfires of Fighter Command. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsP_O-nKEnFMa7ZIZp99sEFDcl2gv7_H4TPpYv8_kxrwpXEJazI5__Aq2wK1hz5m5hAWEX9F_8iVWpcxVcIQSPTxo40RATy9ezzFYH__PrDAGygAPSLILflbrrbISelFO7_WCANfWm_64p/s1600/Leigh-Mallory.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsP_O-nKEnFMa7ZIZp99sEFDcl2gv7_H4TPpYv8_kxrwpXEJazI5__Aq2wK1hz5m5hAWEX9F_8iVWpcxVcIQSPTxo40RATy9ezzFYH__PrDAGygAPSLILflbrrbISelFO7_WCANfWm_64p/s200/Leigh-Mallory.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory (IWM)</td></tr>
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As the first raid approached the Kent coast, Keith Park deployed his forces with his customary skill and this time because of the numbers approaching, he requested 12 Group's involvement and ordered the Duxford Wing to patrol over Hornchurch. Leigh-Mallory and Park had clashed over tactics during the Battle of Britain. The New Zealander Park was anxious to hit the attackers with smaller numbers of squadrons and break up the enemy formations before they reached their targets, whereas Leigh-Mallory believed in attacking in large numbers and it was irrelevant to him whether or not the bombers had reached their targets. In reality, Park's tactics were the correct ones - the 'Big Wing' frequently took too long to assemble and then had to climb to reach it's designated height and often being led by the brave but maverick Douglas Bader, the Wing would frequently not patrol where ordered, but would go where Bader felt the action <i>should</i> be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bottom line was that Park did not really trust Leigh-Mallory and although Park's tactics would win out in the Battle of Britain, in the longer term, his 12 Group counterpart would be the winner. Because of his closeness to Sholto Douglas at the Air Ministry, Leigh-Mallory would replace Park at 11 Group and eventually indeed, take the top job of AOC Fighter Command. All this was in the future but it was just as well for Britain and the RAF that he was a more peripheral figure at this stage of the Battle.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEudzlGyZRnsZTBLhAkL3rVv8aVER7WXAUhg6mHoO7N-tB8bXL8MltcF_yjll6A2E5OfJuCtWSHIzX1KU0OnrO8dj-SKlJXNtkvA8HjMYQ77UBhZJLg9zlaGV7hO3s69PZlym_zoV1SYh/s1600/543px-Air_Marshal_Sir_Keith_Park.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEudzlGyZRnsZTBLhAkL3rVv8aVER7WXAUhg6mHoO7N-tB8bXL8MltcF_yjll6A2E5OfJuCtWSHIzX1KU0OnrO8dj-SKlJXNtkvA8HjMYQ77UBhZJLg9zlaGV7hO3s69PZlym_zoV1SYh/s320/543px-Air_Marshal_Sir_Keith_Park.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sir Keith Park (IWM)</td></tr>
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To return to September 15th, Churchill watched as it became clear that the Luftwaffe formations were indeed heading towards London. This was the day of Sergeant Ray Holmes' collision with what turned out to be an abandoned German bomber, a fact obviously unknown to him at the time. The attacking force, whilst not exactly routed, suffered heavy losses all the same; eighteen German aircraft had been shot down, representing 12.5% of their strength. However, due to massive overclaiming on the part of the RAF, especially the Big Wing, the claims had been for eighty one aircraft. The bomber brought down in the collision with Ray Holmes' Hurricane had been claimed nine times! This overclaiming was not deliberate but was understandable in the melee of a pitched battle. Dowding and Park realised this and had previously sought to take a more measured approach when dealing with claims - matching claims against wrecks of crashed aircraft was one way of doing this for example. Leigh-Mallory and his Air Ministry friends realised it too but on this occasion chose to ignore the overclaiming, partially for propaganda purposes but also to further their own ambitions to oust Dowding and Park for their own ends. The afternoon's air fighting saw similar overclaiming and by the end of the day, the RAF had claimed an incredible 185 German aircraft for the loss of 28 RAF machines. The actual German losses were 56 - still a resounding defeat but hardly decisive. </div>
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Park was furious when he learned that these inflated figures had been released. He understood as well as anyone the need for maintaining the morale of the British public but he also knew what else lay behind these figures; of the 185 claims, no fewer than 105 of them came from the Duxford 'Big Wing!' </div>
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When Churchill spoke to Park upon leaving the Uxbridge bunker, he was once again profoundly moved - he had seen the RAF's fighters handled with great skill by Park and his controllers and with great bravery in the air by the pilots. Park explained to Churchill that he was still not satisfied with the outcome and that he was disappointed that the German bombers had reached London. That was not good enough for Park but Churchill was impressed, especially with the claims from the Big Wing. They were beginning to be noticed.</div>
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As Stephen Bungay says, Fighter Command did not win the Battle of Britain on September 15th - it had done that already. It had won because it had endured the battles in August when it's airfields were attacked by repairing damaged machines, filling in craters on airfields and because of the faulty tactics of their enemy. It had won because it had enough brave pilots who overcame their own fears and doubts and it had won because of leaders like Keith Park and Hugh Dowding, who would soon be shamefully replaced by Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Sholto Douglas.</div>
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September 15th merely encapsulated this victory that had already been won - forgetting the overclaims, the appearance of the Big Wing over London, whilst not an effective military weapon in it's own right, made a massive psychological impact on the Luftwaffe's crews. They had been led to believe that the RAF was on it's knees and down to it's last fifty Spitfires. On the contrary, they had appeared stronger than ever and as the Luftwaffe could not master the skies over Britain, the proposed invasion of this country was never going to be a viable prospect. Operation Sealion was postponed indefinitely on September 17th 1940, just two days after the day we now commemorate as Battle of Britain Day.</div>
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For this reason if for no other, The Few deserve to be mythologised. Lest we forget.</div>
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<i>Published Sources:</i></div>
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<i>Churchill - Roy Jenkins, Pan Macmillan 2001</i></div>
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<i>Dowding of Fighter Command - Vincent Orange, Grub Street 2008 </i></div>
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<i>The Most Dangerous Enemy - Stephen Bungay, Aurum Press 2001</i></div>
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<i>The Narrow Margin - Derek Wood with Derek Dempster, Tri-Service Press 1990</i></div>
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<i>Park - Vincent Orange, Grub Street 2001</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-87136168704663834442022-01-03T13:51:00.001+00:002022-01-03T13:52:38.493+00:00Book Review: "Richard Eager" - A Pilot's Story from Tennessee Eagle Scout to General Montgomery's Flying Fortress<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgI06FAmeIR2K0zlsbCtDOtmLkUShyIkREPD8KpuDWgvFT3cavA0CD7tIBx5TqNsSW05jzgxX_DnGYV74ySv43zqSWxJEFil8GJl13WH0V7a2leTKBfKtQt5WjHxbbaro_uEvsT0ooUHxeq7EjAFWkXQHR3IpyCcLbHCzpVvUcH16qXmCGUdbvFxjfssA=s3525" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3525" data-original-width="2791" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgI06FAmeIR2K0zlsbCtDOtmLkUShyIkREPD8KpuDWgvFT3cavA0CD7tIBx5TqNsSW05jzgxX_DnGYV74ySv43zqSWxJEFil8GJl13WH0V7a2leTKBfKtQt5WjHxbbaro_uEvsT0ooUHxeq7EjAFWkXQHR3IpyCcLbHCzpVvUcH16qXmCGUdbvFxjfssA=w316-h400" width="316" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Richard Eager cover (author's photograph)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regular readers of this blog will be aware that starting back in 2014, we began to tell the story of <a href="http://blitzwalkers.blogspot.com/2014/02/flying-for-monty-ike-monty-and-flying.html" target="_blank">Captain Richard E Evans</a> who became the pilot of Bernard Law Montgomery's personal B-17 Flying Fortress, that Monty had "won" in a bet with General Eisenhower's Chief of Staff, General Walter Bedell Smith concerning the capture of of the Tunisian city of Sfax.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was already aware of this bet and how by claiming his winnings, Monty had managed to upset pretty much everyone from Bedell Smith (who had wrongly assumed that Monty was joking) to the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir Alan Brooke, one of the few who could normally keep Monty under some sort of control. It was left to Ike to smooth things over and despite his annoyance at having to kow-tow to Monty, he recognised the importance of keeping him happy and so authorised the use of a Boeing B-17, complete with American crew to satisfy the British general's ego.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, in December 2014, I had the honour of guiding Barbara (Bobbie) Kinnear and her husband John on a wartime walk around Westminster but before we had met, Bobbie had mentioned that her late father had been Monty's pilot. Bobbie expressed a certain amount of surprise that I was aware of this particular wartime oddity and when we did finally meet before our walk, I was delighted that she had brought along some copies of photos of her dad, proudly standing alongside a genial looking Monty. This photo, Bobbie explained, was one that her dad had unofficially entitled <i>"Friends at Last" </i>after a series of mishaps, mostly born of bad luck and the occasional misunderstanding, had threatened to sour the relationship between the two men.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzHRDGpHSmeia-mmubXO_LB5e8nyfGjyAS2vIVWVs8RMDOZlo6SAZytvdFDF9eU7VQjs26Wy5NbyZzoi_nGU-jyLqgIRJRXeb-WTRFXszWBKirh3ezP1LmNMUIPzAqdT7CDzfmuX3dCqbglY7M0vc51NFE_o2ONPQQWRO_TO_puy01Wp6A4hlmDKOntw=s1600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1490" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzHRDGpHSmeia-mmubXO_LB5e8nyfGjyAS2vIVWVs8RMDOZlo6SAZytvdFDF9eU7VQjs26Wy5NbyZzoi_nGU-jyLqgIRJRXeb-WTRFXszWBKirh3ezP1LmNMUIPzAqdT7CDzfmuX3dCqbglY7M0vc51NFE_o2ONPQQWRO_TO_puy01Wp6A4hlmDKOntw=s320" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Friends at Last" (courtesy of Bobbie Kinnear)<br /><br /><br /></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following our walk, we parted as friends and promised to keep in touch. Bobbie and John were as good as their word and apart from continuing in email contact, we have managed to meet up on their every subsequent visit to London in those pre-Covid days, with the friendship extending to John and Bobbie's wider family.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before he passed away aged 87 in 2006, Colonel Richard E Evans (as he had become) began writing the story of his very full life but sadly, the work was not completed by the time of his death. Fortunately for us, Bobbie decided to complete the work but writing and editing isn't always an easy process, especially when one is trying to juggle it around work, family matters and life in general!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is difficult to review a book of this nature without giving away too many spoilers but suffice to say, this is a well-researched and well written story that alternates between stories of Richard's childhood and growing up in the Tennessee Valley and Great Smokey Mountains and of his service in the USAAF and in particular, of his time as Monty's personal pilot, as well as his post-war service with Strategic Air Command.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The book is well illustrated with photographs both from the family collection as well as from the Imperial War Museum and other archives. There are also copies of some remarkable - and very sincere - personal correspondence between Monty and the then Captain Evans, which form part of an irreplaceable family archive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From my own point of view as a military historian, the chapters covering Richard's service during the Second World War are of the most interest but those dealing with his young life in Tennessee are fascinating and give an insight to a life that this "Limey" can only imagine but which in some ways echo my own father's young life growing up in rural England before the war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I commend this book to anyone with an interest in family or in military history, or for anyone interested in the often overlooked "human" side of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And why is the book called Richard Eager? Well, you'll have to buy it to find out!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>I should point out that I did have a very small role in assisting with some of the research for this book but the writing and the editing is the work of Colonel Richard Evans and Barbara Evans Kinnear and theirs alone.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeuelO2ekQKsCmJQD29gLLGjMib2a3p6JYdIkWu0hWD5EVrei-coaFpQmnHNars6SJagMIx9x5fZzSNLV616ceNpxwASZrCOjdso0tY29vMg9JJXr4s3RPxO3ySbmBWWR0h8CAUoxREMHYzhOevb2P7TLJNSM1gHj_EVGs-XaLdRAIhK2H_3tqPAOf5g=s3807" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3807" data-original-width="2574" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeuelO2ekQKsCmJQD29gLLGjMib2a3p6JYdIkWu0hWD5EVrei-coaFpQmnHNars6SJagMIx9x5fZzSNLV616ceNpxwASZrCOjdso0tY29vMg9JJXr4s3RPxO3ySbmBWWR0h8CAUoxREMHYzhOevb2P7TLJNSM1gHj_EVGs-XaLdRAIhK2H_3tqPAOf5g=w270-h400" width="270" /></a></div></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All profits from the sale of this book are being donated by the family to the <a href="https://afas.org/" target="_blank">Air Force Aid Society</a> and copies can be purchased online from <a href="http://www.richardeagerbook.com">www.richardeagerbook.com</a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-1050430239736782222021-11-21T14:54:00.002+00:002021-11-21T14:54:31.004+00:00Honouring our wartime firefighters<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJaB6fWY2t-Oa2mN1hJ3puIlsR5Kn-Ef9VF3pnsK9aZijggif10UHyKTeKVrx_eMbdJLKkLIyTOWKx8BuFawvUuIsD0QBewWOCM6JW_d19giRw8-n4Afl26rmqJ8t8tmNKzHDmeOT9nMs/s2048/Ricardo+Street+School+%2528Lansbury+Lawrence%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1862" data-original-width="2048" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJaB6fWY2t-Oa2mN1hJ3puIlsR5Kn-Ef9VF3pnsK9aZijggif10UHyKTeKVrx_eMbdJLKkLIyTOWKx8BuFawvUuIsD0QBewWOCM6JW_d19giRw8-n4Afl26rmqJ8t8tmNKzHDmeOT9nMs/w400-h364/Ricardo+Street+School+%2528Lansbury+Lawrence%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The newly unveiled plaque at Lansbury Lawrence School (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">A few weeks back, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Lansbury Lawrence Primary School in Poplar to attend the dedication ceremony for the latest of the memorial plaques placed by the Firemen Remembered charity. This particular plaque had been unveiled back in 2006 at the school but due to an impending major refurbishment of the school buildings, a permanent site was not fixed at that time. More time passed and the pandemic then delayed matters even further and it was not until November this year that the plaque could finally be installed and properly dedicated.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The origins behind the plaque go back even further to July 2006, when Stephanie Maltman of the charity was contacted by an elderly lady, Cis Keefe who asked Stephanie whether she could arrange to get a plaque placed for her friend "Joanie" as she called her. Joanie turned out to be Auxiliary Firewoman Joan Ridd, who lost her life whilst serving at Ricardo Street School, as the school on the Lansbury Lawrence site was then called, on 1 November 1940.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cis, Joan and another young lady named Hilda Dupree, were best friends from Poplar who decided to join the Auxiliary Fire Service in 1939. Hilda was to sadly lose her life at the Old Palace School in Poplar when this was bombed on the night of 19/20 April 1941 in what was to prove to be the largest single loss of Fire Service personnel in our history. Cis had seen this plaque and rightly wished for her other AFS friend to be duly honoured.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvAdMJzkNa6ZpthTC9fWlMtzXWzcii5MCyyafzqkLN1Tyg8ZQuAe2d0GtcSaYvxqeup_UP5-itqbgqi5xCFnyQEo01kq1stTpt83ZWkM2RMS2uAXrAAv9VdlGSe6rx1VIulguvLPxNA5T/s1101/Old+Palace+School.+Poplar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1101" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvAdMJzkNa6ZpthTC9fWlMtzXWzcii5MCyyafzqkLN1Tyg8ZQuAe2d0GtcSaYvxqeup_UP5-itqbgqi5xCFnyQEo01kq1stTpt83ZWkM2RMS2uAXrAAv9VdlGSe6rx1VIulguvLPxNA5T/w400-h388/Old+Palace+School.+Poplar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Old Palace School plaque (author's photo)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Once the connection became established, it was only a matter of time for the new plaque honouring Joan and her colleagues who perished with her on that November night, then almost eighty years ago. In July 2006, the plaque was unveiled at the school with Cis in attendance but as mentioned at the start of this piece, the plaque then went into storage until such time as it could be permanently displayed once the refurbishment of the school had been completed. Sadly, Cis was to pass away just two months after the original unveiling and so did not live to see her friend "Joanie" and her colleagues honoured but I'm sure that she would have been very pleased.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lXyREq2GpUDm0ByxQgY2h16Su_ZiYFFpjZPqVLqDVKusoiCtdZpZQRaAuKjxpBccFIm0XWgN91cVFzMBShZI2mCqe5DwJltJqxoIlSzYGKyGWO4AuI81hnhwQrfrXWbuNqj5-csZHyKE/s2048/Cis+Keefe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1475" data-original-width="2048" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2lXyREq2GpUDm0ByxQgY2h16Su_ZiYFFpjZPqVLqDVKusoiCtdZpZQRaAuKjxpBccFIm0XWgN91cVFzMBShZI2mCqe5DwJltJqxoIlSzYGKyGWO4AuI81hnhwQrfrXWbuNqj5-csZHyKE/s320/Cis+Keefe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cis Keefe (to right of plaque) at the original unveiling in July 2006 (Firemen Remembered)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Joan Ridd was a local Poplar girl, born in 1920 and worked at Hope Brothers in Ludgate Hill, a clothing shop that specialised in school uniforms but on joining the AFS, she was posted to Ricardo Street School, which like many such school premises in London, whose pupils had been evacuated to the relative safety of the countryside, had been requisitioned by the Auxiliary Fire Service. In this case, the school became known as Station 24Z and was under the control of Brunswick Road Fire Station, in "C" District of the London Fire Brigade.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsYLiTtel-Z0CiqkFD1ZpqwQ5MDGA8ADVTfRoRkRJ_1MHDv1Hjjvcw4BJOZZlj2I7Bm4t4J67d8vwccObtr2hhVk3BijFp2vJHgnMh83mntGl8F-qVTmWF86MzPyYvQNxipcUdZP5bN0k/s2048/Joan+Ridd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1078" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsYLiTtel-Z0CiqkFD1ZpqwQ5MDGA8ADVTfRoRkRJ_1MHDv1Hjjvcw4BJOZZlj2I7Bm4t4J67d8vwccObtr2hhVk3BijFp2vJHgnMh83mntGl8F-qVTmWF86MzPyYvQNxipcUdZP5bN0k/s320/Joan+Ridd.jpg" width="168" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Joan Ridd (Firemen Remembered)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Joan's duties would have been as a telephonist and as such, on the night of 1/2 November 1940, she was on duty at the station, together with many of her male colleagues. The school was devastated when it was struck by a high explosive bomb, which trapped many of those inside the building. Some were freed but sadly, Joan and four of her male colleagues were killed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W_8Vi_YXe0aFUAl03ZH_iaVSyM528pU15CQt43qNxRY9fylO0bMPRimtwaFOQedSW7tGFCzYeNcyNUAVDcMhtN_odrlPCi14hWSCpEpa-ajbOZvba3FXvApK767yTCeaXgDtLZkBGSAI/s2048/LCC+Map+Ricardo+Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W_8Vi_YXe0aFUAl03ZH_iaVSyM528pU15CQt43qNxRY9fylO0bMPRimtwaFOQedSW7tGFCzYeNcyNUAVDcMhtN_odrlPCi14hWSCpEpa-ajbOZvba3FXvApK767yTCeaXgDtLZkBGSAI/w300-h400/LCC+Map+Ricardo+Street.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>LCC Bomb Damage map for the Ricardo Street area (author's image)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">As well as the damage to the school buildings, the entire area was to be ravaged by the Blitz and the subsequent V-Weapons campaign of 1944/45 and in the years immediately after the war, the entire area was cleared to make room for the Lansbury Estate, intended to be a showpiece built by the then London County Council to show what could be achieved when areas destroyed by the Blitz were redeveloped. The estate was built on the philosophy that it should comprise distinct neighbourhoods, rather than a bland <i>"one size fits all"</i> approach and contain everything within a neighbourhood that a community required - flats, housing, churches, schools, pubs, open spaces, shops and a covered market. The estate deliberately eschewed high-rise blocks and sought to retain the community feel of the old East End that it replaced, using many traditional materials such as the distinctive clay-coloured London Stock bricks and Welsh slate. Many of the new buildings were the work of architects such as Frederick Gibberd, who created the covered Chrisp Street Market and Adrian Gilbert Scott, whose St Mary and Joseph Roman Catholic Church is now listed Grade II by English Heritage.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYnf22XFIcLxYem9c1OyK60ki8Su7AZlhWoCesKGh6ZwasReffxKXtTqiX6obXxsuy9Iji-aUdXWEtCO3juajVV_Obc7BKX4SN1AMpduzXPFpkJdWsSFloRSXqxr269_qvkncYJb_pOCy/s2048/Lansbury+Lawrence+School+FBU+Plaque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYnf22XFIcLxYem9c1OyK60ki8Su7AZlhWoCesKGh6ZwasReffxKXtTqiX6obXxsuy9Iji-aUdXWEtCO3juajVV_Obc7BKX4SN1AMpduzXPFpkJdWsSFloRSXqxr269_qvkncYJb_pOCy/w300-h400/Lansbury+Lawrence+School+FBU+Plaque.jpg" width="300" /></i></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>FBU Plaque at Lansbury Lawrence School (author's image)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The informal but still very moving ceremony on 1 November was attended by pupils from the present day Lansbury Lawrence School, as well as member of the family of Fireman Arthur Wenborne, another of those who died here in 1940. Arthur lived close by in Brabazon Street and in peacetime worked for a furniture supply company. Also in attendance were re-enactors Neil Bloxham and Dave Porter, as well as modern firefighters from Bow Fire Station and representatives of the Fire Brigade Union, who had also placed a memorial plaque at the site. Another guest was historian Peter Quilter, whose grandfather Ernie Quilter had served in the London Fire Brigade from 1919 to 1948, initially at Bow and subsequently as a Divisional Officer at Brunswick Road Fire Station. Peter had researched the history of those who died here in 1940 and in addition to Joan and Arthur, told us about Walter Hart, born in Hackney in 1914, whose father had died during the Great War. Frank Wingfield was another local lad from Bow and Ernest Hyde had lived very close by in Ettrick Street. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vSH_PiaBDwtEqSZ50XFezfZPXJ86XHzzPIgs_PNWDzFSFukeoxc9JzRogXX-NhdFpdy2-6z4diSFJBn2k9zum9M4cq3uCIjnKazMxBPQtcNWKjxvJGOQIX0zWET1X3TRsinPGFFgf-UD/s2048/Dave+Porter+and+Neil+Bloxham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1511" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vSH_PiaBDwtEqSZ50XFezfZPXJ86XHzzPIgs_PNWDzFSFukeoxc9JzRogXX-NhdFpdy2-6z4diSFJBn2k9zum9M4cq3uCIjnKazMxBPQtcNWKjxvJGOQIX0zWET1X3TRsinPGFFgf-UD/w295-h400/Dave+Porter+and+Neil+Bloxham.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Neil Bloxham & Dave Porter in their 1940s uniforms (author's image)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Peter explained to the children present that these stories needed to be told and that be passing them on to the children, they were now their stories to tell and to likewise keep alive. Readings from the pupils then followed, as did some excellent questions from them. Our two re-enactors then explained something about the 1940s uniforms that they were wearing, which differ greatly from those worn by modern firefighters, many of whom took a great interest in the clothing that their counterparts from eighty years ago would have worn.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lzFHE_N0r1g-nKthm3yYFK289L18HgIysmlGu_xI_R_2IhdZsSqRRRdIGB1iBHXnt13nITy1S_XLGKNBaD0LN5VooOvNwzqNUbFVvY1SWge95B1-6Srdj7jubQrEqjnmVnahPSftpWY-/s2048/Lansbury+Lawrence_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lzFHE_N0r1g-nKthm3yYFK289L18HgIysmlGu_xI_R_2IhdZsSqRRRdIGB1iBHXnt13nITy1S_XLGKNBaD0LN5VooOvNwzqNUbFVvY1SWge95B1-6Srdj7jubQrEqjnmVnahPSftpWY-/w400-h300/Lansbury+Lawrence_5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Members of Arthur Wenlock's family in front of the plaque together with Stephanie Maltman (second from right) and Peter Quilter (right) (author's image)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqRZ0dUsxzNlpej3KM3BD2xYbdKNiazVuGVhtEDEy_kyJSNThyphenhyphenjSsJHHt2zjP3sBRT1AtiIMcXVOcGf-f_v871kq9mKV_-INWulc9vgwKAExlcJqzNaB1GmGD56ogwaz9TSPU23j433xn/s2048/Lansbury+Lawrence_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqRZ0dUsxzNlpej3KM3BD2xYbdKNiazVuGVhtEDEy_kyJSNThyphenhyphenjSsJHHt2zjP3sBRT1AtiIMcXVOcGf-f_v871kq9mKV_-INWulc9vgwKAExlcJqzNaB1GmGD56ogwaz9TSPU23j433xn/w300-h400/Lansbury+Lawrence_4.jpg" width="300" /></span></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Firefighters old and new, together with FBU representatives (author's image)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The ceremony closed with some comments from Mr Owen O'Regan, the Head Teacher of Lansbury Lawrence School, who spoke of his genuine interest in this aspect of the school's history and who assured all those present that the memories of those who died here would be cherished and remembered so that future generations would continue to learn of them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Please note that all of the colour images in this piece are the property of the author and they may not be reproduced under any circumstances without the express written permission of the author. </p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-46950219760974354502021-08-16T16:24:00.003+01:002021-08-16T16:24:50.416+01:00Firemen Remembered: Harry Errington and the George Cross<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nwdB0ceSy9QBsIKVMmSnq_lLdiZAPzxKp2lvQ1Fq47sMTNaY4BOT-d0uWkOXFAZF4jkI_onazEirnizpHl6tU7dWs-qEBPRNC18XwEfAb3f5fyh-v82HWJADd9bCsS8-xbodOXac070d/s2048/Invicta+ceremony+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nwdB0ceSy9QBsIKVMmSnq_lLdiZAPzxKp2lvQ1Fq47sMTNaY4BOT-d0uWkOXFAZF4jkI_onazEirnizpHl6tU7dWs-qEBPRNC18XwEfAb3f5fyh-v82HWJADd9bCsS8-xbodOXac070d/w400-h300/Invicta+ceremony+2018.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Invicta Road plaque remembrance ceremony in 2018 (author's photograph)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Since taking up guiding some twelve years ago, I have met some delightful people who have helped and encouraged me and frequently collaborated on various projects. One of my very earliest such contacts was Stephanie Maltman, the moving force behind the Firemen Remembered charity, an independent organisation that is dedicated to recording and remembering those firemen and women who served in the London Civil Defence Region during the Second World War and which commemorates those who died whilst serving.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Observant Londoners will have spotted the distinctive white, oval shaped plaques at various locations across the capital upon which the names of firemen and firewomen (the rank of "Firefighter" was not introduced until the late 1980s) are recorded, sometimes along with the names of other Civil Defence workers who died alongside them. Thanks to Stephanie, I have been fortunate enough to have been invited to a number of unveiling and dedication ceremonies of new plaques and on one occasion, worked with her to get a plaque installed at Invicta Road School, the scene of a tragic loss of fire service lives in November 1940.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The most recent plaque to be installed was of necessity, unveiled without ceremony due to Covid restrictions in 2020 but commemorates seven Auxiliary Fire Service members who died at the former Jackson & Allum's Garage at Rathbone Street, in the area of London's West End that we now know as Fitzrovia. The garage was then in use as an annexe of AFS sub-fire station 72Z but on 17 September 1940, received a direct hit from a high explosive bomb that killed the seven firemen, as well as nineteen civilians who were using the basement as a shelter. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQXzbRYpiVkHdRZNVvjKkjsPlKSqOiI3GcXqemAxyn2kqh5ln7HdULudEV3tT2VQzzEv_juBpQFuP8uMXMGLl2rc64kWNTUU8FAMSaN_9iDYo5ohhpsNi4K5w6-301yvdAbzelKtt-NCV/s1724/Harry+Errington+Plaque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1724" data-original-width="1096" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQXzbRYpiVkHdRZNVvjKkjsPlKSqOiI3GcXqemAxyn2kqh5ln7HdULudEV3tT2VQzzEv_juBpQFuP8uMXMGLl2rc64kWNTUU8FAMSaN_9iDYo5ohhpsNi4K5w6-301yvdAbzelKtt-NCV/w254-h400/Harry+Errington+Plaque.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Firemen Remembered plaque at 7-9 Rathbone Street, London W1 (author's photograph)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">However, as the plaque informs us, apart from the tragic loss of life, Jackson's Garage was the scene of an act of great bravery that saw the only George Cross awarded to Harry Errington, the only member of the London Fire Service to be so awarded during the Second World War.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry Errington was born on 20 August 1910 in a small, two roomed flat at 47 Poland Street, Westminster. He was one of four children born to Yiddish speaking, Jewish immigrants from Poland, Solomon and Bella Ehrengott, who were tailors originally from Lubartov, near Lublin. They had come to England in 1908 in order to flee the pogroms and had changed their name to Errington shortly before Harry's birth. He was educated at the Jewish Free School in Westminster and had vague memories of the Zeppelin raids of the First World War, when with his school friends, he remembered collecting pieces of shrapnel from the streets after each raid.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Upon leaving school, Harry initially trained as an engraver but the fumes from the nitric acid used in the process affected his chest and so instead, he went to trade school and became a tailor working for his uncle in Savile Row. His job at this time was to take finished articles of clothing to other Savile Row shops and bring back other work for his uncle. After completing his training as a cutter, he got his first job with a famous Dutch tailor called Sholti but as soon as he discovered that Harry was Jewish, sacked him in a move that would be illegal today but was typical of the widespread anti-Semitism of the time.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqxYov40hS3-VkVHu-YSJ0tXekOfJMtxFU2gIq0RdyeSyk7QYqnb1adLjpScgN0tbp1oQCovISJtN5hyphenhyphenctdjDOrFqeEqjFfO9Dz6hQijXohZgoa36g5KXo_R5hrtne8zXRmQwCBmA8Sm8/s742/Jacksons+Garage+72Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="556" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqxYov40hS3-VkVHu-YSJ0tXekOfJMtxFU2gIq0RdyeSyk7QYqnb1adLjpScgN0tbp1oQCovISJtN5hyphenhyphenctdjDOrFqeEqjFfO9Dz6hQijXohZgoa36g5KXo_R5hrtne8zXRmQwCBmA8Sm8/w300-h400/Jacksons+Garage+72Z.jpg" width="300" /></i></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The site of Jackson's Garage in 2018 (author's photograph)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry eventually obtained another job in 1936 with the famous tailors Simpsons of Piccadilly but in August 1939, three weeks before the declaration of war, he volunteered to join the AFS full time, along with three friends at Shaftesbury Avenue Fire Station. Harry was highly motivated in his desire to help defend his local neighbourhood, as he had numerous relatives still living in Poland, all of whom he later learned were murdered in the Holocaust.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">His first base was at his former school at Hanway Place, which was the main Station 72Z and as this was during the period known as the "Phoney War", they saw little action and were able to concentrate on training. Harry and his crew of four had the typical equipment of the time - a requisitioned taxi and a trailer pump. Harry recalled that morale was high and that as they had several chefs amongst their number from West End restaurants, the food was excellent.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In early 1940, he was transferred to Jackson & Allum's garage in Rathbone Street, which for Harry was a bonus as it meant that he could now walk to work from his home in Poland Street. This station had five crews and larger purpose built wagons for towing the trailer pumps. One of the main <i>raisons d'etre </i>of the AFS was to act as a mobile reserve to reinforce other areas and on the first night of the Blitz, 7 September 1940, Harry and his colleagues found themselves tackling fires a long way from their usual "manor" in places as far-flung as the Surrey Docks, Peckham, Camberwell and the Woolwich Arsenal.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On 17 September 1940, Harry and some twenty colleagues were awaiting their next "shout" in the basement of Jackson's Garage, along with around thirty members of the public who were sheltering there. At 00:14, the floors above crashed into the basement as the building received a direct hit from a high explosive bomb. The garage petrol store was also located above the basement and the burning fuel created a fireball that swept through the basement. Harry was blown across the floor and knocked unconscious but quickly awoke to find himself unhurt but stunned. The cellar was burning and smoke-filled and although the main exit was blocked, he was able to make his way to the emergency exit but on his way, heard screams for help; he saw his friend John Hollingshead laying face down in great pain with his legs trapped by masonry. Without hesitation, Harry found a blanket and placed it over his head to try and get a measure of protection from the flames and returned to help his friend.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnP4VG-Vx20G_Ue2VwU_CdsL8H8eCxLRvLrM-nr7FMsevzi7A1WjJcFCkKb9qwTGvweDAMQ3z3OCt0hCGkNMDCpPy9EN_a7r7NyLuLdDzAeBfaYv_hyLxMy5xcpJNr4vxbVoju-aUbX64/s1024/Harry_Errington_GC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="761" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnP4VG-Vx20G_Ue2VwU_CdsL8H8eCxLRvLrM-nr7FMsevzi7A1WjJcFCkKb9qwTGvweDAMQ3z3OCt0hCGkNMDCpPy9EN_a7r7NyLuLdDzAeBfaYv_hyLxMy5xcpJNr4vxbVoju-aUbX64/w298-h400/Harry_Errington_GC.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Harry Errington GC (author's collection)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry was able to scrape away and lift the rubble with his bare hands, seriously burning and cutting them in the process. Freeing Hollingshead, he then carried him out into the street but on his way, noticed another friend, John Terry, trapped beneath a heavy radiator. Having taken Hollingshead to safety, Harry then returned into the burning basement, by then in danger of imminent collapse and freed Terr, dragging him out of the building.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry was by this time in serious pain from his cut and burned hands, which he must have surely known could end his peacetime livelihood. The injured men, including Harry were taken to the nearby Middlesex Hospital for treatment but later transferred to the relative safety of a hospital in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. It was whilst recovering here that he recalled being given copious supplies of beer, courtesy of some Canadian soldiers who were also patients here. The Canadians didn't think much of English beer and so were happy to give it away to the English firemen!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry was eventually discharged by the AFS as his wounds failed to heal in the thirteen weeks allowed by the Civil Injuries Act and as his parents had moved to Bromsgrove, near Birmingham, he moved there and got a job working at Austin Aero, which manufactured Lancaster bombers. He also attempted to join the Army at this time but was refused as medically unfit due to his injured hands. Harry later re-joined the now-nationalised National Fire Service in Bromsgrove as a part-timer and remained with them until the end of the war.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry's George Cross was gazetted on 8 August 1941 based on the recommendation of Hollingshead and Terry, the two men he had rescued, who had reported his actions to a senior officer. Despite his injuries (he had third degree burns to his hands and arms), Harry had modestly not mentioned his act of rescue to his superiors. His GC was awarded to him in October 1942 by the King in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the war, Harry returned to Simpsons but eventually established his own tailoring business, Errington & Whyte in Sackville Street, which he ran until his retirement in 1992. In his youth, he had been a keen basketball player and after the war coached the Regent Street Polytechnic team and later still became Vice Chairman of the UK Amateur Basketball Association. He was heavily involved with the Great Britain basketball team at the 1948 London Olympics and travelled around the world with the British team. Harry was also an active member of AJEX - the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen, which have also placed a plaque in Harry's memory at Rathbone Street.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jfsHcDdBptKsEOSPZP92Y8gczQN6CmnhFeE1WaBnJ9wkd9kyKYeyxSRW4ZTzeBnIzx9krF__ng8K3UU6AuUtqPmdJ6BJDtw9Ch-kgmSYU6G1ANNvFz6hbA6bXfP8QWZIFx2cwdfxoaeE/s2048/Harry+Errington+AJEX+Plaque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="2048" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jfsHcDdBptKsEOSPZP92Y8gczQN6CmnhFeE1WaBnJ9wkd9kyKYeyxSRW4ZTzeBnIzx9krF__ng8K3UU6AuUtqPmdJ6BJDtw9Ch-kgmSYU6G1ANNvFz6hbA6bXfP8QWZIFx2cwdfxoaeE/w400-h263/Harry+Errington+AJEX+Plaque.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">AJEX plaque honouring Harry at Rathbone Street (author's photograph)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Stephanie Maltman, who met Harry on several occasions, describes him as having been a <i>"gentle and self-effacing"</i> man. In his retirement, Harry was a welcome visitor to Soho Fire Station in Shaftesbury Avenue, who gave him a splendid 90th birthday party in 2000 and he was particularly honoured to have a road named after him at the Fire Services College at Morton-in-Marsh.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In 2002, Harry became a resident of the Nightingale Jewish Old Age Home in Wandsworth and died in 2004 at the age of 94, His medals are now on display at the Jewish Museum in Camden Town, having been gifted by his family.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Published Sources:</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />Jewish Participation in the Fire Service in the Second World War - Martin Sugarman - Valentine Mitchell, 2016</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The London Gazette - 5th August 1941</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Salamander, Journal of the Worshipful Company of Firefighters, Issue 7, April 2006</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Unpublished Sources:</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone Civil Defence Incident Log</i></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-61858138746974285872021-07-24T14:07:00.002+01:002021-07-24T19:05:20.796+01:00A step back in time: The Hamburg Air Raid Shelter Museum<div style="text-align: justify;">
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</tbody></table>This article first appeared on the blog in February 2013 but to mark the 78th anniversary of the beginning of the <b>"Gomorrah"</b> raids, we have slightly updated the piece slightly to present it to you once again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I first visited <b>Hamburg</b>'s only <b>Air Raid Shelter</b> <b>Museum</b> in February 2013 and have returned twice since to this fascinating but still relatively little-known museum located in the eastern inner suburbs of Germany's second largest city.</div>
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Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the war will be aware that between 24th July and 2nd August 1943, Hamburg was laid waste by a series of <b>RAF</b> and smaller <b>USAAF</b> air raids with the macabre codename <b>Operation Gomorrah,</b> that peaked, if that is the correct word, on 27th July with a vast <b>firestorm</b> that devastated the districts of <b>Hamm,</b> <b>Hammerbrook</b> and <b>Borgfelde</b> causing casualty figures that are difficult to comprehend even today and which left a generation of survivors scarred with mental images of the hellish scenes that they had witnessed. </div>
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We have already covered the raid in the <a href="http://blitzwalkers.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/parallel-cities-second-great-fire-of.html" target="_blank">February 2011</a> edition of this blog but before one of my regular visits to Hamburg, I learned of the Air Raid Shelter Museum located on the <i>Wichernsweg</i> in the Hamm district, one of the hardest hit areas of the 1943 raids. The opportunity to visit such an important piece of wartime history was too good to miss and after a brief exchange of emails, a guided tour was arranged for myself and the group of friends who were visiting with me.</div>
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<br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIVfGA8Wvd8tYykjl_7pqERBUuYuXPK8mHHmtu_3hzOq-yYjYN3mvXRja3OUqwQugNVsddV7cBQHnw9PYSmR8ugnYrX13gQubzh_dfMsI3anrv2MRZwAWcuAM5kjxPtXGNJXBqfx6A8Dy/s2048/Bunker+Steps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIVfGA8Wvd8tYykjl_7pqERBUuYuXPK8mHHmtu_3hzOq-yYjYN3mvXRja3OUqwQugNVsddV7cBQHnw9PYSmR8ugnYrX13gQubzh_dfMsI3anrv2MRZwAWcuAM5kjxPtXGNJXBqfx6A8Dy/w300-h400/Bunker+Steps.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The steps to safety <i>(author's photo)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We arrived at the entrance to the Shelter promptly at 11:00 and were greeted by Gunnar Wulf, our friendly and knowledgeable guide for the tour. A brisk descent down in excess of twenty steps took us out of the chilly Hamburg weather down into a subterranean world, which in the summer of 1943 would have represented the best hope of surviving the horrors about to rain down on the city. The shelter was built between April 1940 and April 1941 as part of a country wide scheme of shelter construction in anticipation of British air raids following the outbreak of war in September 1939. The shelter was built approximately five metres underground from reinforced concrete with walls one metre thick. This substantial construction provided protection from everything except a direct hit. </div>
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At the bottom of the stairs, we entered a chamber, which during the war would have acted as a gas-proofed airlock area, from which we saw four parallel tunnel like chambers, which formed the actual shelter part of the bunker. Each tunnel is 17 metres long and has a headroom of 2.25 metres, which allows even the tallest amongst us to stand upright, which as Gunnar explained later was very important in 1943. Each chamber had bench type seating for 50 people as well as shelves for personal belongings. Each tunnel is interlinked with a small passageway into the adjoining chamber as well as being served by an emergency exit at the opposite end to the main stairs so as to allow speedy evacuation in case of a bomb breaching the shelter or blocking the entrance.</div>
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<br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kPrp6sYgvAeVcuXtPI9A3kf3OPHRlcKt5QK0EST6jOn2WRjtRG7ICHxgsh3cisHGFzs97VEGOzZVSujR9DJUYIFlIvgZ8b72NRoHIMaxbTl37Px8nbsNaoEGREjo2bghhKqZJPfby7NW/s2048/Bunker+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kPrp6sYgvAeVcuXtPI9A3kf3OPHRlcKt5QK0EST6jOn2WRjtRG7ICHxgsh3cisHGFzs97VEGOzZVSujR9DJUYIFlIvgZ8b72NRoHIMaxbTl37Px8nbsNaoEGREjo2bghhKqZJPfby7NW/w400-h300/Bunker+7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Gas-tight entrance or <i>Gasschleuse (author's photo)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We were then led into one of the tunnel-like chambers, now in use as a small lecture theatre where after sitting down, Gunnar formally greeted us and introduced us to Timothy Hulme, a post-graduate military history student from Wales who had been enlisted to assist with translating any technical terms. The introduction started by explaining the different types of shelter used in Germany during the wartime years. In Hamburg, there were two types of above ground shelter as well as the underground type that we were visiting. The above ground shelters consisted of the brick clad shelters, looking rather like overgrown pepperpots, which were often located close to main railway stations and of which several still survive in Hamburg. The other type of above ground shelter were the <i>Flakturm</i> or Flak Towers, which doubled as anti-aircraft gun emplacements and fortresses as well as shelters. These huge reinforced concrete structures have often proved impossible to destroy and one of these towers survives in the St Pauli area of the city, close to the Millerntor Stadion, home of St Pauli FC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypmiLOqXfMSXKVWuBczqD9YY2l9M5UddrebD9cZKpNPBFZzULz3cc23YhX78Vrcp1vqVu6EWt-xggvAnHELw4niiCnCWkXP6HiSElpdr62usrImZhYduEwu2GhEm0jFVLDu3wQsu4tY88/s1799/Wichernsweg+%2523002%252C+Nr.1-15%252C+1940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1799" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypmiLOqXfMSXKVWuBczqD9YY2l9M5UddrebD9cZKpNPBFZzULz3cc23YhX78Vrcp1vqVu6EWt-xggvAnHELw4niiCnCWkXP6HiSElpdr62usrImZhYduEwu2GhEm0jFVLDu3wQsu4tY88/w400-h272/Wichernsweg+%2523002%252C+Nr.1-15%252C+1940.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is <i style="text-align: justify;">Wichernsweg </i><span style="text-align: justify;">in 1940 - the shelter entrance was to the left of the church <i>(Stadtteilarchiv Hamm)</i></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Going back to 'our' shelter, we then moved to an explanation as to who was allowed to use the shelter and Gunnar described how local residents were registered with the Shelter Warden as being permitted to use this particular shelter. Residents were expected to make their whereabouts known and if a person was travelling and unable to use a shelter for a particular length of time, he or she was under instructions to inform the Warden of their non-attendance; failure to do this and not to attend for three consecutive nights, meant that permission to use a particular shelter could be withdrawn. Most of the shelter residents were the very young and the elderly; the majority of the younger men were in the armed forces and many of the younger women by 1943, were involved in some form of war work. The unpalatable truth concerning the fate of Jewish would-be shelterers was also touched upon and Gunnar explained that the Nazis simply would not permit people of that faith to use the public shelters. Jews who by 1943 had not been shipped off to one of the death camps were expected to remain in their homes, not to take shelter and basically take their chances. The Allied bombers could do the Nazis' job for them without the expense of shipping these people away.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdYfxONONuFUFq8YOsPCd_dOZEH5G2opBYBAvolk4-rghefVQRGo7YtfKKIPGS2qjTsvjiMRB6LguLBsmyVuUxoq1lseahjMvO-XHseAh6P0TUxLzFdQxyD4SnzcKXbDY1MtW2KdsgO5R/s1032/Mettlerkampsweg+%2523014%252C+Nr.13%252C+1943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1032" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdYfxONONuFUFq8YOsPCd_dOZEH5G2opBYBAvolk4-rghefVQRGo7YtfKKIPGS2qjTsvjiMRB6LguLBsmyVuUxoq1lseahjMvO-XHseAh6P0TUxLzFdQxyD4SnzcKXbDY1MtW2KdsgO5R/w400-h365/Mettlerkampsweg+%2523014%252C+Nr.13%252C+1943.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Elderly male shelterers pass the time with a card game </span><i style="text-align: justify;">(Stadtteilarchiv Hamm)</i></span></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">We then moved to what for me was the most striking part of the entire tour. We were played a recording, some of which was taken during an actual raid. For this recording, the lighting in the shelter was extinguished and we listened in complete darkness, in much the same way as if a nearby bomb falling had extinguished the lighting, as happened frequently. The recording started with a radio broadcast; the ticking metronome sound being interrupted by a voice telling us that enemy raiders were approaching and instructing the listeners to take shelter, followed by the haunting sound of the air raid sirens. We then heard the sound of approaching bombers and the steady drone of the engines of 800 plus Lancasters and Halifaxes. Up until now, I have always considered the noise of the Merlin engine to be a friendly, reassuring sound but sitting in the total darkness waiting for the bombs to start falling, even in a simulation like this, it was anything but friendly and oozed menace. Next we heard the sound of bombs falling, including one or two that must have been very close to the person making the original recording and finally we heard the somewhat distressing sound of people screaming and crying; quite possibly the sound of people being killed.</div>
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At this point, the recording finished, the lights were raised and we moved to the next stage of our tour. On the way out of this chamber, we examined the many photographs, taken unofficially at the time of various groups of shelterers; many were elderly and they made poignant viewing of people playing cards, knitting, chatting or just trying to get some sleep. These were ordinary people and looked no different to their counterparts in London, Coventry or any other city under fire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEita3DAhboX2xfWwCJnSgwX56ioPijdYo45pUU3okA_EnHw9k4S_3GMQjzqBAf3-YqavBrPanbD0TlcImEdkAG6JTlYpEr2GsdbsMzBG_n9aS9AX2Ab6lhe6T64_Sz6n3InSilNaDv73fIq/s2048/Bunker+Phone.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEita3DAhboX2xfWwCJnSgwX56ioPijdYo45pUU3okA_EnHw9k4S_3GMQjzqBAf3-YqavBrPanbD0TlcImEdkAG6JTlYpEr2GsdbsMzBG_n9aS9AX2Ab6lhe6T64_Sz6n3InSilNaDv73fIq/w400-h300/Bunker+Phone.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Shelter Wardens' Area <i>(author's photograph)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In the next chamber, we visited the area which would have been used by the Shelter Warden and saw some artefacts from the shelter's wartime past, including a noticeboard, a shelter telephone and an air raid siren, which obviously was not originally located in the shelter but was there for display purposes. We were also showed the location of the emergency exit at the other end of the tunnel, which could be reached from the other three by means of connecting passageways between the four chambers. Also included in this area were a series of photographs from the Holborn area of London following damage inflicted by the Luftwaffe in the Blitz of 1940-41, as well as several personal accounts of Londoners during this time. Gunnar explained that he always went to great lengths to explain to visiting school groups that London was bombed first, in 1940 and that what subsequently happened to Hamburg and other German cities was a direct result of this. He also mentioned that he frequently showed school groups the Holborn photographs without captions and that the children often confuse them with photos of Hamburg. As Gunnar pointed out, one bombed city looks much like another.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pC-6cSboTpOn5iiH1S2g2IFaXLUBYXQrNDimWK-XcZf49LCHToXMCia0aRuQFjFeuy0d_UCGOJQs4gfn7hCsidAbd8wsh0QsV9p2ydVRs-q32Nlvg94dAFt7Lz0WiiOiQyhxU86-bdpJ/s2048/Bunker+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pC-6cSboTpOn5iiH1S2g2IFaXLUBYXQrNDimWK-XcZf49LCHToXMCia0aRuQFjFeuy0d_UCGOJQs4gfn7hCsidAbd8wsh0QsV9p2ydVRs-q32Nlvg94dAFt7Lz0WiiOiQyhxU86-bdpJ/w400-h300/Bunker+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Re-creation of how shelterers' luggage was stored<i> (author's photo)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
We then moved into the third chamber, the layout of which has been recreated as the shelter would originally have been in 1943. This included bench type seating on one side, with wooden luggage racks on the opposite side. Today, these racks were filled with suitcases and luggage of the period, including some donated by Gunnar's Mother. He explained that each shelterer was issued with a list of what they should bring with them. This included a change of clothing, washing things, knives and forks - basically what one would take on an overnight stay or a short camping trip. This part of the shelter also contained the toilet - a dry chemical type - and the First Aid area, which contained the only beds to be found - a bunk bed arrangement for anyone who was taken ill during the night, or who was unable to sit or stand. We also saw the air filter, designed to provide a source of 'fresh' air into the shelter and which in theory could help filter out poison gas. The outside chamber leading into the main entrance stairs was also used as a <i>Gasschleuse</i> or airlock, where poison gas, being heavier than air would roll down the stairs and dissipate on the floor, with the main shelter chambers being sealed by large blast and gas proof steel doors. Mercifully, neither side used poison gas during the Second World War, so this was never put to the test. However, the filter could not keep out smoke and during the raids of 1943, when fires were burning out of control up on the surface, the filter had to be switched off in the hope that the shelterers would have enough air to see the raid out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Air Filter with the only two bunk beds visible in the background and the toilet behind them. The emergency exit is at the far end of this area <i>(author's photo)</i></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Gunnar described how, although the shelter was designed for 200 people, during the great raids of 1943 anyone and everyone was allowed in. He related one story told to him by a shelterer of the time that during the firestorm raid of 27th July 1943, so many people were crammed into the shelter that it was impossible to move from one end of the tunnel to the other and consequently toilet visits were impossible. Combined with being in near darkness, the sound of bombs falling and the air fetid with smoke and unwashed bodies, the conditions do not bear thinking about. Despite this, everyone who sheltered here during the raids of 1943 survived to tell the tale; many others elsewhere were not so lucky. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bottles twisted into fantastic shapes by the intense heat of the Firestorm <i>(author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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This room also contained many other artefacts of the wartime years, including a misshapen bottle found buried outside the shelter. The bottle was intact but had assumed a very peculiar shape. Hamm was in the centre of the firestorm and this bottle had been partially melted and it was explained to us that the temperature required to achieve this was between 800 - 1200 degrees Celsius. Obviously people could not survive outside in these conditions and eye witness accounts tell us of people seeing what they thought were 'tailors dummies' lying around on the streets, including the nearby main thoroughfare, the <i>Hammer Landstrasse</i>. These 'tailors dummies' were human bodies, charred often beyond recognition. Usually though, there was even less left to find - the official death toll is usually shown in the region of 42,000 to 45,000 but the true human cost of these terrible nights will probably never be known.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CtXXMxCG10m-RllDg9QJenBvmpIwsQ9qR17JDhz4PCpwhY6mYwnsYDt0n4ihDX-7LrKE_pyRzTQt3hTQnNB0EpWlZza_-6Qvc4A_sncgBqyR41E7gwC880ZwOOiVqv5F3jHghzXUhkFD/s1600/Hamburg+2013+032.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CtXXMxCG10m-RllDg9QJenBvmpIwsQ9qR17JDhz4PCpwhY6mYwnsYDt0n4ihDX-7LrKE_pyRzTQt3hTQnNB0EpWlZza_-6Qvc4A_sncgBqyR41E7gwC880ZwOOiVqv5F3jHghzXUhkFD/w400-h300/Hamburg+2013+032.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Knives and Forks suffered the same fate in the heat <i>(author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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For the final part of our tour, Gunnar took us to a part of the bunker that is not usually open to the public but which is used for storing artefacts not normally on display. These included more partially melted bottles which had assumed crazy shapes, knives and forks also twisted in the firestorm as well as many items of wartime ephemera unearthed from the ground around the area. In the main entrance hall as we gathered to leave the shelter was a large piece of shrapnel from a British 500 lb bomb, also discovered close by.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDjkCPAJFdPJ-6E8f5xb2_b5-IF8qRuXX8nmaurTwx4WEgdzim23_I3Nk_WqMe0cXNAw_kfK4kFqYwO6cU19N2QjY1x4TXSkLhg2RdWthgtRr38FkaEohEmF9MCg55KyCluim68nnK6gf/s1600/Hamburg+2013+034.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDjkCPAJFdPJ-6E8f5xb2_b5-IF8qRuXX8nmaurTwx4WEgdzim23_I3Nk_WqMe0cXNAw_kfK4kFqYwO6cU19N2QjY1x4TXSkLhg2RdWthgtRr38FkaEohEmF9MCg55KyCluim68nnK6gf/w300-h400/Hamburg+2013+034.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A large piece of shrapnel from a British bomb <i>(author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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After bidding our farewells, it was a somewhat more reflective group which climbed the stairs back to the surface and as we crossed the <i>Hammer Landstrasse</i> on our way back to the U-Bahn Station, it was hard to imagine that this was the same road, that almost seventy years ago was strewn with 'tailors dummies' and a scene of unimaginable hell on Earth.</div>
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Thanks are again due to Gunnar and Timothy for guiding us so expertly around the shelter and for making us so welcome. A short article of this nature cannot possibly compare with making a personal visit and if visiting the city of Hamburg, this is to be recommended. The museum is open to the public on Thursdays but private visits for groups of upto thirty in number can be arranged by prior appointment and this can be arranged via the <a href="http://hh-hamm.de/bunkermuseum/english.html" target="_blank">museum's website</a>. </div>
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Finally, apart from the <a href="http://blitzwalkers.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/parallel-cities-second-great-fire-of.html" target="_blank">February 2011</a> blog post linked earlier, for further in depth reading of the 'Operation Gomorrah' raids, I can thoroughly recommend <i>'Inferno - The Devastation of Hamburg 1943'</i> by Keith Lowe, published in 2007 by Penguin Viking, which is a superbly written study of the raids dealing with the background, the planning, the raids themselves both from the viewpoint of the airmen and those on the ground and also dealing with the aftermath.</div>
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Lest we forget. </div>
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<i>Published Sources:</i></div>
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<i>Bomber Boys: Fighting Back 1940-1945 - Patrick Bishop, HarperPress 2007</i></div>
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<i>Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg 1943 - Keith Lowe, Penguin Viking 2007</i></div>
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<i>Weblink:</i><br />
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<i><a href="http://hh-hamm.de/bunkermuseum/english.html" target="_blank">Hamburg Air Raid Shelter Museum website</a> </i></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-20257851630737637292021-07-24T13:27:00.000+01:002021-07-24T13:27:34.753+01:00Remembering Gomorrah: Mahnmal St. Nikolai, Hamburg<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrUF59p29CDoBtAxeNrPqeBxqKdv3CXzBsETtD29brQhww5E1OILRSHoSDurJB9jfQ4G94sVcUUi0Uy6Kc8SzXsbfmqsaoRQYXhbWS-lREJqmW-ia4YSum8LLUtk3WImKfxnoQZc95zgA/s1600/Mahnmal+St+Nikolai.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrUF59p29CDoBtAxeNrPqeBxqKdv3CXzBsETtD29brQhww5E1OILRSHoSDurJB9jfQ4G94sVcUUi0Uy6Kc8SzXsbfmqsaoRQYXhbWS-lREJqmW-ia4YSum8LLUtk3WImKfxnoQZc95zgA/s1600/Mahnmal+St+Nikolai.jpg" width="155" /></a>As regular readers will be aware, this writer is a frequent visitor to <b>Germany</b> and to the Free and Hanseatic City of <b>Hamburg</b> in particular. The near destruction of the city in July and August 1943 by the RAF and USAAF in a series of major air raids has been well documented on this blog in <a href="http://blitzwalkers.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/parallel-cities-second-great-fire-of.html" target="_blank">February 2011</a> and again last <a href="http://blitzwalkers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-step-back-in-time-hamburg-air-shelter.html" target="_blank">February</a>, when I visited the <b>Air Raid Shelter Museum</b> in Hamm. Therefore, it was with great interest than I learned of a new permanent museum that has opened in the crypt of the ruined <b><i>Nikolaikirche</i></b>, which lay at the heart of the firestorm started by the RAF's first raid of <b>Operation Gomorrah</b>, as this sequence of air attacks was christened, on the night of 24th July 1943. Having learned of the museum's opening, a visit was a 'must' and along with my companions on the trip, we made the short journey by S-Bahn from our hotel on a sunny Monday morning a couple of weeks ago.</div>
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There has been a church on this site since the year 1195 and the current building's immediate predecessor with it's Baroque tower had been a familiar sight to the people of Hamburg as well as visitors to the great port until this fell victim to the great fire that devastated the city in 1842. The present building was designed by the British architect George Gilbert Scott and took 36 years to be completed following the commencement of construction work in 1846. </div>
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This magnificent Gothic church soon became a well known Hamburg landmark and on 24th July 1943, such was the devastation, both to the <i>Nikolaikirche</i> and the surrounding area, that many local people were under the impression that the RAF used the spire of the church as their aiming point. This is an urban myth, sadly perpetuated in the otherwise excellent guidebook produced by the museum; the RAF pathfinders were simply ordered to mark the area between the Alster and the River Elbe. It would not have been possible to discern the spire of the church from 20,000 feet in pitch dark conditions, whereas it was eminently possible to make out the two large expanses of water and mark the space in between. Given the fact that the church was, and still is, a potent symbol for the city, it is perhaps understandable that Hamburgers felt that the RAF would use it as a target. It is interesting to note that the vicar of the nearby <i>Michaeliskirche</i> - the 'Michel' as the church is known affectionately - claimed that <i>his</i> church was the main target. As with raids on London, people took these things personally and asserted that their neighbourhood was the focal point of any bombing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSLP7bhElNAbKXllZ5GJhTbHX0iRMBAb5bMqCpFlIv9loEEagbuK0AQTr9h2P0rx7G0HKwKW46lMTS2-OOl7idJjWsWBO_jIpethj1oaaA4axkIz5-QFBUSE1p56UNSmOToEZVlIveJsc/s1600/Cross+of+Nails+-+Coventry+Cathedral.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSLP7bhElNAbKXllZ5GJhTbHX0iRMBAb5bMqCpFlIv9loEEagbuK0AQTr9h2P0rx7G0HKwKW46lMTS2-OOl7idJjWsWBO_jIpethj1oaaA4axkIz5-QFBUSE1p56UNSmOToEZVlIveJsc/s1600/Cross+of+Nails+-+Coventry+Cathedral.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cross of Nails from Coventry Cathedral <i>(author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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When the Gomorrah raids finally ceased on 2nd August 1943, some 45,000 civilians had been killed and somewhere in the region of one million people had fled the city. There was very little left to bomb and although the RAF and USAAF did return, most of their attentions were occupied in bombing the shipyards and surviving industries along the River Elbe.</div>
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Hamburg was surrendered to elements of the British 7th Armoured Division, the famed Desert Rats, on 3rd May 1945 and when the Union Flag was hoisted over the <i>Rathaus</i>, or Town Hall, the British had taken possession of a city that carried the 'Stink of Death' as one British soldier there at the time eloquently put it, for there were still many bodies laying beneath the rubble nearly two years after the Gomorrah raids.</div>
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It was understandable, given the huge task of rebuilding the city, that reconstruction of the <i>Nikolaikirche</i> was never seriously considered. Coupled with the expense that this would have entailed, there was in the 1950s, a general antipathy towards Gothic architecture and following the demolition of the nave and choir areas in 1951, coupled with the removal of all remaining rubble, the church was left as a 'cleaned up' ruin. In 1977, the decision was taken to turn the ruin into a permanent memorial dedicated to the victims of war and tyranny from 1933-45. The memorial has gradually evolved thanks to the efforts of the <i>Forderkreis Mahnmal St Nikolai</i> (Friends and Supporters of St Nikolai Memorial) who had long wished to make a permanent exhibition within the crypt of the church. Thanks to a generous donation from Reinhold Scharnberg, a retired Senior Senate Executive who as a young man, witnessed the destruction of the city first hand, this new permanent exhibition was made possible and opened in September 2013, some seventy years on from the Gomorrah raids.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvQnLxe9790Tiy5gyRYL5V61Ma1M_cO2RNcI_JG5jl7GJcjgkJ_4AMq4OuxML3IZXr7taMON_3kPg80IfPDO6cA6UHebPg4Z8mg51EpTU02jD-kBn4nFPaGyz1ZZYmqTmF5MTGZHTT7B2/s1600/Nikolai+altar+remains.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvQnLxe9790Tiy5gyRYL5V61Ma1M_cO2RNcI_JG5jl7GJcjgkJ_4AMq4OuxML3IZXr7taMON_3kPg80IfPDO6cA6UHebPg4Z8mg51EpTU02jD-kBn4nFPaGyz1ZZYmqTmF5MTGZHTT7B2/s1600/Nikolai+altar+remains.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Surviving Altar fragments <i>(author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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Upon entry to the exhibition, visitors are greeted by the words <i>'Hamburg is falling' </i>taken from Bertolt Brecht's diary entry of 26th July 1943 which is superimposed on a large format photograph of the ruined city. The history of the <i>Nikolaikirche</i> is reviewed as well as an explanation of the relationship between the Nazi state and the church, which is supported by documents recovered from the church archives. The early effects of the war upon the church are explored and as a result of these early raids, the decision to remove and evacuate the stained glass windows is explained. Following the church's near total destruction in 1943, we see surviving fragments of the altar and pulpit as well as learning of the destruction of 27 other churches within the Hamburg area during this time. We also learn of the transformation of the <i>Nikolaikirche</i> into a memorial as well as the construction of a replacement church at the <i>Klosterstern</i>.</div>
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Moving into the next area of the exhibition, we see how the citizens of Hamburg prepared for the onset of Allied air raids. Civil Defence exercises and Air Raid Precautions all look remarkably similar to the preparations made by the British authorities but with one chilling difference which this exhibition honestly tackles. In Britain, Air Raid Precautions and Civil Defence were available and designed to cater for all people, whilst in Nazi Germany, these facilities were denied to Jews and other minority groups. This exclusion is explained, and a series of reports document deportations and expropriations of Jewish people, whilst a compilation of letters from a Jewish citizen of Hamburg give a telling insight into her experiences in Hamburg before she was deported to a concentration camp. We also learn of the Luftwaffe's air raids on Guernica, Warsaw, Rotterdam, Coventry and London, as well as other cities and discover how this hardened the attitude of the British once they were able to allocate resources to strengthening their own bomber force, resulting in the Area Bombing Directive issued to the RAF in 1942 which provided for a change in strategy in order to undermine the morale of the German Civil Population. This culminated in the destruction of Lubeck in March 1942 and we see the evidence of this in some large format photographs.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lFzZUaHaMj0t-AoZ2v0PjrrYpMXs3nz0M8CZxnN9z6ixgMG035WV9fpZ4yOpiEfzPLIXU1V9ARlasTUoEXj2EnOPmkD2-v8gPqogRR6mlWMMMt8GO-eraLVxHZUB0FoAlfhdE2tPNVHT/s1600/Hamburg+Warden%2527s+equipment+and+Baby%2527s+gas+mask.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lFzZUaHaMj0t-AoZ2v0PjrrYpMXs3nz0M8CZxnN9z6ixgMG035WV9fpZ4yOpiEfzPLIXU1V9ARlasTUoEXj2EnOPmkD2-v8gPqogRR6mlWMMMt8GO-eraLVxHZUB0FoAlfhdE2tPNVHT/s1600/Hamburg+Warden%2527s+equipment+and+Baby%2527s+gas+mask.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Civil Defence equipment, including Babies gas mask and stirrup pump<i> (author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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We now entered the main gallery where Operation Gomorrah itself is described. At the centre of the room is a large 'media desk' which shows the locations of shelters, the extent of the areas damaged and destroyed, information on the various types of bombs used as well as an explanation of the 'firestorm' effect that occurred with devastating consequences as a result of this raid. We also see an insight into the raids from the perspective of the Allied air crews and see first hand accounts as to how they felt and what they saw when dropping their deadly loads onto the city below. We also see examples of 'window', basically foil strips cut to the same wavelength as the German radar, which was used for the first time during the Gomorrah raids and which succeeded in blinding the radar defences of the city.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Strips of 'Window' dropped by the RAF <i>(author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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We also learn of the German defences based in the flak towers, as well as learning of the blackout regulations and how to react when the air raid sirens sounded. We also see the 'emergency suitcases' which all Hamburgers were required to have packed and ready in the event of being bombed out.</div>
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After the city had been effectively razed to the ground in some areas, a darker side of the rescue and recovery operations emerged. Forced labourers and inmates from the nearby Neuengamme Concentration Camp were used to recover bodies, clear rubble, seal off the worst areas and most appallingly of all, were used for bomb disposal work, despite having no know-how of this. Unsurprisingly, many of these people became further, albeit indirect victims of the raids and the exhibition explains their involvement in great detail.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Neuengamme Concentration Camp inmates at work in Hamburg<i> (Mahnmal St Nikolai/Author's collection)</i></span></td></tr>
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The final phase of the exhibition focuses on how people lived amongst the ruins and the difficulties encountered in tracking down relatives. We also learn of the flight and evacuation of the population from Hamburg and see many diary extracts and letters covering the subject. We also learn of the dwindling morale of the city's population and the peaceful surrender of the city in May. Finally, we see something of the early peacetime reconstruction and temporary accommodation supplied to the people of Hamburg in the form of Nissen Huts, which were also used in British cities, some of which survived until the late 1950s.</div>
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On leaving the exhibition, we see a quotation from Klaus Mann dating back to 1943:</div>
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<i>"Hamburg as I knew it will never exist again. The city will certainly be rebuilt but it's face and atmosphere will be fundamentally changed."</i></div>
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As if to reinforce the changes in the cityscape, visitors can now climb the surviving tower and spire of the church, fortunately by lift, where a viewing platform affords panoramic views of the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPBIyXnZCTFtxrDwfv9kZbs9qWU_b132SZJA1HJc8-ShBeIMwa9gQs42vQVntLTQLc6nB2-AnGWPD4GHIAYM_I2zBFjo9yV0myRgvW1BkRS9qSaUl5iZRtHvJtspPG2CN5SryZ_GpDxEU/s1600/Hamburg+2050.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPBIyXnZCTFtxrDwfv9kZbs9qWU_b132SZJA1HJc8-ShBeIMwa9gQs42vQVntLTQLc6nB2-AnGWPD4GHIAYM_I2zBFjo9yV0myRgvW1BkRS9qSaUl5iZRtHvJtspPG2CN5SryZ_GpDxEU/s1600/Hamburg+2050.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">View of the <i>Rathaus</i> and the <i>Binnenalster</i> from the Viewing Platform<i> (author's photo)</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Devastation of Stadthausbrücke in 1943 <i>(Mahnmal St Nikolai/Author's collection)</i></span></td></tr>
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This is a fascinating and well constructed exhibition which as one would expect is admirably anti-war in it's outlook. It also pulls no punches in apportioning blame for the catastrophe which befell Hamburg in 1943 and leaves the visitor in no doubt regarding the worst excesses of the Nazi regime which brought about tyranny, persecution, discrimination and extermination, not only of Jews but of many other minorities, simply because they did not fit into the system. Had the Nazis not been permitted to attain power in 1933, Hamburg could have been spared, as could have the rest of the World. The complexities and controversies surrounding Operation Gomorrah along with German post-war attitudes to the affair are explored in great detail and with great honesty.<br />
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When in Hamburg a visit to the <i>Nikolaikirche</i> is highly recommended. <a href="http://english.mahnmal-st-nikolai.de/?page_id=74" target="_blank">The St Nikolai Memorial </a>can be reached by S-Bahn lines S1 and S3 to Stadthausbrücke or U-Bahn U3 to Rodingsmarkt. The museum and the viewing platform are both open daily and combined entrance to both is just 5 Euros.</div>
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<i>Published Sources:</i></div>
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<i>Churchill's Desert Rats: From Normandy to Berlin with 7th Armoured Division - Patrick Delaforce - Alan Sutton Publishing 1994</i></div>
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<i>Gomorrah 1943: Hamburg's Destruction through Aerial Warfare - Mahnmal St Nikolai, 2013</i></div>
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<i>Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg 1943 - Keith Lowe - Viking, 2007 </i></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-64404936223874043312021-05-17T15:09:00.001+01:002021-05-18T13:58:23.570+01:00Another local hero in Greenwich<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS8Aa87V9_OxtNSVm2yRdd3uYXveEZHpP8aG41Aq48D56PHqAGISJQCVRipVCO2Qkc85vMXSMlBrdpXRjpGop_rKZI_5rmbpeS8IjT93ffM1QvfBQKeLRtCtnq6ryRFChKLM2Inx-5K00O/s2048/Greenwich+Cemetery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS8Aa87V9_OxtNSVm2yRdd3uYXveEZHpP8aG41Aq48D56PHqAGISJQCVRipVCO2Qkc85vMXSMlBrdpXRjpGop_rKZI_5rmbpeS8IjT93ffM1QvfBQKeLRtCtnq6ryRFChKLM2Inx-5K00O/w400-h300/Greenwich+Cemetery.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The CWGC Memorial at Greenwich Cemetery (Author's Photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">In the history of this blog, which is now in its twelfth year of existence, the post which seems to have prompted the most feedback is one that first appeared in <a href="https://blitzwalkers.blogspot.com/2012/12/charlton-se7-london-suburb-at-war.html?showComment=1611778579442#c8344946657948391080">December 2012</a> and which in itself was a rehash of a post that was originally written as a guest piece for another blog. The post concerned my own locality of Charlton in southeast London and the immediate surrounding area.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Back in February in the midst of the latest lockdown, I received another comment on this piece, this time from Martin Short, whose grandfather Lance Bombardier Henry W Short was killed whilst serving with 303 Battery, 26 Searchlight Regiment at the Maze Hill Searchlight Site on the edge of Blackheath on 23 June 1944 when a V-1 flying bomb exploded there.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Blackheath, in common with most of the other large parks and open spaces in London was the home to anti-aircraft and searchlight batteries, as well as a barrage balloon site. Similar locations at Woolwich Common, Plumstead Marshes, Southwark Park, Peckham Rye and just across the Thames on the Isle of Dogs and at Beckton were all home to heavy and light anti-aircraft batteries, as well as the accompanying searchlights. The heavy batteries, which were all part of the London Inner Artillery Zone (IAZ) would consist of 3.7", 4.5" or 5.25" guns which would concentrate on the higher flying aircraft, whilst the light batteries were concentrated on the 40mm rapid firing Bofors guns, which could deal with any incursions by lower flying fighter bomber types. Searchlights were an essential in illuminating the raiders at night, especially in the early days of the war before the introduction of gun-laying radar and the proximity fuze.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">During the Blitz of 1940-41, the guns had had little impact, other than by perhaps boosting the morale of those on the ground, who did at least feel that the raiders were not dropping their bombs totally without challenge. By the time of Little Blitz in 1943 however, London boasted formidable anti-aircraft defences and these, combined with the night fighter force, took a heavy toll of the raiders.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdatdUaSbKWi2vSAM2-aSOOfYWMlM1nNezj0lXl3aYZKCPtApiOI9RNkn-TaNExi-FbgMAemNXWQvJ9-7Wz33fbiOuzRquHrnkfR9aJhppOuG0yBaIrFTRqR2LhVRf9Qoi_4Rwek1gEuI/s2048/Henry+Short+%2528far+right%2529.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="2048" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdatdUaSbKWi2vSAM2-aSOOfYWMlM1nNezj0lXl3aYZKCPtApiOI9RNkn-TaNExi-FbgMAemNXWQvJ9-7Wz33fbiOuzRquHrnkfR9aJhppOuG0yBaIrFTRqR2LhVRf9Qoi_4Rwek1gEuI/w400-h229/Henry+Short+%2528far+right%2529.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Henry Short (back row, furthest right) and his colleagues from 303 Battery (Martin Short)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The onset of the flying bomb campaign on 13 June 1944 was something of a game-changer for the British anti-aircraft defences, for whilst the guns which were by now aided by gun-laying radar and equipped with proximity fuzes for their ammunition, could bring down the V-1s, shooting down a one tonne warhead over a heavily populated area was totally counter-productive and as a result, the guns and searchlights of the IAZ, as well as those elsewhere in southeast England, were relocated to the south coast some two weeks after the first of the missiles fell on England. Any V-1s shot down here could explode over open countryside and any of the missiles that evaded the guns and the barrage balloons (which had also been relocated), could then be left to Fighter Command's "anti-diver" patrols to deal with. So effective were these counter measures, that of the almost 10,500 V-1s launched towards Great Britain, only some 2,400 reached the Greater London area, although it must be stressed that these still caused great damage and loss of life.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of those that did reach came before the redeployment of the guns and searchlights from the London IAZ and ironically, fell upon the Searchlight Site at Maze Hill, where Henry Short and his colleagues from 303 Battery were attempting to defend London from these very weapons.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1pHbyNsK2vXwEjQFvtGzqa_Y32wxm3Yg45rEwgAKrzuhD-_AD2Bk5qFuhPcIxSLxi9R2oJ1oRwBMPbJLSt5mQxXZxQ6NDmepPrG140c6rLhGgQvLwJAMGvHimC4XB-yGah6O9sW9NRZq/s2048/Lance+Bdr+HW+Short+Memorial+Greenwich+Cemetery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1417" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1pHbyNsK2vXwEjQFvtGzqa_Y32wxm3Yg45rEwgAKrzuhD-_AD2Bk5qFuhPcIxSLxi9R2oJ1oRwBMPbJLSt5mQxXZxQ6NDmepPrG140c6rLhGgQvLwJAMGvHimC4XB-yGah6O9sW9NRZq/w276-h400/Lance+Bdr+HW+Short+Memorial+Greenwich+Cemetery.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Henry Short remembered on the Greenwich CWGC Memorial (Author's photo)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The War Diary for 26 Searchlight Regiment times the incident vaguely as being between 05:42 on 22 June and 05:42 the following day but the Civil Defence Incident Log for the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich gives us a precise time of 02:05 on the 23 June 1944. The incident log reports five fatal casualties, all military, whilst the War Diary reports <i>"Lt. A Jullien and Lt. F.A.G. Smith wounded - 3 OR (other ranks) killed and 9 OR wounded. Lt Jullien died of wounds shortly after admission to hospital." </i>The War Diary goes on to report, somewhat superfluously, <i>"There was also severe damage to equipment."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These logs and diaries were written in the heat of the moment based on the information available but in reality, seven men were killed here:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Lieutenant Alfred Jullien<br />Serjeant Frank Lockwood<br />Gunner Albert Mason<br />Gunner Albert Rideout<br />Lance Bombardier Henry Short</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Gunner Joseph Stevens<br />Serjeant John Travers</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Henry Short was born in Basingstoke on 7 July 1905 and had moved to the Tooting area of London in 1909. Henry's father, who shared the same Christian name as his son, was described in the 1939 Register as a <i>"Journeyman Tailor"</i> and Henry junior followed in his father's footsteps to become part of the same profession. He had married Catherine Sparks in 1928 and had a son, Kenneth a year later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like many who saw that war was perhaps inevitable, Henry enlisted as a Territorial at Duke of York's HQ in Chelsea on 28 February 1939 and was mobilised shortly before the actual declaration. His trade as described in his Army Service Book was Driver Mechanic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5SeD1-o4eNEPvOOPcdthRwEBRwuOept-6YnMq-MMBhsM81gdSifryot5AB-9Rzz8601jBfKkwekz29qHNBEDb6dylaT2ouJAt1wQHkyRkP95_Kmbwx7lJsWCjd-HrOGSW60bjTtsGi1y/s2048/Photo+17-05-2021%252C+10+44+50.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5SeD1-o4eNEPvOOPcdthRwEBRwuOept-6YnMq-MMBhsM81gdSifryot5AB-9Rzz8601jBfKkwekz29qHNBEDb6dylaT2ouJAt1wQHkyRkP95_Kmbwx7lJsWCjd-HrOGSW60bjTtsGi1y/w300-h400/Photo+17-05-2021%252C+10+44+50.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Serjeant Frank Lockwood remembered on the Greenwich CWGC Memorial (Author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Martin has kindly shared a photograph of his grandfather, who we see in the back row, top right of the image but sadly none of the other men are captioned, so it is quite possible that some of the other casualties are within this group.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">Henry Short rests at Greenwich Cemetery in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission plot and is also commemorated on the screen wall of the 1939 - 1945 Memorial there, along with his colleague Frank Lockwood.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Unpublished Sources</i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>26 Searchlight Regiment RA - Regimental War Diary - UK National Archives Kew WO 166/14864<br /></i><i>Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich Civil Defence Incident Log</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Martin Short family reminiscences</i></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-14074568638394524102021-04-05T17:07:00.000+01:002021-04-05T17:07:08.958+01:00Looking Out for Gothas<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvyiZA7H0O8A46qQ2MIvGrtAXpjZUpPjo0FjOQDFUf6GmiJ8RA1sylO9xURD5wNN9XWJ414hsHVIDTaPhEp3jgrFE7fMSJ7K0zz2CgG7_NRhzVvrLTWRy-TYwxXu_Nktt_XdDf7wwGZyN/s800/Gotha+Bomber.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="800" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvyiZA7H0O8A46qQ2MIvGrtAXpjZUpPjo0FjOQDFUf6GmiJ8RA1sylO9xURD5wNN9XWJ414hsHVIDTaPhEp3jgrFE7fMSJ7K0zz2CgG7_NRhzVvrLTWRy-TYwxXu_Nktt_XdDf7wwGZyN/w400-h241/Gotha+Bomber.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gotha bomber (author's collection)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps less well-known than the <b>Zeppelin</b> raids on <b>London</b> during the <b>First World War</b> were the raids carried out by conventional aircraft, most notably by Gothas, large twin engine bombers that could carry a sizeable (for the time) bomb load of fourteen 25 kg bombs. The aircraft's range was also impressive for the time; at 840 kilometres, this meant the <b>Gotha</b> could easily reach London and return to their bases located around <b>Ghent</b> in <b>German</b>-occupied <b>Belgium</b>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The threat posed by Zeppelin raids on London appeared to have been largely defeated, for the time being at least by the late autumn of 1916 and although raids continued sporadically until October 1917 and the threat of enemy air attack was still clear, the British took a remarkable decision to reduce London's anti-aircraft defences in order to redeploy the available manpower to the Western Front. Anti-aircraft gun defences were reduced in number and two fighter squadrons were redeployed to France. Furthermore and even more remarkably, anti-aircraft guns were ordered not to open fire - even if aircraft were confirmed as hostile - except for specified guns at coastal locations.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was against this background of reduced British defences that the first Gotha raid on London was planned by the <i>Luftstreitkrafte</i><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(Imperial German Air Service) </i>for the 25 May 1917. Twenty three Gothas set off, led by <i>Hauptmann </i>Ernst Brandenburg but thick cloud cover saved the capital on this occasion and the formation was forced to turn back for home, although some secondary targets in Kent were bombed instead. Folkestone and an Army camp at Shorncliffe were the main recipients of the bombs originally planned for London and some 95 people were killed, with a further 195 seriously injured.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Given the reductions in the anti-aircraft defences and the apparent complacency that the German aerial threat had been defeated,the British response to this first raid was predictably confused and ineffective. Only some of the specified coastal anti-aircraft guns had opened fire and although some seventy fighter aircraft had taken to the air, only one got close enough to engage the enemy - without success. Royal Navy aircraft based in the Dunkirk region did manage to intercept the raiders as they returned home and claimed one Gotha shot down into the sea, whilst another crashed on landing near to Bruges, with the loss of the crew.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The British public were outraged by this muddled response and makeshift arrangements were put in place to ensure that training squadrons and experimental units made aircraft available and anti-aircraft observers were placed on lightships in the Thames Estuary to give a measure of early warning. Discussions about introducing an air raid warning system took place but at this stage were inconclusive. During the Zeppelin raids, no warning system had been in place in London and during this period, humorous postcards had circulated, with place names altered to suit the localities concerned that showed members of the public on the look out for the raiders.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72UWhOmhWSG3nGz14cTTCRLduw_6h36UC6is1l3zh3I7YfyyGcJ5y1GdqmmoqRRujvUMgMW_QP_K00FnthEg61SEHBE_Rz3SclL5nUBmLLZGtipPFBtFTzg1zRnaqGp4bgMYh-PANRImq/s1600/Photo+01-04-2021%252C+07+54+58.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72UWhOmhWSG3nGz14cTTCRLduw_6h36UC6is1l3zh3I7YfyyGcJ5y1GdqmmoqRRujvUMgMW_QP_K00FnthEg61SEHBE_Rz3SclL5nUBmLLZGtipPFBtFTzg1zRnaqGp4bgMYh-PANRImq/w400-h255/Photo+01-04-2021%252C+07+54+58.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking for Zeppelins at WOOLWICH (Royal Arsenal History Group)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Updated versions of these now appeared, with the word "Zeppelin" substituted by "Gotha" but with the same message.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgU696m8397L0x50geVsd74WAFDYKpgGoeA53racqIsAcgIqVbd68HpsXs8FZN2BjvkVhHX2xWf7lSXv8uxhGrwX-6JDQC95gZYbM8H6y_PgHnx_ZwCdDIY15LjFQsPenkyS1M9n_Qq8ON/s2048/Photo+01-04-2021%252C+17+03+01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgU696m8397L0x50geVsd74WAFDYKpgGoeA53racqIsAcgIqVbd68HpsXs8FZN2BjvkVhHX2xWf7lSXv8uxhGrwX-6JDQC95gZYbM8H6y_PgHnx_ZwCdDIY15LjFQsPenkyS1M9n_Qq8ON/w400-h268/Photo+01-04-2021%252C+17+03+01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking for Gothas at PLUMSTEAD (Deborah O'Boyle)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br />A second raid was attempted on 5 June but was once again thwarted by the weather. The British response was largely similar to the first raid; fighters despatched to intercept struggled to reach the raiders in time, although the anti-aircraft guns around Shoeburyness and Sheerness did manage to bring down one Gotha, which crashed into the Thames Estuary, with the loss of all but one of the crew.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">It was inevitable that a Gotha raid would succeed in reaching London sooner or later and on 13 June 1917, it was to happen. Twenty aircraft originally departed from the airfields around Ghent but two were to turn back with engine problems. The remainder continued, with one aircraft peeling off to bomb Margate, on which it dropped five bombs before returning to base, whilst a further two diverted to Shoeburyness where they dropped six bombs, before they too headed home. Yet another aircraft followed the Thames towards Greenwich on a photo reconnaissance mission, whilst the remaining fourteen continued towards London. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">Although the anti-aircraft batteries had by now been given permission to fire, locating the targets in the hazy morning skies proved difficult and shortly after 11:30, the first bomb fell harmlessly on an allotment in Barking. Further bombs fell in East Ham, with one in Alexandra Road damaging 42 properties and more importantly, killing four people and injuring a further eleven. Another bomb fell by the Royal Albert Dock, where eight dock workers were killed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInirXW8u0OfPP8g6eeEXHOrh6-p0OG7BLwSwREe3GUbfdcb0A5RqolPxkcH7_9mpPEQPpmmjIP06QD8TcBMOedh0z825IaIZ-w_guy5MQcV5QSQzWoeJxSYID5Gg1wP9esTLEANoiTu60/s1689/PC+Alfred+Smith_original.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="1689" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhInirXW8u0OfPP8g6eeEXHOrh6-p0OG7BLwSwREe3GUbfdcb0A5RqolPxkcH7_9mpPEQPpmmjIP06QD8TcBMOedh0z825IaIZ-w_guy5MQcV5QSQzWoeJxSYID5Gg1wP9esTLEANoiTu60/w400-h263/PC+Alfred+Smith_original.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>PC Alfred Smith remembered at Postman's Park (author's photo)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">Bombs fell on Liverpool Street Station, where sixteen were killed and a further fifteen injured. Not far from here, in Central Street, PC Alfred Smith was able to save the lives of several female factory workers by preventing them from rushing into the street to witness the commotion. Sadly, at the moment he was urging the women to remain inside, a bomb exploded in the street and killed him instantly. PC Smith is today remembered on the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice at Postman's Park, in the City of London, as well as on a commemorative plaque in Central Street at the site of the original incident.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpG8RG5SXjCGHFcaRe8vVOoDIIx7JLuUx_99zOrAtgFfd1G3hYvjuida6ww5-a-VNrSK1Dc2imsjJfyT9lRtj4HUlcqU3GQyldf1onlKC9snzV5W4_t8GmAMRMWgIhqlHOVplQl7nVU93/s1213/PC+Alfred+Smith+Central+Street.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="909" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpG8RG5SXjCGHFcaRe8vVOoDIIx7JLuUx_99zOrAtgFfd1G3hYvjuida6ww5-a-VNrSK1Dc2imsjJfyT9lRtj4HUlcqU3GQyldf1onlKC9snzV5W4_t8GmAMRMWgIhqlHOVplQl7nVU93/w300-h400/PC+Alfred+Smith+Central+Street.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>PC Alfred Smith plaque in Central Street (author's photo)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">As the aircraft turned for home, those with bombs still onboard unloaded them over the East End and it was at this time that the most tragic incident from this raid occurred; a 50kg bomb fell on Upper North Street School in Poplar, killing eighteen children, most of whom were under six years of age.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">Again, the British response had been ineffective; 94 aircraft had been launched to intercept the raiders, of which just eleven made contact, all without success. The anti-aircraft guns had opened fire but again without hitting anything. All of the Gothas returned safely to their bases, leaving behind them 162 dead and a further 426 seriously injured - the highest casualty total of any raid during this war.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">The British public were once again outraged at the lack of response and there was also a clamour for reprisal raids on German cities. Major General Hugh Trenchard, commander of the Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front, agreed to detach two front line squadrons to home defence but attempts by Lt. Colonel Simon, in command of London's anti-aircraft defences, to bolster his batteries by an additional 45 guns were rejected because neither the guns or the men to provide the crews were available!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">The second daylight raid on London came on Saturday 7 July 1917 and consisted of 22 Gothas, commanded by <i>Hauptmann</i> Rudolph Kleine. Observers on board the Kentish Knock Light Vessel were able to transmit a warning, which enable fighter aircraft to be airborne in time to intercept the raiders but none were able to cause any serious problems to them. On the ground, observers likened the large enemy formation to a flock of birds, moving slowly across the skies.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">The anti-aircraft guns opened fire at 10:21 but despite what appeared at least to onlookers on the ground as an impressive barrage, the Gothas emerged unscathed, although their previous tight formation was opened up as the bombers began to evade the gunfire. The first bomb fell on Chingford, without causing casualties, as was also the case in Edmonton and Tottenham. The first human casualties occurred in Stoke Newington, where ten people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy and ironically, a naturalised German baker and his wife, who died whilst working in their shop. More bombs fell on the City of London, most notably on the roof of the Central Telegraph Office in St Martin-le-Grand and also around Leadenhall Street, Fenchurch Street and Billingsgate Fish Market.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteiMnxhq-g5HRkGkp-943cPYgsVhmZWmgEM1lkYQ1Lw6UuS4IT3u27usV60R5nr0JoPZA4P7rHSdCiOaho1UoT85sAllv2BcEroY7dygZ-y_sl_qX7z57y9uQJY65svYOPnSGUqDP1j49/s2048/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteiMnxhq-g5HRkGkp-943cPYgsVhmZWmgEM1lkYQ1Lw6UuS4IT3u27usV60R5nr0JoPZA4P7rHSdCiOaho1UoT85sAllv2BcEroY7dygZ-y_sl_qX7z57y9uQJY65svYOPnSGUqDP1j49/w300-h400/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>St Edmund King & Martyr (author's photo)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">Evidence of this raid can still be seen in the Square Mile at the church of St Edmund, King & Martyr, which in its present incarnation dates from 1670-79 to the design of Sir Christopher Wren. The church today contains a peculiar square window in the roof which is out of square to the remainder of the building. This marks the entry point of a bomb from the raid of 7 July, which fell through the roof but which failed to explode fully. Fragments of the bomb are on display beneath the altar in what is probably the only place in London where remnants of a bomb can still be found in the building on which the bomb was originally dropped.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsunvYS-GtnAcC3pv5OSjUAlEr8hyphenhyphenTHqMA7YWV6Q4ITJkJ7hmQzjtX9qUhrpysppB_BkWuAYOB8ul1zVryiEDGK4NTJpahSbju996_QAiTMdWPIqClKghoBkeCiqri060Y_EL1e3D_kfGy/s2048/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr+bomb+entry+point.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1535" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsunvYS-GtnAcC3pv5OSjUAlEr8hyphenhyphenTHqMA7YWV6Q4ITJkJ7hmQzjtX9qUhrpysppB_BkWuAYOB8ul1zVryiEDGK4NTJpahSbju996_QAiTMdWPIqClKghoBkeCiqri060Y_EL1e3D_kfGy/w300-h400/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr+bomb+entry+point.jpg" width="300" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Entry point of the bomb, now an unusual window (author's photo)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuni6mUjZAQi6U8bp-EG-ZkeCuPkpVnq9kBP2T8OT4JiYzixhyphenhyphenmb2dKvbZc3Rwkidr605JPUlEZXxYy3DDIO0nB03fTKl7w8JsJSOVXFAqV79FoZBPHdOF1PYI21lrXLF_rGO7BlJkWDH/s2048/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr_fragments.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1535" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuni6mUjZAQi6U8bp-EG-ZkeCuPkpVnq9kBP2T8OT4JiYzixhyphenhyphenmb2dKvbZc3Rwkidr605JPUlEZXxYy3DDIO0nB03fTKl7w8JsJSOVXFAqV79FoZBPHdOF1PYI21lrXLF_rGO7BlJkWDH/w300-h400/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr_fragments.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fragments of the bomb beneath the altar (author's photo)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">Another bomb exploded at Tower Hill outside an office building, inside which some eighty people were sheltering. The blast from the bomb killed eight and injured fifteen of those inside as well as injuring three horses outside in the road. In what must have been horrific scenes, a fireman used his axe to put the horses out of their misery. The final bombs fell at 10:40 in Whitechapel and when the dust had settled, another 54 Londoners had died as well as another 190 injured. The raiders didn't have things all their own way on their way back to base though; one Gotha was brought down in the North Sea by an aircraft from 50 Squadron piloted by Lieut FAD Grace, whilst another was forced down on to the beach at Ostend. Three others were wrecked on their airfields due to a combination of battle damage from British fighter aircraft, lack of fuel and strong winds.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">Reaction amongst the British public to the raid was strong, especially when it became apparent that the two squadrons that had been temporarily detached by Trenchard had in fact returned to the Western Front hours before the raid commenced and further frustration was expressed at the continued lack of effectiveness of the anti-aircraft guns, shells from which had fallen on the city, adding to the list of civilian casualties.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">A committee was therefore formed to consider revised Home Defence arrangements under the chairmanship of Lieut. General Jan Christian Smuts, who effectively dominated the entire committee. Having interviewed all of the senior figures involved, he produced a report after only eight days which recommended that a single officer be placed in command of all facets of air defence for the London area, bringing the RFC, anti-aircraft guns and observers under a unified command. The question of providing an air raid warning was finally addressed, when it was decided that maroons would be fired to warn of incoming daylight raids, together with police alerts which would be provided at all times. The man chosen to command the new London Air Defence Area (LADA) was Major General Edward Ashmore, a former senior officer in the RFC.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">Fortunately for Ashmore, the English weather provided an opportunity for him to reorganise London's defences; the remainder of July into August saw rain and high winds, which effectively ensured that enemy raiders could not reach the capital. A raid attempted against Chatham on 12 August ended with one Gotha shot down into the sea, another forced down near Zeebrugge and a further four wrecked in landing accidents. A further attempted raid on 18 August against coastal towns in southeast England resulted in nine aircraft being lost to a combination of Dutch anti-aircraft fire (when high winds drove them over that neutral country), shortage of fuel and crash landings. A further similar raid on 22 August by the remaining fifteen Gothas saw three of them shot down by the British coastal anti-aircraft guns, with the remainder driven back by a determined defence by Royal Naval aircraft.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">As a result of these failures, it was decided to switch to night bombing and an attack on Margate, Sheerness and Chatham on the night of 3/4 September yielded spectacular results for the Gothas. Two bombs fell on a drill hill at the Chatham Royal Naval Barracks, killing 138 ratings. Eleven Gothas returned to London the following night and evidence of this raid can still be seen to this day. At around midnight, a 50 kg bomb exploded in the roadway at Victoria Embankment by Cleopatra's Needle, just as a late night tram was passing. The blast killed the tram driver, Alfred Buckle and two passengers, whilst throwing the conductor Joseph Carr from one end of the tramcar to the other.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2MQHZTSzC3L5sWrz7vilH-HSo3y2aBUdddCgl2u2jVDh3MjxClM5CyZLGSbPvCLBHhgbnJxIv_JwZzC_8fW8Hm5QxV3-Vl5abj-qv0f0S-5M6-mCApxS0pK2IBh_KymNvu4jtOAObCJM/s2836/Cleopatra%2527s+Needle+Now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2127" data-original-width="2836" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2MQHZTSzC3L5sWrz7vilH-HSo3y2aBUdddCgl2u2jVDh3MjxClM5CyZLGSbPvCLBHhgbnJxIv_JwZzC_8fW8Hm5QxV3-Vl5abj-qv0f0S-5M6-mCApxS0pK2IBh_KymNvu4jtOAObCJM/w400-h300/Cleopatra%2527s+Needle+Now.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLJEW_VktYoceMkosuMvO3m8q85V5XSsQrr9hQiuzRdq_Ya5EjJPa8ckwyBK_213_Iqr2EhMzGgMDUe4p868pD9nHaibhOq7LVA9q1PkEKJUBoCJI1jXLXQpyygWAHpSKqlCwYmBVy5W0/s2716/Cleopatra%2527s+Needle+Plaque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2292" data-original-width="2716" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLJEW_VktYoceMkosuMvO3m8q85V5XSsQrr9hQiuzRdq_Ya5EjJPa8ckwyBK_213_Iqr2EhMzGgMDUe4p868pD9nHaibhOq7LVA9q1PkEKJUBoCJI1jXLXQpyygWAHpSKqlCwYmBVy5W0/w400-h338/Cleopatra%2527s+Needle+Plaque.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cleopatra's Needle showered with splinter damage and an explanatory plaque on the plinth (author's photos)<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table>Again though, the Gothas hadn't had things their own way; of the eleven originally despatched, two had already returned with engine trouble, whilst another was shot down by an anti-aircraft gun near Rochester and crashed into the Thames Estuary. Of the eight survivors, it was thought that only five actually reached London to drop their bombs. Apart from the Victoria Embankment, other bombs fell in West Ham and Stratford, Greenwich and Woolwich as well as the Strand and near Oxford Circus.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next raid came on the night of the 24 September when sixteen Gothas set out for London. As usual, the inevitable engine problems saw three of the bombers turn back but the remaining thirteen crossed the English coast between Orfordness and Dover. Some thirty RFC aircraft were sent up to intercept and although they did not succeed in bringing any raiders down, perhaps they acted as something of a deterrent as only three of the Gothas actually reached London, with the remainder dropping their bombs in Dover and other coastal targets in Kent and Essex. One Gotha dropped its bombs in Poplar, before crossing the Thames to drop four more on Deptford and Rotherhithe before heading for home. Onlookers on the ground were impressed by the intensity of the new anti-aircraft gun barrage and it was probably this that caused the raider to drop its bombs early. Of the two that reached Central London, we can again see evidence of their presence today.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-rN8UeMEG23iDLZb4ZszxagYYZQb_L268firpqCx18eIWrSQAMIfvCcVZcraAH6WoTlLZl0pojxpADnKRiwKdA0Q3zpsr2SLjHKlmLn5tzgwECnmg7HezyD9gmkHzBj94GoFkQedR_qP/s2048/Gotha+Raid+-+Bedford+Hotel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-rN8UeMEG23iDLZb4ZszxagYYZQb_L268firpqCx18eIWrSQAMIfvCcVZcraAH6WoTlLZl0pojxpADnKRiwKdA0Q3zpsr2SLjHKlmLn5tzgwECnmg7HezyD9gmkHzBj94GoFkQedR_qP/w400-h300/Gotha+Raid+-+Bedford+Hotel.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Plaque outside the Bedford Hotel, Southampton Row (author's photo)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A bomb that fell by the Bedford Hotel in Southampton Row killed thirteen and injured a further 22. In total fourteen Londoners lost their lives in this raid and 49 were injured. One of the Gothas that reached London crashed on landing in Belgium and combined with those that had been driven back earlier, it was looking as if the improved defences were beginning to make a difference.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fifteen Gothas returned the following night, 25 September and this time there was only one drop out due to technical issues. Most settled for targets along the coast, such as Folkestone and Margate, with only three reaching south east London. Bombs fell on Blackheath, Charlton, Deptford, New Cross and the Old Kent Road. Four people were killed and a further fifteen injured but once again, the improved defences had appeared to make the difference.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The raids would continue for the remainder of 1917 but from 29 December, a new type of aircraft - the RV1 "Giant" would enter the fray and we shall take a look at these next time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Published Sources:</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The First Blitz: Bombing London in the First World War - Ian Castle, Osprey, 2015</i></div><div><i>The Lost Treasures of London - William Kent, Phoenix, 1947</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Unpublished Sources:</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>London Fire Brigade Reports 1915 - 1918</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /></span></span></p>Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-3483432064134890412021-01-27T17:02:00.002+00:002021-01-27T18:18:36.350+00:00The tragedy of Krystyna Skarbek and the George Smiley connection<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EUQs4k_vZI85nGEbfOlK1y79bgtMHq5TbQAVhcGH69_kmlvianxyskUL5SUXeBOjGC5gV11CEo2KvvnBahe3VqjjWWocrteo3qJio2aCrXG7FVK4m5n8qaH1d15NG9SqwwHfLXvTGSik/s1919/Christine+Granville+aka+Krystyna+Skarbek+%2528BaW%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1919" data-original-width="1439" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EUQs4k_vZI85nGEbfOlK1y79bgtMHq5TbQAVhcGH69_kmlvianxyskUL5SUXeBOjGC5gV11CEo2KvvnBahe3VqjjWWocrteo3qJio2aCrXG7FVK4m5n8qaH1d15NG9SqwwHfLXvTGSik/w300-h400/Christine+Granville+aka+Krystyna+Skarbek+%2528BaW%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Christine Granville, aka Krystyna Skarbek blue plaque in Lexham Gardens (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As all our readers will know, 2020 was a year that for most of us was like no other. Although I personally haven't lost any family or friends to COVID-19, the pandemic has had an impact upon us all to a greater or lesser degree. Apart from some groups at the start of the year before the restrictions reached the UK, my work this past year has been limited to online lectures and "virtual" walks plus a handful of small groups that I was able to guide during that brief window in the late summer and autumn when it looked as if we might be returning to some sort of normality. Alas, that was not to be and we now find ourselves back in lockdown and not able to venture outside for exercise unless it is strictly in our local area.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before the latest restrictions kicked in, I have been able to take some very long walks exploring a potential new walk for later this year, which will be revealed in due course and also researching for a couple of other new projects which will also hopefully come to fruition later in the year. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On my travels, I have also been busily taking photographs of anything vaguely related to London's wartime history and one such image that I captured was of a recently unveiled English Heritage blue plaque at 1 Lexham Gardens, which lays just off the busy Cromwell Road, to Christine Granville, born Krystyna Skarbek, an SOE agent whom Winston Churchill once described as his <i>"favourite spy"</i>.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nEtkUcVuq0FfwxLFBlZAeKYhHOMudk_PfmfxBXscfDwvzLjtpfZGCJlg1MV-c0hJfANqNwTIm8xf1UxVYY7cGf8DgoaHRdMUw9_5_0PyAmhZ9vOKk_FbZ0GQje80VY0_x6syKbqO6gce/s450/Krystyna_Skarbek.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nEtkUcVuq0FfwxLFBlZAeKYhHOMudk_PfmfxBXscfDwvzLjtpfZGCJlg1MV-c0hJfANqNwTIm8xf1UxVYY7cGf8DgoaHRdMUw9_5_0PyAmhZ9vOKk_FbZ0GQje80VY0_x6syKbqO6gce/w220-h320/Krystyna_Skarbek.png" width="220" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Krystyna Skarbek at about the time of her second recruitment into SOE (unknown photographer)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The world of SOE agents is a little outside my usual comfort zone but I wanted to find out more about this remarkable lady and what proved to be a tragic ending to her life in 1950s London.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Krystyna Skarbek was born on 1 May 1908 near to Warsaw, Poland to Count Jerzy Skarbek and his Jewish wife Stefania (nee Goldfeder), who came from a wealthy banking family. She had received a considerable dowry from her family and this went some way to ensuring Count Jerzy could continue to live in the style to which he was accustomed. Krystyna was a beautiful, graceful woman with brown eyes and dark hair and whose personality echoed that of her father, to whom she was very close. She became an accomplished horsewoman, as well as an expert skier and was something of a tomboy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The depression of the late 1920s left the family's finances in ruins, with them having to sell the country estate and move to Warsaw. Her mother's family finances had similarly collapsed and when Count Jerzy died in 1930, the 22 year old Krystyna decided that she should strike out on her own so as not to be a financial burden on her now widowed mother. She took a job working at a car dealership in Warsaw but became unwell as a result of the exhaust fumes in the showroom and workshops. A chest x-ray taken at a medical examination revealed a shadow on her lung, which was initially diagnosed as tuberculosis, the disease which had killed her father. This turned out to be a misdiagnosis but before this became known, she received financial compensation from her former employer's insurance company and was advised by her doctor to lead an outdoor life, as much as possible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Krystyna had married a young businessman Gustaw Gettlich in 1930 but they had proved incompatible and soon divorced, without any ill-feeling but it was the instruction to lead an outdoor life which led Krystyna to meet her second husband, Jerzy Giżycki. One day, whilst skiing at Zakopane, Krystyna had lost control on the slopes but her descent had been stopped by Giżycki, a massive man who stepped into her path, thus probably saving her from a serious injury. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">They married in November 1938 in Warsaw and shortly
afterwards, the couple departed for Ethiopia, where Giżycki had been appointed as
Polish Consul-General. Following the German invasion of Poland, the couple
managed to reach London, where they arrived in October 1939. She offered her
services to the British SIS and although she was initially rejected, the British were convinced after one of her acquaintances, the journalist Frederick Voight, spoke up for her. Her personnel file in December 1939 mentions her as being <i>"absolutely fearless"</i> and <i>"a flaming Polish patriot, expert skier and great adventuress."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">She was taken on by Section D of the SIS (a precursor to the Special Operations Executive or SOE) and after training, was sent on her first mission, which was to Hungary, at that stage still a non-combatant
nation but one with distinct sympathies towards Nazi Germany. As an accomplished skier, she persuaded Polish Olympic skier Jan Marusarz to escort
her across the Tatra Mountains into occupied Poland and once back in Warsaw,
worked with a former Polish Army officer, Andrzej Kowerski to exfiltrate Polish
and Allied military personnel to Hungary. At the request of the SIS, they also
organised surveillance of rail, road and river traffic on the borders with
Romania and Germany, including intelligence on oil transport from the Romanian
Ploiesti oilfields.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">She spent 1940 travelling between
Poland and Hungary, managing to remain undetected whilst doing so but in
January 1941, she and Kowerski were arrested by the Hungarian Police and
questioned by the Gestapo. Thinking quickly during the interrogation, she bit
her tongue until it bled and a follow-up x-ray revealed the same scars on her
lungs that had gained her compensation from her employers in pre-war Warsaw. A
Hungarian doctor incorrectly diagnosed her with terminal tuberculosis and the
couple were quickly released. They fled Hungary with help from the British
Ambassador in Budapest, who issued them with British passports. Kowerski became
“Andrew Kennedy” whilst Krystyna became “Christina Granville”, the name she would
use for the remainder of her life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After being smuggled out of
Hungary into Yugoslavia in the boot of the Ambassador’s car, Skarbek/Granville reached Belgrade, whilst Kowerski/Kennedy made the same journey in his Opel car. Reunited, the pair then travelled together in the Opel to Sofia in
Bulgaria, where they called at the British Legation, which they reached in
February 1941. They passed rolls of microfilm which had been passed to them by
a Polish intelligence organisation known as <i>The Musketeers</i>. The microfilm
contained photographs of a massive German military build-up close to the
borders with the Soviet Union, which indicated an impending invasion. When this
information reached Churchill, he was initially dubious but the intelligence
was later corroborated by other sources and of course, their intelligence was
proved correct beyond all doubt when the Soviet Union was duly invaded in June
1941.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Despite this, when the couple
eventually reached Cairo, via Istanbul, Syria and Lebanon in May 1941 having driven all the way in the trusty Opel, doubts
were cast upon the couple’s loyalty. This was partially because Kowerski/Kennedy had not
reported for duty with the Polish armed forces as he had been allegedly ordered
but was also because of the seeming ease with which Skarbek/Granville had managed
to obtain the required travel documents from Vichy French officials in order to
transit Syria and Lebanon. As a result of this, the couple were formally
dismissed from SOE in June 1941, although kept on a miniscule retainer. It was
around this time that Skarbek informed her husband that she was in love with
Kowerski, although they were not formally divorced until 1946.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Kowerski/Kennedy was quickly able
to clear his name and resume intelligence work but for the remainder of 1941
and throughout 1942 and 1943, Skarbek/Granville was given only menial
intelligence gathering tasks in Egypt and Syria. She was eventually recruited
into the FANY to be reinstated with SOE and parachuted into France in July
1944. There, she worked with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Jockey”</i>
network and operated with great daring and courage in southern France until she
returned to London in September 1944. On her return, she transferred to the WAAF as a Flight Officer, where she served until the end of the European War, being demobbed in Cairo on 14 May 1945.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Christina was awarded the OBE and the
George Medal for her services, as well as a Croix de Guerre in recognition of
her services towards the liberation of France.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After the war, it must be said that Christina was poorly treated by her adopted country, whom she had served so fearlessly. Upon demob in Cairo, she was given a month's money and basically left to fend for herself, although she was able to apply for the protection of a British passport, confirming the arrangements which had been made in Hungary. This was essential, for following the betrayal of the Poles by the British and Americans at Yalta, Christina was unable to return to her now communist controlled homeland and without the protection of a British passport, would have essentially been stateless. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4a8XDrQ0GvG5vHpW6MAYpIeFhItcKFIqwkve7Ce6eOuCTwIbh1dopR2zOpXjoweSdlnmAhjPGyeEsexKcO1eZPhcSZmySiUd0jesuq7Z2y_8Tl_pwMRtdw6CfiptVMiil-Yiguw1UVxkD/s2048/George+Smiley+Lexham+Gardens.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4a8XDrQ0GvG5vHpW6MAYpIeFhItcKFIqwkve7Ce6eOuCTwIbh1dopR2zOpXjoweSdlnmAhjPGyeEsexKcO1eZPhcSZmySiUd0jesuq7Z2y_8Tl_pwMRtdw6CfiptVMiil-Yiguw1UVxkD/s320/George+Smiley+Lexham+Gardens.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">George Smiley arrives in Lexham Gardens (author's screengrab)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iVL5h6f83dLK7xQtObWFNKdnuQ6U3DUHyK7Ql9jHecJzSHDk0MPqtLvvHkV4sWdBWX2eydq8S4OTGHwkzocTGwNG496Y58OqNRIz1UIs8tOwHgMr074v42PR-jY_MHS13DVF1FBBEqQP/s2048/Lexham+Gardens+now.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iVL5h6f83dLK7xQtObWFNKdnuQ6U3DUHyK7Ql9jHecJzSHDk0MPqtLvvHkV4sWdBWX2eydq8S4OTGHwkzocTGwNG496Y58OqNRIz1UIs8tOwHgMr074v42PR-jY_MHS13DVF1FBBEqQP/w400-h300/Lexham+Gardens+now.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Is this the same location? The railings have changed and the wall has been stuccoed but the pillars look right (author's photo)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">A trip to Kenya to seek employment soon ended as the colonial government there
refused to grant her a work permit and so she returned to England, where she had a
succession of jobs as a telephonist, a waitress and a sales girl before finally gaining
employment as a cabin steward in the Merchant Navy. She initially worked for the New
Zealand Shipping Company on board their ship <i>Ruahine </i>and as such, was required to wear her medal ribbons on
her company uniform. Granville’s impressive array made her an immediate
favourite with the passengers but sadly, a target of envy as well as sexist and
racist abuse from some of her crewmates, who accused her of lying about her
medal entitlement. At this time a male steward, Dennis Muldowney came to her
defence and the two became lovers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfGC2m4uOImLB4tJt94ZB42u5JrJe5DStoz7HHFjyK4lTQhRs0_eFYpS-zpWEUlvBje0tCrdxCXJguBSO8WiNhguMlbqxygbTnA6L2DiyHTWCMDPj1Oy2yWYdc3wZvMORuV0PZI28oRGH/s640/Newspaper+Extract+Muldowney.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="640" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfGC2m4uOImLB4tJt94ZB42u5JrJe5DStoz7HHFjyK4lTQhRs0_eFYpS-zpWEUlvBje0tCrdxCXJguBSO8WiNhguMlbqxygbTnA6L2DiyHTWCMDPj1Oy2yWYdc3wZvMORuV0PZI28oRGH/w400-h330/Newspaper+Extract+Muldowney.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Extract from Daily Express report of Muldowney's trial (screengrab from British Newspaper Archive)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It was a doomed relationship, however
and Christina soon broke off with him as she found him <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Obstinate and terrifying”. </i>In May 1952, she changed jobs and joined the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company which operated services to destinations in Africa. On 14 June 1952, after competing a voyage on board the <i>Winchester Castle, </i>Christina checked into
the Shelbourne Hotel in Lexham Gardens, which was Polish-owned and offered cheaper accommodation for those in London's sizeable Polish community.</div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">However, the following day, she was
brutally attacked in the hotel and stabbed to death by Dennis Muldowney, the man who had
become obsessed with her on the <i>Ruahine </i>and
who was now working as a porter at the Reform Club. After being convicted of
her murder, Muldowney was hanged at Pentonville Prison on 30 September 1952. It
was a tragic end to the life of an incredibly brave woman.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Christina is buried at St Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery at Kensal Green with Andrzej Kowerski, her partner, briefly in life and in wartime SOE service.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kbHt8AUPyzDsGOLfHriXO6CsV02xjcWVAfhbDYxdBKCK24ILnsouminhhvRdYoCRS2q91jJHFbA2UeFjszOWiGIu3G92_G0waN7c8TwxAYxsKbpb6yTMZoTN3gpmEJqVol3SOPcfTynL/s2048/Krystyna+Skarbek+grave.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1362" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kbHt8AUPyzDsGOLfHriXO6CsV02xjcWVAfhbDYxdBKCK24ILnsouminhhvRdYoCRS2q91jJHFbA2UeFjszOWiGIu3G92_G0waN7c8TwxAYxsKbpb6yTMZoTN3gpmEJqVol3SOPcfTynL/w266-h400/Krystyna+Skarbek+grave.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Krystyna Skarbek's grave at Kensal Green (Dobry77 via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gr%C3%B3b_Krystyny_Skarbek_na_cmentarzu_Kensal_Green_St._Mary_w_p%C3%B3%C5%82nocnym_Londynie.JPG" target="_blank">wikimedia</a>)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There is an interesting aside to this story, as some years later Lexham Gardens features in John Le Carre's classic 1974 spy novel <i>Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. </i>In the novel and the subsequent BBC adaptation starring Sir Alec Guinness, the central character George Smiley arranges a meeting at a safe house with Toby Esterhase (played in the TV version by Bernard Hepton), who at the time is one of those suspected of being the "mole" giving away secrets to the Russians. The location of the safe house is in Lexham Gardens, which features clearly in the location shoot.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Under his real name David Cornwell, John Le Carre had served with SIS in the 1950s and early 1960s and so must have known the connection between Lexham Gardens and the former employment of Christine Granville. I did try and match the exact location where George Smiley heads for his rendezvous but the passing of over forty years since the series was shot has meant that many of the buildings have seen subtle changes, as have most of the street signs in the area.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Printed Sources:</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Heroines of SOE: Britain's Secret Women in France - Squadron Leader Beryl Escott, The History Press - 2010</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>They Fought Alone - Maurice Buckmaster, Odhams 1958</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p></p><br />Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-73111879537962142792020-11-20T15:42:00.003+00:002020-11-27T14:59:57.598+00:00The Art of Persuasion: The Genius of Abram Games<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8s2lirwfsrNOtIal4uhk3DeX26Vo3uYxtUqyAijtkZNfEv4cAJix7Ao8zZr0kP-KgvnehdD7wFe34_fwFnXCMkTNVHtVZDRlu26muw8reLLUfIE5PueiBsFjyD5VFwBgIz2QLmBF7_Eq/s2048/Roof+Over+Britain+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1338" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8s2lirwfsrNOtIal4uhk3DeX26Vo3uYxtUqyAijtkZNfEv4cAJix7Ao8zZr0kP-KgvnehdD7wFe34_fwFnXCMkTNVHtVZDRlu26muw8reLLUfIE5PueiBsFjyD5VFwBgIz2QLmBF7_Eq/w261-h400/Roof+Over+Britain+cover.jpg" width="261" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Roof Over Britain" cover designed by Abram Games (author's photo)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Regular readers of this blog will know that I am an avid
collector of the various HMSO booklets published during the Second World War
that covered every subject imaginable from the Arctic War to Queen Wilhelmina’s
Navy and from The Australian Army at War to United States Eighth Air Force and
just about every subject in between. Regular readers will also know that I have
some very kind friends that look out for me and surprise me from time to time
with items that they have discovered on their travels.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This happened recently when good friend and designer of my website, Sam Dorrington presented me with another of the series, in the form of
a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Roof over Britain”</i>, the
official story of Britain’s Anti-Aircraft defences from 1939-1942.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This cover features the distinctive artwork of the graphic
designer and prolific poster artist Abram Games. Sam is himself a talented
graphic designer, so perhaps it was the design of the cover that subconsciously
drew him to the booklet, the cover of which (shown above) features a determined
looking, steel helmet-clad figure looking towards the skies, which are
illuminated with searchlight beams and pockmarked with shell bursts.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoQUM3R6LSZRpuwrq2q7lUhIdPq8H8dJzRi4DNHQHH6qyq2o1xg1alUMkrNQzCbuMswHdccoPb01YdRL0MiGn5zcL-sKjySCn9SwxX9yxr2t3MzzfX4CK6ZsIiWm8HXiFbm1fDYvskSXg/s912/Abram+Games.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="656" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoQUM3R6LSZRpuwrq2q7lUhIdPq8H8dJzRi4DNHQHH6qyq2o1xg1alUMkrNQzCbuMswHdccoPb01YdRL0MiGn5zcL-sKjySCn9SwxX9yxr2t3MzzfX4CK6ZsIiWm8HXiFbm1fDYvskSXg/w288-h400/Abram+Games.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Abram Games with his "Blonde Bombshell" poster (NAM London)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Abram Games and his wartime poster work was the
subject of a major exhibition at the National Army Museum in Chelsea last year, in which many original posters from the museum's own collection were on display alongside many items on loan from the Games family.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Abram Games was born on 29 July 1914 in Whitechapel and was
the son of Joseph Gamse, a Latvian photographer and Sarah (nee Rosenberg), a
seamstress born in Poland. Abram’s father, who had come to Britain in 1904,
anglicised the family name to Games when Abram was 12 years old. Abram himself
left school when he was 16 to attend Saint Martin’s School of Art in Charing
Cross Road but left after two terms, due to a combination of being
disillusioned with the standard of teaching there and also the expense of
studying there. He took a job as a “studio boy” for a commercial design company
in London between 1932 and 1936 and whilst there, attended night school classes
in life drawing and during this time, won a poster competition staged by the
London County Council. From 1936, he became a freelance poster designer and
after he featured in an article for the influential trade journal <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Art & Industry</i> in 1937, he won
several commissions for high profile clients such as London Transport, the Post
Office and Royal Dutch Shell, which cemented his reputation.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnxu7GYWe0e5wqvhV226ns8noprE7fbxpjBDg_Iw3OsWp0I5nq7HiS9orVs2w2eIk5O6Xq1AMDEKZL5twlpwyPdP3WE-C55L5FX-TgVo2XSF3D9N4arfXxyc_5hjcr807vP5QYYYKixDW/s2048/Shell+Oil.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1353" data-original-width="2048" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnxu7GYWe0e5wqvhV226ns8noprE7fbxpjBDg_Iw3OsWp0I5nq7HiS9orVs2w2eIk5O6Xq1AMDEKZL5twlpwyPdP3WE-C55L5FX-TgVo2XSF3D9N4arfXxyc_5hjcr807vP5QYYYKixDW/w400-h264/Shell+Oil.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Abram Games designed poster for Shell (author's collection)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In 1940 with Britain at war, he was conscripted into the
British Army and served as an infantry Private for one year but in 1941, he was
approached by the War Office to act as a graphic designer for a recruitment
poster they wanted for the Royal Armoured Corps. The success of this commission
led to his appointment as an official War Artist and the production of over one
hundred posters.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7V-UXFOqdawtLRQjoTA3BRM6ga7SXNvA2TDZgExrh1fTRASSrY2hfdJVsWTFj9up7mN7VL5DWGylGCKPw_5ruj8GsHcl_OqzIchuPzC8DrB3yzhczZb8X9ehNfAth6OCCAC4kuwQoKVkh/s2048/Royal+Armoured+Corps.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1382" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7V-UXFOqdawtLRQjoTA3BRM6ga7SXNvA2TDZgExrh1fTRASSrY2hfdJVsWTFj9up7mN7VL5DWGylGCKPw_5ruj8GsHcl_OqzIchuPzC8DrB3yzhczZb8X9ehNfAth6OCCAC4kuwQoKVkh/w270-h400/Royal+Armoured+Corps.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Royal Armoured Corps recruiting poster (NAM London)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Commissioned as a Captain, he was permitted a great deal of
artistic freedom, which sometimes led to clashes with officialdom. His striking
poster for the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) depicted a stylised image of
an attractive young woman in uniform. This was quite deliberate on Games’ part
as he wished to challenge the ATS reputation for being a somewhat drab
assignment and it led to the image on the poster being known as <i>“The Blonde Bombshell”.</i> This drew
criticism from Conservative MP and feminist Thelma Cazalet-Keir, who objected
to the lipstick and felt that <i>“Our girls
should be attracted into the Army through patriotism and not glamour” </i>but
although many others, including senior figures in the Army felt the poster was
fine, it was nevertheless withdrawn and the majority of the posters destroyed,
much to Games’ dismay. A replacement poster designed by Games which featured a
less “sexy” image also drew criticism from no less a figure than Winston
Churchill who felt the new poster to be <i>“too
Soviet”</i> in its design!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeqOLC9zFLpb8HRPhRWc_NLe-eU1clObWAlO0ynnlBxqh2uSvEcn4F6euWkjgWTzx1w5Z13Veq5u4FpBhCchPKDRTtptWOegSY1bEJv2cG8dcY03Iq4QEDe5FZwbvIoHvA-ifIAhtpaDp/s669/Join+ATS.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="445" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeqOLC9zFLpb8HRPhRWc_NLe-eU1clObWAlO0ynnlBxqh2uSvEcn4F6euWkjgWTzx1w5Z13Veq5u4FpBhCchPKDRTtptWOegSY1bEJv2cG8dcY03Iq4QEDe5FZwbvIoHvA-ifIAhtpaDp/w266-h400/Join+ATS.jpeg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The "Blonde Bombshell" ATS poster which proved controversial (NAM London)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiwgp4FeykqQYekAbX7NEUFN4JFAFNoBpVgcC04z_aL2lzY-pZy4k34HFPQ9eJT3d92-HthQdCMZKi6xd1SyfKIWOw6uU0rlhij-xhzSbrEH9oYTzgEq8vXdyGCrgDOsjysfXFQuEgSOm/s912/ATS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="614" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiwgp4FeykqQYekAbX7NEUFN4JFAFNoBpVgcC04z_aL2lzY-pZy4k34HFPQ9eJT3d92-HthQdCMZKi6xd1SyfKIWOw6uU0rlhij-xhzSbrEH9oYTzgEq8vXdyGCrgDOsjysfXFQuEgSOm/w269-h400/ATS.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The replacement ATS poster deemed "Too Soviet" by Winston Churchill (NAM London)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another of Games’ posters which attracted the ire of the
Prime Minister was one of a series entitled <i>“Your Britain – Fight for it Now”
</i>and featured the newly designed Finsbury Health Centre superseding a bombed out
building in the shadows, which also contained a child apparently suffering from
rickets. Churchill ordered the poster to be taken out of circulation and pulped
as he considered it a libel on the conditions in British cities.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDVNDiG1XrTL8_FMSITsEtnub4yGWPKcK3EGxkHGn7yYwfiUdNhXtgwMexDVPI3dj9_uBQIXM_of3bx-19g67lcPI3km4I-e8F-aPCfKc34DWXmmfJS51e9uyRGgT-DN8GjWugOki22qh/s800/Finsbury+Health+Centre.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="800" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDVNDiG1XrTL8_FMSITsEtnub4yGWPKcK3EGxkHGn7yYwfiUdNhXtgwMexDVPI3dj9_uBQIXM_of3bx-19g67lcPI3km4I-e8F-aPCfKc34DWXmmfJS51e9uyRGgT-DN8GjWugOki22qh/w400-h270/Finsbury+Health+Centre.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The "Your Britain" poster which attracted the disapproval of Winston Churchill (IWM)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Despite these clashes with authority, Abram Games’ wartime
work is striking in the directness of the imagery and the message that it
conveys; Games emerged from the Second World War with his
reputation enhanced and returned to commissions from his pre-war clients as
well as many other new customers, such as Guinness, the Financial Times, BEA and
BOAC (the predecessor airlines to British Airways), as well as El Al, the state
airline of the fledgling State of Israel. He also branched out in to the world
of stamp design and designed postage stamps for the Royal Mail, Ireland,
Israel, Jersey and Portugal.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQqntzFgCM26dwSaNGxCa9ZQ9Abu2uoiavQqDc_0lWwhPJ2gXMbNh-Ekv2KTd6MEDc-zbO2Pyz_z-KhyphenhyphengYmnhX9ymqEIOC8EB7LmbB186dzOYUY9_NNzClDzRGo0jcfulEjYUphKPPM09/s1251/Festival+of+Britain+-+The+Paragon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1224" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQqntzFgCM26dwSaNGxCa9ZQ9Abu2uoiavQqDc_0lWwhPJ2gXMbNh-Ekv2KTd6MEDc-zbO2Pyz_z-KhyphenhyphengYmnhX9ymqEIOC8EB7LmbB186dzOYUY9_NNzClDzRGo0jcfulEjYUphKPPM09/w391-h400/Festival+of+Britain+-+The+Paragon.jpg" width="391" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fading "Festival of Britain" Logo at Blackheath (author's photograph)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkw8KHFWvAdeTra1gc1OgM3MtRRylkPcXhwNij8DC61IpAmnef6qeaaaKQu9PyJqT_oC3M0YYIllgPfHWFrwY87hW56WKuNRT3RmvcCIfqHivg6cx-PDZup5u4fRLnLxDXhMOEGh8qHOO/s1141/Festival+of+Britain.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1141" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkw8KHFWvAdeTra1gc1OgM3MtRRylkPcXhwNij8DC61IpAmnef6qeaaaKQu9PyJqT_oC3M0YYIllgPfHWFrwY87hW56WKuNRT3RmvcCIfqHivg6cx-PDZup5u4fRLnLxDXhMOEGh8qHOO/w269-h400/Festival+of+Britain.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Festival of Britain poster for 1951 (NAM London)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">A new departure was to design paperback covers for
Penguin Books and in 1951 he won the competition to gain the prestigious
commission to design the logo and poster artwork for the Festival of Britain,
which can still be seen on various sites across the country to this day. His
work for London Transport continued beyond the world of publicity posters and
commuters on the Victoria Line using Stockwell Station can see his work every
day in the shape of the swan motif that adorns the Victoria Line platforms –
which came from the name of a famous local landmark pub.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8SmpzFtePkjlmCT4AClHhby2ZEfomiHC6whjREO0BGc3h2HRpblEldzRdVHcrHwDA6wwGkmORmX7oRKcG-I1N7dz12u0FOoT32gHUw0bBFckOKhn2nXsGkkbZB0FcN76WKFcUrjSVMQc/s710/London+Underground.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="445" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8SmpzFtePkjlmCT4AClHhby2ZEfomiHC6whjREO0BGc3h2HRpblEldzRdVHcrHwDA6wwGkmORmX7oRKcG-I1N7dz12u0FOoT32gHUw0bBFckOKhn2nXsGkkbZB0FcN76WKFcUrjSVMQc/w251-h400/London+Underground.jpeg" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>London Transport poster (NAM London)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>Games had been one of the first Britons to see first-hand
evidence of the atrocities committed at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp,
when photographs arrived at his office in the War Office. As a Jew, he was
especially deeply affected by what he saw and produced a poster entitled <i>“Give Clothing for Liberated Jewry” </i>and
subsequently would often work in support of Jewish and Israeli organisations.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuh3adIMCVdKUksjrMdzk9iO-a9PTwIXliO168e7IY4HrJ1NJJRiE9y2SZaGZ4FkEBlfV0qG6HD3MA5DI0VA618Fabpf-hLvWJ0EPo9WDHxvM9JfcrOO7z067B13ia8ysBrD9V7spyMUKZ/s922/Liberated+Jewry.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="620" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuh3adIMCVdKUksjrMdzk9iO-a9PTwIXliO168e7IY4HrJ1NJJRiE9y2SZaGZ4FkEBlfV0qG6HD3MA5DI0VA618Fabpf-hLvWJ0EPo9WDHxvM9JfcrOO7z067B13ia8ysBrD9V7spyMUKZ/w269-h400/Liberated+Jewry.jpeg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Give Clothing for Liberated Jewry (NAM London)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Games also ventured into the world of industrial design and
indeed his design for the Cona vacuum coffee maker from 1959 is now considered
a design classic, still in production today with very little changes.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When given a commission from a client, Games would fill a
layout pad with as many as two to three dozen ideas for a potential poster.
Sometimes, two of the images would eventually be combined to produce a third
image and these would be circled on the pad. Once he had selected a final
design, he would circle the thumbnail on the pad and present the idea (or
ideas) to the client. He only ever showed them thumbnail sketches as he felt
that posters were designed to be seen from a distance and thus avoided
unnecessary detail. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I never work large
because posters seen from a distance are small. If ideas don’t work an inch
high, then they will never work.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once he had finished the final artwork for a poster, he
would sign it “A. Games” in one corner. It would then hang on his studio wall
for a week, inviting criticism from family, friends and colleagues and once he
was satisfied, he would then add a full stop after his name.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfOx5Z2Vhe6NaKr6TmPIoo8txmI6i3TR2zWy4oTfGgY5dxD7ufHB4Hy9D-ohBbQwEL72E5Y29ffmmKHwcCQ8FQtiGcW0-8AqSegpibqIkSS4MqrJeQodaTqoM_UQDyG0h38We5TVbOPYT/s775/Abram+Games.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="581" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfOx5Z2Vhe6NaKr6TmPIoo8txmI6i3TR2zWy4oTfGgY5dxD7ufHB4Hy9D-ohBbQwEL72E5Y29ffmmKHwcCQ8FQtiGcW0-8AqSegpibqIkSS4MqrJeQodaTqoM_UQDyG0h38We5TVbOPYT/w300-h400/Abram+Games.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>English Heritage Blue Plaque outside Abram Games' former home in Golders Green (author's photo)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF46Cy2H49HGQNfGsvvmXzPVE8Hv-pKxgx_r_Qabe6LYd0hLp54-viVaIp3KnE4Uj3J1UwotNjSOQN5X8IaLwANN8GH3GhlSakbwYY3dClz__QsiakYm_hVR1-N7JQjb9nMpZqHoHNacJk/s2048/Abram+Games+Swan+Stockwell+Station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1628" data-original-width="2048" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF46Cy2H49HGQNfGsvvmXzPVE8Hv-pKxgx_r_Qabe6LYd0hLp54-viVaIp3KnE4Uj3J1UwotNjSOQN5X8IaLwANN8GH3GhlSakbwYY3dClz__QsiakYm_hVR1-N7JQjb9nMpZqHoHNacJk/w400-h318/Abram+Games+Swan+Stockwell+Station.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Abram Games' "Swan" motif for Stockwell Tube Station (author's photo)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Abram Games had married in 1945 to Marianne Salfeld, the
daughter of German-Jewish emigres and in 1948, moved to Golders Green in North
London, where they lived and worked for the remainder of their lives, raising
two daughters and a son. Marianne passed away in 1988 and Abram in 1996,
although through his work, his name will live on for many more years to come.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: left;">Published Sources:</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.abramgames.com/home" target="_blank"><i>Abram Games website </i></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.nam.ac.uk/series/abram-games" target="_blank"><i>National Army Museum - The Art of Persuasion</i></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br />Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-79757060599233689652020-10-05T15:54:00.006+01:002021-02-18T13:02:01.981+00:00A George Medal Hero in Charlton<div class="separator"><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1576" data-original-width="555" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1yJV_R-G9sS4gacW0wq_s5N2xa5hJ8AltAX6YrpdCmgDrSKNvD5uTvyHoExhsGJHpeOVsNW7PRQ_J1RIwtV-gL_ZdrfhdIFCHx71jYVP5lDwwPBMDFNOMH0bJtLS5MpW3rpVwP5JcA1b/s320/George_Medal_obverse.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the lockdown forced upon us by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I passed the time by writing up and producing a series of "virtual" <b>Blitz Walks</b> on Twitter, one of which covered my own local area of <b>Charlton</b> in Southeast London. One of the stories that came out at the time was that of <b>Albert William Brittan</b>, of the <b>Greenwich Rescue Service</b>, who was awarded a <b>George Medal</b> for his bravery in releasing victims trapped in a bombed house in Charlton Lane on 8 December 1940.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had previously searched for a photograph of Albert at the National Archives and online but to no avail but was delighted recently when I chanced upon an edition of <i>The Antiques Roadshow </i>on BBC Television - not a programme I regularly watch - and saw an image of him appear, together with his medals, courtesy of his daughter who proudly told his story. As a result of this, I was able to take a screengrab of the photograph and can now tell his story a little more fully.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To begin with, we need to find out a little more about our hero; Albert William Brittan was born in 1904 to Amy Brittan (nee James) and her husband Joseph Brittan, a demolition worker. They lived at the family home in 41 Hamilton Street, Deptford. It was a large family, with Albert being one of five sons and with two sisters also living at home. Albert doesn't feature on the 1939 Register at that address, as he had married Emma Rose Roberts in 1929 and somehow seems to have slipped under the radar when the census was taken but three of the family are still at Hamilton Street; parents Joseph and Amy together with one of Albert's younger brothers, Sidney who is also listed as a demolition worker. This was obviously a family concern, for Albert's medal citation also shows this as his civilian occupation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA91T1j5cwxzTDaktSck6JpJNX9xj4GDsDx0eZgPshygeoFdoc_blBkXyMpiwUkF6u20aKiRNkzBeA69-cG5yXf4T7RO0hE49OEVXusAcmTvD07kqKzrt06i4I-ocB9V84ekS8CTxaADEJ/s2048/Albert+William+Brittan+%2528centre%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1263" data-original-width="2048" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA91T1j5cwxzTDaktSck6JpJNX9xj4GDsDx0eZgPshygeoFdoc_blBkXyMpiwUkF6u20aKiRNkzBeA69-cG5yXf4T7RO0hE49OEVXusAcmTvD07kqKzrt06i4I-ocB9V84ekS8CTxaADEJ/w374-h230/Albert+William+Brittan+%2528centre%2529.jpg" width="374" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Albert William Brittan (centre) (screengrab from BBC Antiques Roadshow)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the night of 8/9 December 1940, at approximately 02:40 close to where a level crossing takes the railway line from Woolwich Dockyard towards Charlton Station, two high explosive bombs fell on a terrace of houses located at 19/27 Charlton Lane. The incident log records <i>"PEOPLE TRAPPED, 4 FATAL CASUALTIES, 6 TO HOSPITAL, 16 TO FIRST AID POST". </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has to be remembered that this rather cold description was written in the heat of the moment, as were all such incident logs and is in fact, inaccurate in so far as five people lost their lives in this incident.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLooXKhRirqMGi5XTg91bi8KcX2opJef6keTvIBTuwa4dL7ssJSXcH4ssKX0p921gJixflZCaVi4RhdVoKQH6gV58Dem4l9ycD6Xvb9o49CXtNg5ndWmgcGDhYqvYHj1pqszl1GYZe2C1/s289/Albert+William+Brittan+citation+extract.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLooXKhRirqMGi5XTg91bi8KcX2opJef6keTvIBTuwa4dL7ssJSXcH4ssKX0p921gJixflZCaVi4RhdVoKQH6gV58Dem4l9ycD6Xvb9o49CXtNg5ndWmgcGDhYqvYHj1pqszl1GYZe2C1/s0/Albert+William+Brittan+citation+extract.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Albert Brittan's George Medal citation (author's image)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shortly after the bomb fell, local Air Raid Wardens would have ascertained that persons were trapped in the ruins and it wasn't long before the Rescue Squad, under the command of 36-year-old Albert Brittan arrived on the scene. By this time, Albert was recorded as living at 14 Oxenham House, Benbow Street, Greenwich and had joined the Rescue Service soon after the outbreak of war. His experience as a demolition worker would no doubt have been of great benefit, given his knowledge of the construction of buildings.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On arrival at the scene, Brittan was informed that five people were trapped in the ruins of number 25 and soon worked out that they were trapped in the remains of the kitchen. He quickly set his squad to clearing as much of the debris as was safely possible and then entered the building himself. He was soon able to rescue a baby and after passing the infant to his colleagues, he went back into the ruins and after moving a door and beams obstructing his passage, he was able to rescue the baby's mother and carried her out of the building. Returning inside, he next freed a young girl and also recovered the body of an elderly lady. Shortly after re-entering the building yet again, the roof partially collapsed and almost trapped Albert but he persisted in his work, all the time whilst other bombs were falling and anti-aircraft shell fragments were falling in the vicinity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After some five hours in the ruined house, he was finally able to rescue the final trapped person, a man who had been pinned down by floor joists. Once he rescued him, only then was Brittan satisfied that all of the occupants had been rescued. His hands were cut and bleeding and needed to be dressed by a doctor from a nearby First Aid Post, who happened to be Dr John Montgomery, Club Doctor of Charlton Athletic Football Club, as well as being the Company Doctor at Siemen's (a large local employer at that time) and a future director at The Valley. Montgomery was one of the witnesses to Albert Brittan's recommendation for an award and was well qualified to do this, having no doubt witnessed his efforts at first-hand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1358" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75lAd4hK77-N4_tQWgLwj7y9LNUziJhJJ71-Mz_oV1RNnfTFqtm6ztOFDCUoW5E1-4NoigSOD7Sth97Ur3a31DQPCyil6Jp-dWobhe4JfXHZUG8IGYUmsh3CEI_aAiXfbzOxx1J4mEj-b/w224-h338/Albert+William+Brittan+Report.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="224" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Recommendation for Albert Brittan's award (author's image)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In total, thanks to the efforts of Albert Brittan and the other members of his Rescue Squad, seven of the twelve people they rescued between them came out alive and all subsequently survived. The five that lost their lives are listed at the bottom of the article.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-P7GXpq-HE4Mmh4d2F12zGN0kIekfoYp89B7QWzIRhu2fDEaxwkqgacesRCOorgpcC-BPAlVjUb2EYCQuf64qgRmNp7GG1qPqo-Ezjs1wc_32SZecNglD382LRkyi2E57tF4Ruw4t3LC/s424/Photo+07-10-2020%252C+15+04+23.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-P7GXpq-HE4Mmh4d2F12zGN0kIekfoYp89B7QWzIRhu2fDEaxwkqgacesRCOorgpcC-BPAlVjUb2EYCQuf64qgRmNp7GG1qPqo-Ezjs1wc_32SZecNglD382LRkyi2E57tF4Ruw4t3LC/s320/Photo+07-10-2020%252C+15+04+23.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dr John Montgomery (centre in wing collar) (Charlton Athletic Museum)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Brittan was recommended for a George Medal by the London County Council, with the recommendation endorsed by Mr Tinslay, Officer in Charge of the Greenwich Rescue Service and by Dr John Montgomery of the Valley First Aid Post, with the award confirmed and gazetted in the <i>London Gazette</i> dated 25 April 1941. The citation concludes thus:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Brittan was under the debris for five hours without relief and displayed initiative, resource and a high courage. Through his exertions, four persons were rescued alive."</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6k-9QnS6YjIdt_Bf-ZcBvx36jvIu1ZXb0itPoD0Pck10lpN6cCUMkorCJw8PATUkONtypI3h5R4SH62rXZLmf-sXatXor5Vn013ypfqSxJ6stadRGXsOpKUVkIHcghxfd_p7fhKHsYBq/s1600/19+Charlton+Lane+site.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6k-9QnS6YjIdt_Bf-ZcBvx36jvIu1ZXb0itPoD0Pck10lpN6cCUMkorCJw8PATUkONtypI3h5R4SH62rXZLmf-sXatXor5Vn013ypfqSxJ6stadRGXsOpKUVkIHcghxfd_p7fhKHsYBq/w360-h270/19+Charlton+Lane+site.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The site of the bombed houses in Charlton Lane (Paul Chapman)<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The bombed terrace of houses in Charlton Lane were never rebuilt after the war and today the site forms part of the grounds of Pound Park School but in a way, this is an apt memorial to the five who perished here as well as to the heroic efforts of Albert Brittan and his Rescue Squad who ensured that seven others lived to tell the tale.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I haven't yet been able to ascertain any real details of what Albert did subsequently but he appears to have died, aged only 46, on 31 October 1952 in Greenwich, leaving Emma Rose as his widow. One can only speculate whether his early death was due in some way to his dangerous work as a demolition contractor in an era when health and safety practices were largely absent in the workplace.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In remembrance of those who died here on the night of 8/9 December 1940:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Rachel Miekle Cumming, aged 72, of 27 Charlton Lane</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Sidney Martin, aged 32, of 27 Charlton Lane</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Florence Lilian Maud Budden, aged 37, of 25 Charlton Lane</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Gertrude Budden, aged 59, of 25 Charlton Lane</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Desmond Charles Lambert, aged 17, of 23 Charlton Lane</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Postscript - 26 October 2020</b> - I have now been contacted by Keith Budden, aged 81 who was one of those pulled from the ruins of 25 Charlton Lane by the Rescue Squad, although in his case not by Albert Brittan. Keith too saw the Antiques Roadshow and was alerted to my blog post by a friend. Keith tells me that Barry Martin, then just seven months old and who was the baby rescued by Albert Brittan, is also still with us, aged 80. Both men subsequently married and have children and grandchildren, none of which would have been possible without the heroism of Albert Brittan GM and his rescue squad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both the Budden and Martin families, who counted amongst those rescued, as well as victims, are inextricably linked with the early history of Charlton Athletic FC and indeed a future Charlton legend, Brian Kinsey was related via marriage to the Budden family although he was not present in Charlton Lane on the night in question, as at that time he was living in nearby Priolo Road.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Published Sources:</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The London Gazette - dated 25 April 1941</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Unpublished Sources:</b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich Civil Defence Incident Log 1939 - 1945</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Home Office Inter-Departmental Committee on Civil Defence Gallantry Awards, Case No. 843 - HO 250/19/843 - UK National Archives, Kew</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p><br /><br />Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-7472069874203262512020-09-14T14:23:00.001+01:002020-09-14T14:23:10.489+01:00The First Day of the Blitz in Greenwich<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5pe7zQjaqlLHvQB9AcUdXff_BKdBHwRs7uTn5aZ2X-4Cq_EcbQfyYO9Nk0GgVE2Ulx_YMtArxMp7c2bp3C2Zf3bYG6pj-4MLadaB7Pexk-dVKn9Pan2lB73dmgo_I84TDOSqBYTgaF2I/s1722/Greenwich+Aerial+View+annotated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1164" data-original-width="1722" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5pe7zQjaqlLHvQB9AcUdXff_BKdBHwRs7uTn5aZ2X-4Cq_EcbQfyYO9Nk0GgVE2Ulx_YMtArxMp7c2bp3C2Zf3bYG6pj-4MLadaB7Pexk-dVKn9Pan2lB73dmgo_I84TDOSqBYTgaF2I/w400-h270/Greenwich+Aerial+View+annotated.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Luftwaffe reconnaissance photo taken in the early evening of Saturday 7 September 1940 (author's collection) </i></span></td></tr>
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The above photo was taken from a <b>Luftwaffe</b> aircraft during the early evening of <b>Saturday 7 September 1940</b> - <i><b>"Black Saturday"</b></i> as Londoners came to call it - the first day of the <b>London Blitz</b> and an afternoon and evening never to be forgotten by anybody who experienced it. The annotations are mine as I wanted to mark some local landmarks to the image as 7 September was a day that impacted upon my family, as it did on many thousands of people across the eastern half of <b>London</b>, on both sides of the <b>Thames.</b></div>
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My late Mother was one of those affected by the events of the day, in so far as she had been working at Woolwich Arsenal until lunchtime in her job at the Pay Office there. Although a half day on Saturday was the normal order of things, she quite often had to work a full day but fortunately on this day, her work was completed in time for a scheduled departure at 13:00. Had she left later in the afternoon, she could well have been caught up in the events there later.</div>
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In the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, the first incident was recorded at exactly 17:00 at 38, 59 and 61 Basildon Road, Abbey Wood, with a High Explosive (HE) bomb as well as a Delayed Action device (DAB) reported. Nos 59 and 61 were reported as completely demolished and a large fire burning out of control, although happily with no casualties. The LCC Bomb Damage Map for Basildon Road confirms that the two houses towards the top left of the road (between the 'L' and 'D' on the map) were damaged beyond repair and a look at Streetview today confirms this, with a much newer property (no. 61) in the space left by the two destroyed houses. This much more modern building coupled with the fact that the house numbers jump from 57 to 61 without a no. 59, tells the present-day looker what happened here.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWRhDkL8WO4dipGd_vRaHl_VXW8gDhPqPC6LKHfIh4Ci1hRIEGqcBiPTNs2YIBOqlm6yN1q4PvQIyTGxQhhdny4Gu-u6m8nJ-f_bSsIwMaZI_Ahy_uPv4DmR2hlQUrjYT1ryyWsX3ovLy/s1600/Photo+14-09-2020%252C+12+58+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="864" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWRhDkL8WO4dipGd_vRaHl_VXW8gDhPqPC6LKHfIh4Ci1hRIEGqcBiPTNs2YIBOqlm6yN1q4PvQIyTGxQhhdny4Gu-u6m8nJ-f_bSsIwMaZI_Ahy_uPv4DmR2hlQUrjYT1ryyWsX3ovLy/s400/Photo+14-09-2020%252C+12+58+10.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>LCC Bomb Map for Basildon Road (author's image)</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuBaaffGRMHbM2t8bTa15mvZGCYMAVHDA7ATa0HxGkuCLcN5kKrOj9CaZSa1WLKM98BHQ4LzzeXQTPHQfAWwW-Z_94dgk3m703T8WmV0-vvgrjIu21Z4BKGXhNgEYfmkomXKrsD2HsYph/s1600/61+Basildon+Road.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1075" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuBaaffGRMHbM2t8bTa15mvZGCYMAVHDA7ATa0HxGkuCLcN5kKrOj9CaZSa1WLKM98BHQ4LzzeXQTPHQfAWwW-Z_94dgk3m703T8WmV0-vvgrjIu21Z4BKGXhNgEYfmkomXKrsD2HsYph/s400/61+Basildon+Road.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The "new" no. 61 Basildon Road fills the space left by the destroyed 59 & 61 (Google Streetview)</i></td></tr>
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Things soon began to deteriorate in the borough and by 17:50 buildings in the Woolwich Dockyard were well on fire. This is the huge column of smoke that can be seen at the top centre of the photograph at the head of this page. The Incident Log tells us <i>"Major Fire, 30 pumps in service, one casualty dealt with locally. Commonwealth Buildings - three buildings on fire, only 2 pumps on spot." </i>Clearly a dangerous situation as the Dockyard was by then being used by the Woolwich Arsenal for the storage of ordnance, amongst other things. Fortunately, this fire was brought under control before things got out of hand, although the fires at Commonwealth Buildings were still alight at 21:00. Elsewhere in the borough, casualties began to mount - two mortuary vans were required for an incident in Plumstead High Street at 17:52, whilst a direct hit on a shelter in Wickham Lane, near the 'Foresters Arms' pub saw two women, together with a boy and a girl killed. There was no let-up as the evening progressed and the raiders returned; four further fatalities were reported at Lakedale Road, including an AFS Station Officer, Frederick Tierney.</div>
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So it continued, throughout the early hours of the 8th with no respite - in total 92 incidents appear in the log for the night of 7/8 September, whilst across the borough boundary in Greenwich a similar story was developing.</div>
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In Greenwich, the first incident was not reported until 17:50 in Ordnance Crescent with <i>"many IBs" </i>(incendiary bombs) being the terse comment on the log. At 18:00 in Kidbrooke Grove (initially wrongly reported as Kidbrooke Gardens) we see the words <i>"RAF parachutist badly injured" - </i>this is Flight Lieut Richard Reynell who sadly was dead following the non-deployment of his parachute and whose story has been covered in this blog on several occasions, most recently in <a href="http://blitzwalkers.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-fighting-cocks-black-saturday-and.html">August 2017</a>.</div>
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As in Woolwich, events intensified as the evening progressed - the first civilian fatality was reported at Armada Street in Greenwich at 18:15, whilst four minutes later, there is a report of an <i>"aeroplane down"</i> in Victoria Way, Charlton although I haven't yet been able to glean any further details of this, including whether it was a friendly or an enemy machine. At 22:56, the Johnson & Phillips cable factory in Victoria Way is also reported hit, with one building in danger of collapse, which seems to have occurred later when looking at the photographs taken later the following morning.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTfTeem7Xyol0RBMOjt02JGRSAeFw4o39gKdQteMyWvHjM1u_9AX-CDx9_wl9-QYMomCRPrPmSJvXrhmy-3D_xUMT5U3h1iUpXUtjunAD7nhguwItrAjIB6UGJ4dZelvzNtpWmJf6EmqU/s1600/Johnson+%2526+Phillips+07.09.40+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1208" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTfTeem7Xyol0RBMOjt02JGRSAeFw4o39gKdQteMyWvHjM1u_9AX-CDx9_wl9-QYMomCRPrPmSJvXrhmy-3D_xUMT5U3h1iUpXUtjunAD7nhguwItrAjIB6UGJ4dZelvzNtpWmJf6EmqU/s400/Johnson+%2526+Phillips+07.09.40+%25283%2529.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Damage to the Johnson & Phillips cable factory in Charlton (Greenwich Heritage)</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql3Zwa-TFLu1MODN7EBv18Hv2OPSCPuSdEGQwXNPN6hLyYqyjIAQ_oxIe4V7idLL7BNVHnRc28E5tnA4DGjslqH-jcoL4Wyp-r4ivKELnQrRgOmdIrCQjnuLVhw2hcCQ0k24zeWPJbXKZ/s1600/Johnson+%2526+Phillips+07.09.40+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql3Zwa-TFLu1MODN7EBv18Hv2OPSCPuSdEGQwXNPN6hLyYqyjIAQ_oxIe4V7idLL7BNVHnRc28E5tnA4DGjslqH-jcoL4Wyp-r4ivKELnQrRgOmdIrCQjnuLVhw2hcCQ0k24zeWPJbXKZ/s400/Johnson+%2526+Phillips+07.09.40+%25282%2529.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Collapsed building at Johnson & Phillips (Greenwich Heritage)</i></td></tr>
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The raid continued into the early hours, although in Greenwich there were slightly fewer incidents, with 64 recorded by the local ARP Service. Fatal casualties in Greenwich amounted to 25, compared to 69 across the borough border in Woolwich. It was a bad night for London with some 400 civilians killed and was the precursor of fifty seven consecutive nights when London was bombed and of a wider Blitz across all major British towns and cities which would last until the spring of 1941.<br />
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<i>Published Sources:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The London County Council Bomb Damage Maps 1939 - 1945, editor Laurence Ward - Thames & Hudson 2015</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Unpublished Sources: </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich Civil Defence Incident Logs</i><br />
<i>Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich Civil Defence Incident Logs</i><br />
<br />
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Steve Hunnisetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04835823680783951014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7766099039814894742.post-67104884788564269582020-08-02T14:59:00.000+01:002020-08-02T16:22:19.320+01:00Splinters, Shrapnel and London's 'Honourable Scars'<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKMsHFS6HM4gR6snP-YVLDq-fgVLGdoEOkCMi2QYaeGSVaYEkW2mwIktfDtEETulgEP8MwBYoQtHKMy7YybVF0PYghAwp2HnE10TaFeW6x4s56XZSKe6Qw0-E9rJQlDk2lM89BIJJ6wzh/s1600/blitzwalkers-0062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKMsHFS6HM4gR6snP-YVLDq-fgVLGdoEOkCMi2QYaeGSVaYEkW2mwIktfDtEETulgEP8MwBYoQtHKMy7YybVF0PYghAwp2HnE10TaFeW6x4s56XZSKe6Qw0-E9rJQlDk2lM89BIJJ6wzh/s400/blitzwalkers-0062.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve pointing out the splinter damage on General Wolfe's statue <i>(Sam Dorrington, Surrey Photographer)</i></td></tr>
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For clients taking one of my Blitz walks, the enjoyment and interest comes in many forms. For some, it is the aspect of walking the ground and imagining just what it was like to be in London, or any other town or city when the bombs were falling, whilst for others, it is the wonderment of seeing the 'then and now' perspectives to be gained by comparing the present day view with that of some seventy years ago. One aspect that does seem universally popular however, is when at various points along a given route, the 'props' appear. These period artefacts really help to bring the walks alive and the fact that people can touch and feel something from the period helps them to better understand the subject matter being discussed at that particular 'stand' on the walk.</div>
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One set of 'props' in particular always arouse a particular fascination - this is the shrapnel fragments. The fascination is always a mixture of interest in finally handling the stuff that is so often mentioned in personal accounts, in documentaries and books as well as an appalled understanding as to what this stuff that can easily scar solid masonry could actually do to the human body.</div>
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With the final bomb sites in London and elsewhere finally now built upon, the splinter and shrapnel scars left on many buildings are perhaps the remaining most tangible reminder of the daily ordeal that London and Londoners, as well as many other towns and cities endured eighty years ago and sometimes from the First World War too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAY80efAJjhu7O6jADNE8fBkrhc1RInoAv2ziWG0O3KUmgBV1LJw7cC1LmIyMFIkvvLPTRspcMyY5gyh6DABtonH3vE0qgfA3bfJHIXS_sIlqdX1IN2SF_AVX4T545UV9Yx1U6I__5TwKU/s1600/shrapnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAY80efAJjhu7O6jADNE8fBkrhc1RInoAv2ziWG0O3KUmgBV1LJw7cC1LmIyMFIkvvLPTRspcMyY5gyh6DABtonH3vE0qgfA3bfJHIXS_sIlqdX1IN2SF_AVX4T545UV9Yx1U6I__5TwKU/s400/shrapnel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The author's shrapnel fragments from a British anti-aircraft shell <i>(Author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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Before going any further, perhaps we should examine the derivation of the word 'shrapnel' and how it has passed into everyday usage.</div>
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In 1784, Lieutenant General Henry Shrapnel, of the Royal Artillery, perfected what he called <i>"spherical case"</i> ammunition, which was basically a hollow cannon ball, filled with musket balls which was designed to explode in mid-air over concentrations of enemy soldiers. This first anti-personnel weapon was demonstrated in 1787 at Gibraltar and was adopted by the British Army. By 1803, they had evolved into an elongated shell that was christened as the <i>"Shrapnel Shell"</i> and continued to be manufactured with little basic change, until the end of the Great War. The name stuck and by the Second World War, Henry Shrapnel's surname had become the generic description for any bomb or shell fragments.</div>
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This writer is lucky enough to possess several such fragments, all of which were discovered on the Thames foreshore in Greenwich by the excellent Nicola White of <a href="http://www.tidelineart.com/" target="_blank">Tide Line Art</a> and which are invaluable 'props' to my walks.</div>
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These pieces take many forms; first we have the shell fragments, which in this case come from the driving bands of British 3.7" anti-aircraft shells. Modern gun barrels are <i>"rifled" </i>with helical grooves that are machined on the interior bore of the gun barrel and at the base of a shell is a brass or copper alloy band with corresponding grooves that engage with those inside the gun barrel, thus causing the shell to rotate upon firing.<br />
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People sometimes overlook the fact that apart from the fragments from German bombs, there was a spirited anti-aircraft barrage emanating from London's defences and whilst in 1940, it has to be said that this fire was largely ineffectual, it did help boost the morale of the beleaguered Londoners, who felt that there was at least some opposition being generated to the unseen night time raiders. Of course, the theory of <i>"What goes up, must come down"</i> applied and as well as being peppered with bomb splinters, those who had reason to be out on the streets during a raid had to contend with this added British generated hazard.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzm3QPKrwDJMBeBqJvVe-cg6sWemqq1rxPCHPgUER6rEZ7i_bpOIcv4BOqI0ffGlnJk0LJrhElLwsrxRMxqE5DijRgQLYQQWJgUgb-y5ss3x_v4Bq0eIcYbacHxLnlomG1JCMhheJM6bvz/s1600/shrapnel+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzm3QPKrwDJMBeBqJvVe-cg6sWemqq1rxPCHPgUER6rEZ7i_bpOIcv4BOqI0ffGlnJk0LJrhElLwsrxRMxqE5DijRgQLYQQWJgUgb-y5ss3x_v4Bq0eIcYbacHxLnlomG1JCMhheJM6bvz/s400/shrapnel+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spent British 0.303" bullets <i>(Author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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Another similar item in my possession is a collection of spent bullets. In 1940, the Battle of Britain was raging overhead and some of the Luftwaffe's early daylight raids over London were fiercely contested by the RAF's Hurricanes and Spitfires. Many of the dogfights took place over London itself and whilst most civilians wisely took cover, there were many who watched these deadly duels taking place over their own homes and workplaces. The daylight battle over London culminated on September 15th with the Luftwaffe suffering heavy losses. At the time, the Air Ministry claimed that 185 German aircraft (of 201 bombers and approximately 530 fighters deployed) had been destroyed. The actual figure was 56 destroyed but still represented a major defeat for the Luftwaffe. Combined with earlier heavy losses, the German high command decided to switch their attacks on London and other British cities to night-time area bombing methods.<br />
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The bullets that I have are from British 0.303" calibre Browning machine guns, which were the standard armament of the Hurricane and the Spitfire, the versions of these iconic fighters in use during the Battle of Britain each being equipped with eight of these weapons. Nicola also kindly (and unwittingly) gave me two live rounds, which were promptly and safely disposed of!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikenXV109p-GXUHQz6IRrVYFc-NFP-gCmi2LRrI0vl7oZhusYY8zay2KQ4828irn8XqbP_tiUuSMiCdYC2RNVsdU60FDdiEiZeRZyvL3RGQ1M3R3uqpZR0LXi_JxNnDj0vJkHk6Kp0gFpW/s1600/Shrapnel+Fragment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikenXV109p-GXUHQz6IRrVYFc-NFP-gCmi2LRrI0vl7oZhusYY8zay2KQ4828irn8XqbP_tiUuSMiCdYC2RNVsdU60FDdiEiZeRZyvL3RGQ1M3R3uqpZR0LXi_JxNnDj0vJkHk6Kp0gFpW/s1600/Shrapnel+Fragment.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil Bright's bomb splinter <i>(Author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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Then of course, we have the pieces that come from German bombs, more correctly described as splinters rather than shrapnel. Neil Bright, formerly of this parish, is the owner of a fearsome fragment from a German bomb, which is roughly the size of the palm of my hand. The prospect of a fragment of this size striking a person simply does not bear thinking about. There are many similar pieces on display in museums, at home and abroad. The church of St Edmund, King & Martyr is perhaps unique in containing splinters from a bomb that was actually dropped on the building by a German Gotha aircraft in 1917 and which fell through the roof. Not only are pieces of the bomb still on display inside the church but the entry point was converted into a window, located in the roof!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTynLUOGJe-FK7V-gn7S6IG9DVXTwQy4OKQfYKAkoMVfS9S07tOpkDB3ZdDS7-WOfPFzu8qM7TMuZ-WFjpnaGeXZ5g1yevEIv4idIJlkY7yd5oN46bKCAhy8iUTUQxvpfVULdL1KFxCBW/s1600/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr_fragments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTynLUOGJe-FK7V-gn7S6IG9DVXTwQy4OKQfYKAkoMVfS9S07tOpkDB3ZdDS7-WOfPFzu8qM7TMuZ-WFjpnaGeXZ5g1yevEIv4idIJlkY7yd5oN46bKCAhy8iUTUQxvpfVULdL1KFxCBW/s400/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr_fragments.jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bomb fragments at St Edmund, King & Martyr Church in the City of London <i>(author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPc2qT0ZfiLfU288Nm2aO9EfX9p4l7UpgnyQHQZ0aq44PxA_jeOI9miDWNG4vJLNlISWv5ifiEYXkNLFeYk-SFovQcAtTnZODXpAKCryv1vP2YokN5Sir-4eqwlOmn5LJ4zj2yi-PNuUwl/s1600/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr+bomb+entry+point.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPc2qT0ZfiLfU288Nm2aO9EfX9p4l7UpgnyQHQZ0aq44PxA_jeOI9miDWNG4vJLNlISWv5ifiEYXkNLFeYk-SFovQcAtTnZODXpAKCryv1vP2YokN5Sir-4eqwlOmn5LJ4zj2yi-PNuUwl/s400/St+Edmund+King+%2526+Martyr+bomb+entry+point.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entry point of the bomb at St Edmund, King & Martyr<i> (author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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The museum at the Royal Hospital Chelsea goes one better by having a complete bomb on display, in this case a 250 kg HE bomb which was one of three that fell in the grounds of the Infirmary on 16 October 1940, all of which failed to explode.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJBF46JF24swi0ZvKL_P-zLyTz0W4S2klKQ6PJduT-gkkgpXXZAYKtwzXSjcIJhN5hTOp9qxPu7oyUw0TeofuqhCVYPAlS7uUVza9P2wdUM1JEoMaizH2wZgoD07o6tqLfax9r7ff9r9H/s1600/250kg+bomb+Royal+Hospital+Museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJBF46JF24swi0ZvKL_P-zLyTz0W4S2klKQ6PJduT-gkkgpXXZAYKtwzXSjcIJhN5hTOp9qxPu7oyUw0TeofuqhCVYPAlS7uUVza9P2wdUM1JEoMaizH2wZgoD07o6tqLfax9r7ff9r9H/s400/250kg+bomb+Royal+Hospital+Museum.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unexploded 250 kg bomb on display at Royal Hospital, Chelsea <i>(author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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In Hamburg, two museums in that city display bomb splinters of impressive proportions; the Bunker Museum at Hamm has a substantial fragment of a British 250 lb bomb found in the immediate area when clearing the ground prior to the opening of the museum. The thought of this scything through the air is truly frightening. The museum in the crypt of the Nikolai Kirche also has some large splinters on display, as well as some complete bombs, again of the unexploded variety.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8GnPu4UxjrQ_Hv2-xs4_DL0YDPhcHiZmlfRXwv2H3oHcLQ6XTthE0lU5k6-D2GidMWN7PnalF_sXBQnDtjrahZaWcy3O3iocgP09lE_57tXszs-nAO8YAv_2C1-6CGVBmMuHIKkvqcSO/s1600/Hamburg+2013+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8GnPu4UxjrQ_Hv2-xs4_DL0YDPhcHiZmlfRXwv2H3oHcLQ6XTthE0lU5k6-D2GidMWN7PnalF_sXBQnDtjrahZaWcy3O3iocgP09lE_57tXszs-nAO8YAv_2C1-6CGVBmMuHIKkvqcSO/s400/Hamburg+2013+034.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British 250 lb bomb fragment at Hamburg Bunker Museum <i>(author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9S_oy0VSQwDr3CscM_6m6DReu-ivKvSDpUFmLXQo_QiOtKUZvR3h1c_Gp55uR_5_BjFfzeeTQZn85NORxTHasFcCAoZ8vsLnXbT8C8Q1coOgmqPq7fqFPPMHh29gkWWjLJN9mJZRebzf/s1600/Bomb+fragments%252C+damaged+items.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9S_oy0VSQwDr3CscM_6m6DReu-ivKvSDpUFmLXQo_QiOtKUZvR3h1c_Gp55uR_5_BjFfzeeTQZn85NORxTHasFcCAoZ8vsLnXbT8C8Q1coOgmqPq7fqFPPMHh29gkWWjLJN9mJZRebzf/s400/Bomb+fragments%252C+damaged+items.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bomb fragments at the Mahnmal St Nikolai, Hamburg <i>(author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZL7oXarpcqQoe4csdpu68ThwC4H1RXRV8Us_IFz2jkFupYZrHZ0y32-ANkegKTl9ufW_m-lTgHKQv8JA0Gi5dgY1uk8kfqJ8QjPIA9s8yKVW8LfC5Paf0rR5y0WDUiull5PYg76I9wkGC/s1600/Hamburg+RAF+uxb+112kg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZL7oXarpcqQoe4csdpu68ThwC4H1RXRV8Us_IFz2jkFupYZrHZ0y32-ANkegKTl9ufW_m-lTgHKQv8JA0Gi5dgY1uk8kfqJ8QjPIA9s8yKVW8LfC5Paf0rR5y0WDUiull5PYg76I9wkGC/s400/Hamburg+RAF+uxb+112kg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unexploded RAF 250 lb bomb at the Mahnmal St Nikolai (<i>author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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Today, many buildings in London still display the "Honourable Scars" of their Wartime past, amongst them General Wolfe's statue in Greenwich Park, St Bartholomew's Hospital in the City of London, St Clement Danes Church in The Strand, Lord Clyde's statue in Waterloo Place as well as Edward VII's equestrian statue in the same location. Other buildings still bearing their scars are St Paul's Cathedral and the Victoria & Albert Museum, whose pockmarks are accompanied by a helpful plaque, which explains what these marks are and why they remain unrepaired. The Guards' Memorial also proudly displays splinter damage as do humbler structures such as the abutments of a railway bridge across Blackfriars Road and buildings in London Street, near Paddington Station.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1XIqcslr1lcJj7S8CloNZLbxRTO0tXpR4Vx-1mybCMt5ZYmvJitLtBim4IkCbFq64akI0CBsA9XKj3e39M7r7iG9us3YEPYKx4yWEXHrg19YcMyMlE8kt6SxoppkgfGbHkkX8IoE_l8S5/s1600/Shrapnel+St+Clement+Danes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1XIqcslr1lcJj7S8CloNZLbxRTO0tXpR4Vx-1mybCMt5ZYmvJitLtBim4IkCbFq64akI0CBsA9XKj3e39M7r7iG9us3YEPYKx4yWEXHrg19YcMyMlE8kt6SxoppkgfGbHkkX8IoE_l8S5/s400/Shrapnel+St+Clement+Danes.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wartime scars on St Clement Danes Church <i>(Author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgyLoETC8mjUpbi9a7IVway7C26O7aefeRzqvtv2tfW-DhC6X3KUqP9-NUGNc-AmZM_7Dyzjp5WPYKYukBLkbzx-VcfLjDa5lKK1rYEVaWbOlNGI0EDPZSqgcXwms9a0eSG9AFfgyyHOm/s1600/Lord+Clyde+shrapnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgyLoETC8mjUpbi9a7IVway7C26O7aefeRzqvtv2tfW-DhC6X3KUqP9-NUGNc-AmZM_7Dyzjp5WPYKYukBLkbzx-VcfLjDa5lKK1rYEVaWbOlNGI0EDPZSqgcXwms9a0eSG9AFfgyyHOm/s400/Lord+Clyde+shrapnel.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damage to the base of Lord Clyde's statue in Waterloo Place <i>(author's photo)</i></td></tr>
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All of these, as well as others serve to remind present day civilians here in London and elsewhere what our forebears had to endure during the dark days of the Second World War.<br />
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<i>Printed Sources:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Battle of Britain Day: 15 September 1940 - Dr Alfred Price, Sidgwick & Jackson 1990</i><br />
<i>The Narrow Margin - Derek Wood with Derek Dempster - Tri Service Press 1990</i><br />
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