The first day of the Blitz – The impact on this area

At around 4pm, 348 German bombers escorted by 617 fighters blasted London. Two hours later, using the fires set by the first assault as a guide, a second group of raiders attacked the capital and carried on bombing until 4:30am the following morning. The attack started in the East End before moving to central London, leaving more than 430 dead and more than 1600 people badly injured. This was a terrifying attack that was a taste of things to come.

It wasn’t until after 9.30pm that this area was hit. The bombs fell mainly on Southey Road and Caldwell Street. A truly horrific sight. In Caldwell Street alone, 26 houses were hit, the gas main fractured and the road was blown open. It would have been a picture of chaos and destruction. Local firemen and wardens typically worked for hours trying to put out the huge fires caused by the bombs. Glass, brick, timber and personal belongings will have been smashed and blasted in all directions. They would also have had the dangerous and painstaking job of digging out the dead and injured.

See the interactive map below showing the bomb hits, click on the map pins to find out about the type of bomb and the time of impact

Many civilians would probably have managed to get themselves to one of the local shelters by the time the bombers struck SW9, but sadly, not everyone was so lucky. The people below were killed in this raid.

NameAgeOther Information
Alice Mirian Borner63of 50 Caldwell Street. Daughter of the late William Tupper Borner, and of Caroline Borner, of 114 Great Dover Street. Injured at 50 Caldwell Street; died same day at Lambeth Hospital.
Eliza Dunk77of 52 Caldwell Street. Widow of Thomas Dunk. Died at 52 Caldwell Street.
William Henry Dunk52of 52 Caldwell Street. Son of Eliza, and of the late Thomas Dunk. Died at 52 Caldwell Street.
Emily Woodley74of 52 Caldwell Street. Wife of Thomas Wodley. Died at 52 Caldwell Street.
Thomas Woodley72of 52 Caldwell Street. Husband of Emily Woodley. Died at 52 Caldwell Street.

 

 

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