[This is a work in progress online posting intended to eventually present a full Chelsea Blitz timeline narrative. More detailed narratives of large-scale incidents with many casualties are being produced and will be linked to in this overall timeline narrative. The project also seeks to write obituary/biographies for all the victims as much as possible and these will be present in the more detailed postings on incidents. Thank you for your patience]
Chelsea’s deadly V2 strike- 3rd January 1945
Ships called ‘Chelsea’ during the Second World War
The Special Operations Executive house in Chelsea wrecked by bombing in WW2
Chelsea’s World War Two casualties in RAF, Army, Royal Navy and Merchant Navy services
How celebrated ‘spymistress’ Vera Atkins helped protect Chelsea during the Blitz
The only Luftwaffe pilot to bale out over Chelsea during WW2
The Paultons Square trench shelter tragedy- October 20th 1940
Church of the Holy Redeemer and Upper Cheyne Row disaster- 14th September 1940.
The ‘Big Bomb’ in Shawfield Street- Friday 1st November 1940.
Chelsea Blitz 1940 to 1945. Part One- Preparing for war. 1939 to 1940.
Chelsea Blitz 1940 to 1945. Part Two- First raids 28th August to 9th September 1940.
Chelsea Blitz 1940 to 1945. Part Three- 10th to 14th September 1940. More death and destruction.
Heroic rescue of Mildred Castillo- Bramerton Street tragedy 9th September 1940.
Seaton Street and Cremorne Road tragedy 14th October 1940.
Cadogan House public air raid shelter tragedy in Beaufort Street 9th September 1940.
Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East V1flying bomb disaster 3rd July 1944- many casualties.
Basil Street Parachute Mine bombing killing three SOE agents 11th May 1941.
Ideal Stores Ashburnham Road and Stadium Street bombing 9th October 1940.
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The Chelsea Blitz: Chelsea at war between 1939 and 1945 by Tim Crook is coming soon with publication by Kultura Press in 2026.
The book will contain in narrative form all of the postings on Chelsea Blitz history posted and in continuing development in Chelsea History and Studies. Publication is by popular demand from people and online readers wanting to have a book form of this remarkable story of the people’s history of Chelsea during these dramatic years.
It is expected to be the most comprehensive history of Chelsea during the Second World War years to date.
The online postings will remain on open access though with all rights reserved.
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Will it ever be possible to adequately establish a memorial which properly remembers the civilian war dead of Chelsea in the Second World War and for that matter all the service people from Chelsea who have served in the armed forces and did not return home?
Well, I know everyone in Chelsea during times past, present and future would like to do their best.
The slideshow above illustrates the war memorial in Sloane Square and the plaque on a wall at Dovehouse Green adjacent to the registry office and opposite Chelsea Old Town Hall.
This commemorates the 457 civilian war dead. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission at the time of writing (30th July 2023) has records for 462 civilian war casualties in the Borough of Chelsea during World War Two. And there is a brass plaque celebrating the bravery of Chelsea chimney sweep Anthony Smith awarded a George Cross for rescuing survivors of the bombing raid at Guinness Trust buildings in the World’s End in February 1944, and Albert Littlejohn who was given a British Empire Medal.
But this does of course omit any mention of George Woodward who received the George Medal for his rescue efforts in the same incident, and the British Empire Medals awarded to Woodward and his ARP colleagues George Pitman and Wally Capon at Bramerton Street on 9th September 1940.
There is a tablet in Turk’s Row remembering the 74 US serviceman killed in the V1 attack there in July 1944 [in fact the more accurate figure is likely to be 67 US and 2 Canadian servicemen], and a small plaque at Chelsea Fire Station in the King’s Road remembering firefighters who died in Chelsea during WW2 and at other times.
So many of the civilian victims of the Blitz in Chelsea were buried in municipal communal graves at Brompton Cemetery. They do not have headstones and we are sometimes talking about entire families or the subsantial part of them.
There is a stone monument erected in Putney Vale Cemetery carved with some of the names of civilian victims of the Blitz ‘killed by enemy action’ in Chelsea which was specially commissioned by Chelsea Borough Council and they are buried in a special garden area of the cemetery.
The ages of civilian victims ranged from infant children only a few weeks’ old, unborn children when their pregnant mothers were killed and a 100 year old Chelsea Pensioner of the Royal Hospital.
It is my intention (with the help of many Chelsea-ites) through research and writing to provide as thorough an online tribute to the casualties of the Blitz in Chelsea as well as the Borough’s service people in the conflicts of the 20th Century’s world wars as I can.
History is not just about buildings, plaques and monuments. It is fundamentally about people.
The record of all WW2 bombing incidents left to us in the archives is largely down to the conscientious and scrupulous work of Chelsea artist Jo Oakman (1900-1970) who worked in the Town Hall’s Food Office by day and, whenever needed, she served part-time as an ARP Warden mainly from the Post Don in Glebe Place.
In reality the true figure of Chelsea people killed by enemy action during the Second World War is much nearer 600 if we include the US servicemen killed at Turk’s Row, Chelsea residents killed in Blitz incidents outside the Borough and those injured and sent to hospitals elsewhere in London and outside for medical treatment who did not survive. As of 3rd May 2025, I have been able to identify a total of 573.
Those killed on the Home Front greatly outnumbered those killed in action in uniform in the services though that number is very much in the hundreds and is the subject of another detailed posting.
Jo Oakman (right) wearing her ARP Warden’s helmet and attending the Air Raid shelter in Paultons Square Chelsea. This photograph appeared in Picture Post 26th October 1940
It has to be said, it seems she was as full-time (and unpaid) working as an air raid warden as anything she did at the Town Hall.
Jo also sketched and painted water colours and kept a diary during the War which her family donated to the Imperial War Museum. She had been brought up in Battersea, where her father was a popular and respected general practitioner based in the High Street.
She went to Clapham High School and studied at the Slade School of Art before deciding Chelsea was to be her home.
Jo Oakman World War Two water colour sketches. Click on the links to Dave Walker’s RBK&C The Library Time Machine
Chelsea Town Hall decorated for VE Day by Jo Oakman
Two paintings of the temporary bridge built for military purposes to the east of Albert Bridge:
Albert Military bridge (Chelsea side) one
Albert Military bridge (Battersea side) two
Chelsea Old Church destruction 1941
She was a lady devoted to two wheels- a pedal bicycle to get about Chelsea and a motorcycle when visiting her parents after they retired to seaside Shoreham.
Her nephew Alan Wharam did his best to transcribe the hand-written content and left a copy with the local studies centre of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Everything I have learned about Jo Oakman convinces me that she is a veritable legend of Chelsea.
I’m pretty sure I may have passed her occasionally when walking in Justice Walk and Lawrence Street as a child in the 1960s.
I was just a little boy with unruly blond hair and a big mouth who talked too much at the time and given to the Chelsea Old Church choir in the hope that controlled and disciplined singing might keep the noise down at other times.
She would have been the old lady going in an out of number 8 Justice Walk where she had her flat. She was always looking out for cats.
Jo was also known as ‘Oakie’ and described by her friend Mary Glasgow as ‘one of the last of the great Chelsea eccentrics.’ Mary lived across the Walk at number 5 and would leave her cats in Jo’s enthusiastic care though her love and generosity meant she would often overfeed them.
In 1977 she wrote to Jo Oakman’s nephew: ‘One of the most vivid pictures I have of her is of a day when I called to find her toasting, or rather charring, a crumpet over a gas ring. She was at work on a half-finished oil painting, propped up on the window-sill; her bicycle (without which she never went out) was across the fireplace, and the cat, of course, asleep on the bed.’
Mary added that during the war: ‘…she was indefatigable: always ready for any emergency, always at hand with tea-pot or hot-water-bottle, always even-tempered, and of course immensely courageous during raids. She was one of those people who came into their own during the war.’
Leslie Matthews was the full-time Chief Warden at Post Don (based at Cook’s Ground School in Glebe Place, later renamed the Kingsley School and now a luxury flats development) and wrote after the war that Jo Oakman’s work ‘was done almost entirely outside the [Warden’s] Post, pedalling round the area dodging shell casing fragments or watching raids develop from the rooftop. Everyone knew Jo, she was friends with practically every inhabitant of the area; her local knowledge was always useful and sometimes invaluable … she had drawn up her own code …She deserved official recognition simply for the colossal total of hours she spent on duty going round and showing all the time that the Wardens were on the job.’
He added: ‘As I recall her she was very rarely still; trotting off on some errand with short intoeing steps, warm quizzical grin which could speak volumes. Upsetting ‘Authority’ occasionally by filling paraffin lamps on tables meant for preparation of food, or sleeping under the tennis table when it was needed for relaxation; generous to a fault. At one point her superiors in the Food Office tried hard to get her transferred to the full time Warden Service, where she spent so much of her time anyway, but she continued to get her own way.’
The following database is compiled from Jo Oakman’s ‘Bomb Incidents in date order Chelsea 28-8-40 to 3-1-45’, ‘Bomb Incidents in street order compiled from ARP Control Cards & Survey Reports of War Damage held in the Licensing Office of Chelsea Borough Council 4 June 1949’, the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Mortuary Records of Chelsea Borough Council during the Second World War, Google Maps, Satellite images and Street view by embedding, and myriad other sources of books, memoirs and magazine and newspaper publications.
Jo Oakman in ARP uniform during WW2 ‘…rarely still; trotting off on some errand with short intoeing steps, warm quizzical grin which could speak volumes.’
This online page intersects with links to much more detailed narratives of individual incidents for the Chelsea History and Studies resource which seek to provide the wider social history context of individual streets and their community memories.
Another important tribute must be paid to Alan Wharam and his wife for taking so much trouble to prepare and curate Jo Oakham’s unique diary and archive of an artist recording, drawing and painting the Blitz in Chelsea between 1940 and 1945.
If anyone visiting recognises any mistakes, I would be very grateful to hear from you by way of comment so I can correct them. If you are related to anyone referred to and would like to add information and images to enrich and enlighten their memory and contribution to the life, times and community of Chelsea feel free to contact me by way of the comment facilities and I will do my best to honour them as well as I can.
The Chelsea Borough Council control room at the Town Hall in the King’s Road recorded false alarms and when these have been cited in the bomb incident reports, these have been included along with the correction.
It is difficult to appreciate the terrible noise and confusion that multiple bomb explosions caused combined with rapid anti-aircraft fire.
Chelsea was one of the smallest Boroughs in Britain and anyone following the trail of incidents in the present day will be able to understand how close, for example, a parachute mine exploding on the Embankment could be heard and felt in the King’s Road.
‘Casualties’ includes people injured, treated at first aid posts, taken to hospital, and those who sadly died. Those killed have been given their full Commonwealth War Graves Commission citation along with any further relevant biographical information available from the 1939 Register, previous censuses, Chelsea Borough Council mortuary records, diaries and memoirs, information provided by descendants, and newspaper archives.
The research for this project has identified additional Chelsea Blitz casualties sent to hospitals outside London where they died from their injuries. Chelsea residents killed in bombing incidents in other London Boroughs are now being included.
The Home Office created a file, updated throughout the war, of the length of the air raids on Chelsea with quantitative statistics on the number and type of bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe. Where they fell and who they killed can be calibrated with the location and casualty reports recorded by Jo Oakman and Chelsea Borough Council officials in the Town Hall control room.
The Home Office intelligence did not necessarily mirror exactly the information recorded by the Borough Council.
There are bombing incidents recorded which stray into the neighbouring Boroughs of Fulham, Westminster and Kensington. This is usually because injured victims were taken to hospitals in Chelsea (usually St Luke’s [parallel and between Sydney and Dovehouse Streets and rebuilt as the Royal Brompton Heart and Lung Hospital], Chelsea Cancer Hospital [now Royal Marsden and still in the Fulham Road] Brompton Hospital for consumption and chest diseases [in Fulham Road and now developed into luxury flats], Chelsea Hospital for Women [in Dovehouse Street] and St Stephens [in the Fulham Road and rebuilt as the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital]) where they died.
Sometimes incidents, particularly incendiary bombs, were not recorded by the Wardens, but became subject to repair claims. These have been listed and explained under the separate heading between 1940 and 1941 of ‘Incidents recorded during between September 1940 and May 1941 but not given a specific date.’
A google map link may be historical where in recent years there has been the demolition of a building which had been standing between 1939 and 1945.
There would be three major evacuations of children from Chelsea and other parts of London during WW2. From Friday 1st September 1939 to Saturday 7th September 1940 there was a ‘phoney war’ with no air-raids on London. Consequently, many children returned to their London homes.
The first evacuation ‘mobilised’ on the day Germany invaded Poland- two days before the famous speech by Neville Chamberlain on BBC radio formally declaring war on Germany Sunday 3rd September 1939.
The outbreak of the intensive Blitz from September 7th 1940 not surprisingly led to a second evacuation.
Evacuees of the Second World War- Operation Pied Piper. Imperial War Museum feature
After the heavy raid of overnight Saturday and Sunday May 10th and 11th 1941 and Germany’s invasion of Russia, there were much fewer and only sporadic air raids – the worst on West Chelsea late at night on Wednesday 23rd February 1944.
Many children returned to be with their families in London.
But, the deadly attacks by V1 and V2 missiles from Monday 12th June 1944 resulted in a third evacuation until the last V2 attack on Hughes Mansions in Stepney Sunday March 25th 1945 and a V1 attack in Orpington on the same day.
Image below shows Marlborough School children from their Draycott and Sloane Avenue building being escorted across the King’s Road by the famous ‘Moon’s Garage’ (later renamed ‘Blue Star’) in the ground floor and basement of Whitelands House during an ARP evacuation drill and experiment Tuesday 13th June 1939.
Marlborough was then an elementary school teaching children up to the age of 14. After the enactment of 1944 (Butler) Education Act, it became a Primary School for children up to the age of 11. This was the school which the author attended between 1964 and 1970.
This location at the junction of the King’s Road and Walpole Street.
An earlier photograph taken of the Marlborough School group crossing Cheltenham Terrace by the Duke of York’s Headquarters features in the outstanding ‘The Library Time Machine’ online blog by RBK&C librarian Dave Walker on this link: https://rbkclocalstudies.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/arp-exercise-1939-031.jpg
All children evacuated from London had to take their gas masks with them. The gas mask was an abiding memory for people who lived through WW2. Every individual was issued with one- special gas masks were made for infants and animals.
It should also be noted that those people with second homes in the country and with the economic means to stay in hotels and boarding houses would often take advantage of these privileges during WW2.
This is why the population of the borough dropped substantially by about 20,000. It also means many more houses were left locked up and empty.
Between September 7th 1939 and the middle of May 1941 there was a regular exodus of the more affluent residents to the country at weekends, though it can also be said that would be the normal mode of living for many of them even before the War- town living during the week for work and country home and estate at weekends.
British Pathé news report on evacuating the children of London in early September 1939 after the German Nazi regime’s invasion of Poland.
Escaping the Blitz documentary- oral histories on evacuation from London during WW2 (made in 2020) (There was input into the project by the legendary Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council local studies librarian and historian Dave Walker)
The German intelligence files explaining why Chelsea was targetted intensively by the Luftwaffe during World War Two.
Chelsea was the third most bombed London Borough. German intelligence files explain the reasons.
Air raids were primarily designed to destroy major sources of utility services such as electricity, gas and water.
The German aerial reconnaissance images of Lots Road Power station (providing electricity to the London underground) Fulham coke and gas plant (providing coal gas to large parts of London), Fulham Power station (providing electricity to large parts of West London), Battersea Power station (providing electricity to Southern Railway services and large parts of London) and Battersea pumping station (providing water to large parts of London) are situated around Chelsea.
It is remarkable that during the Blitz all these power plants did not receive any significant direct hits; only the occasional incendiary bomb easily put out by firewatchers.
The heavy high explosive bombs would land on residential streets instead knocking out blocks of flats, terraced housing, hospitals and shops.
The German intelligence target photographs
German intelligence also had highly detailed and accurate street maps of Chelsea.
When low flying bombers machine-gunned up and down the King’s Road and Fulham Road, the pilots had every reason to know where they were and what they were offloading their bombs and bullets on.
The large number of bombing incidents on Chelsea’s famous Royal Hospital for Pensioners makes sense when these maps show the close proximity to Battersea’s Power station and water pumping plant. Equally the large Chelsea Army barracks in the Chelsea Bridge Road ran parallel to the eastern border of the Royal Hospital and Ranelagh gardens.
It is not widely known that the Royal Hospital was badly bombed during the First World War by Gotha G.V heavy bombers in June 1917 and Zeppelin air-ship in February 1918.
The photographs taken by the Home Office of the successful air raids by the German Luftwaffe on Chelsea Hospital during the Great War show that the Germans had experience, history and intelligence on how to attack this part of London by air.
They accurately updated their intellignce and map resources for the Second World War as shown below.
German Intelligence maps of Chelsea, Battersea and Fulham used by navigators in air raids during World War Two
This online resource is still being constructed and added to so remains a work of progress until sign-posted as completed. Many thanks for your patience and taking the trouble to visit.
Wednesday 28th August 1940.
One raid at night and until the following morning.
[Home Office File: August 28th/29th (Alert 2057-0402) 1 UXB 1 H.E.]
Burton[s] Court. Two high explosive bombs. One unexploded bomb. The high explosive bombs caused no damage. The unexploded bomb was removed by a UXB (Bomb Disposal Squad) of the Royal Engineers.
Sunday 1st September 1940
Casualty
56 year old Percy Ambrose Bartlett may well have been the first resident of Chelsea to have died in an air raid in the Second World War. He was killed in the bombing of Gascoigne Road, Croydon on 1st September 1940. He was the husband of Caroline Jane Bartlett and they were living at 19 Block A Lewis Buildings, Ixworth Place, Chelsea.
At the time of the June 1921 Census, Percy was a painter and decorator working for builder and decorator T. Bailey of St Leonard’s Road Mortlake. He was the son of Joseph and Emma Bartlett, of Bracknell, Berkshire.
Born in Whitchurch, Oxfordshire Percy had started his working life in service and the 1911 Census records him employed as a 26 year old footman at the Rookery Park estate in Yoxford, Suffolk.
Percy Ambrose married Caroline Jane Collins at Thame, Oxfordshire in 1914.
Percy enlisted in the 11th Company of the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War. He was discharged at the end of October 1919 due to eye-sight disability caused by his Army service.
When the Second World War started he was the foreman for a warehouse supplying the M.D. Food Service. His son Alfred Ambrose, 24 in 1939, was an automobile electrician and his wife Caroline did dressmaking.
Wednesday 4th September 1940.
One raid late evening.
[Home Office File: September 4th (Alert 2104-2243) 1 UX AA shell. ]
28 Lowndes Square. Unexploded anti-aircraft shell.
As has already been mentioned, Jo Oakman divided her time during the Blitz between Chelsea where she worked and travelling to Shoreham by motor-bike to stay with her retired parents. It was there that she witnessed ‘The Battle of Britain’ between the RAF and Luftwaffe before the bombing Blitz on London and other towns and cities and their civilian populations. Her war-time diaries would include sketches of what she had seen as well as descriptions. Entries would be precise to the 24 hour clock.
On September 4th she witnessed a dog fight and ‘downing’ of a Messerschmitt and most enthusiastically drew the wreckage with a member of the Home Guard standing next to it.
‘14.05 all clear. Oh! boy some day – Some thrill! P.S. Machine gunning in the air was so rapid it was like a growling dog.’
Saturday 7th September 1940
One raid at night and until the next morning.
[Home Office File: 7th/8th September (Alert 2030-0449) 7 HE and 1 Oil incendiary. (Damage was caused to Chelsea Embankment by bombs falling in the river.)]
River Thames off Flood Street. Two high explosive bombs.
Sunday 8th September 1940
27 Pont Street. High explosive bomb.
37 Pont Street. High explosive bomb.
Chelsea Barracks. Incendiary bomb.
108 Pavilion Road. High explosive bomb.
22 Cadogan Square. High explosive bomb. Premises badly damaged
2 Cadogan Square. High explosive bomb. Building damaged.
33 Pont Street. High explosive bomb.
5 Shafto Mews. High explosive bomb.
Moravian Close. Oil bomb.
Royal Hospital. False report of an unexploded bomb.
Civilian Casualty Sunday 8th September 1940
57 year old Thomas Robert Eells of 733 Wandsworth Road, Clapham died at the Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest from injuries received as a result of enemy action at Victoria Railway Station.
Mr Eells had been caught up in Westminster’s first major Blitz attack just after 11 p.m. on Saturday night 7th September. A stick of five high explosive bombs fell in the vicinity of Victoria Station and Victoria Street just after closing time in the pubs. Four of them detonated on the Victoria Station buildings. People were killed and wounded and this was the West End’s first experience of the ghastly smell of smashed and powdered plaster, brick and fractured coal gas mains and the scree of shattered glass across pavements and roads.
Victoria Station front concourse during the Blitz of 1940
Vauxhall Bridge Road and Buckingham Palace Road had been full of people waiting to pick up the late night buses and trams- many in the direction of neighbouring Chelsea. These included the number 11 and 39 buses. Saturday night was consequently filled with the cacophony of ambulance, stretcher and rescue vehicles and the cries of the wounded and injured emanating from the wreckage of large parts of Victoria Station.
A 6,000 volt electrical cable at Smith Square had been severed. The breaking up of London’s power infrastructure was an early education on how to repair quickly and effectively water, gas and electricity supplies.
Inside Victoria Station October 1940- roof damaged by high explosive bombs and signs telling passengers where to go in the event of another air raid.
The rescue work through the early hours of Sunday morning 8th September had been mostly carried out in hand-held torch-light. For stretcher and ambulance workers, many of them women, this was a bracing initiation into the carnage of Blitz killings- one or two reported being physically sick back at the depot after the night’s work was done.
Monday 9th September 1940
One raid early hours of the morning.
A second raid in the early evening.
[Home Office File 9th September (Alert 1258-0535) 5 HE and 2 Oil incendiaries.]
[Home Office File 9th September (Alert 1709-1825) 5 HE]
22, 23, 24 and 25 South Parade. High explosive bomb. Much damage and some casualties.
Civilian deaths Monday 9th September 1940
16 year old Charles Merrick Wilson, a printer’s clerk of 23 South Parade. Son of Mrs. Alison Wilson, a widow and usherette who was 40 years old. Died at 7 South Parade.
15 year old Joan Rosalind May Plowright, a librarian of 23 South Parade. Daughter of painter Robert G. Plowright and Josephine Whippe (Plowright). Injured at 23 South Parade; died same day at St. Lukes Hospital.
15 year old Betty Jean Bennett. Daughter of Florence Jane Chown (formerly Bennett), of 13 Delaford Street, Fulham, and of the late Arthur Bennett. Died at 23 South Parade.
King’s Court North in the King’s Road High explosive bomb.
Mallord Street. Oil bomb.
King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
Milman’s Street. High explosive bomb at the Cheyne Walk end. Water mains damaged causing flooding.
Beaufort Street. Convent. High explosive bomb. Caused a fire and some damage.
Beaufort House, King’s Road. High explosive bomb which fell on luggage room at the rear of Mulberry Close and set fire to Beaufort House.
Beaufort Street, Mulberry Close. High explosive.
Beaufort Steet, Cadogan House. High explosive bomb on air raid shelter. 58 people reported dead after the public shelter collapsed in the blast.
See the detailed narrative for all the Beaufort Street incidents, and in particular the Cadogan House air raid shelter tragedy, is present in the Beaufort Street posting.
Civilian Casualties at Cadogan House air raid shelter, Beaufort Street early hours of Monday 9th September 1940
Maureen Gurney, 10 weeks old, of 11 Cadogan House.
Jean Gurney, 3 years old, of 11 Cadogan House.
Phyllis Muriel Gurney, 24 years old of 11 Cadogan House (Robert Walter Gurney either survived the bombing or was not in the shelter at the time. He had the heart-rending responsibility of identifying his wife and two infant daughters.)
Ellen Dennis, 58 years old, a housewife of 41 Cadogan House.
Frederick (known as Fred) Dennis, 58 years old, motor cab washer of 41 Cadogan House.
Henry Charles Jeremy, 17 years old, commercial clerk working for music publishers of 65 Cadogan House.
Hetty Ray Jeremy, 21 years old, a dress-maker/milliner of 65 Cadogan House.
Emma Eliza Jeremy, 55 years old, a widow of 65 Cadogan House.
Agnes Holland, 63 years old, a widow of Walter Holland resident of 48 Cadogan House.
Eric Walter Holland, 21 years old, a bank clerk by profession and at the time of his death a private soldier in the Royal Army Pay Corps. Resident of 48 Cadogan House and son of Agnes and Walter Holland. He has a CWG Commission military headstone in the Brompton Cemetery with the inscription ‘Rest In Peace.’
Frederick James Waller, 46 years old, an employee of Harrods of 45 Cadogan House.
Bertha Waller, 40 years old, of 45 Cadogan House.
Selina Sarah Allen, 78 years old, an old age pensioner of 15 Cadogan House.
Edith Gilbert, 42 years old of 44 Cadogan House.
Doreen Ivy Edwards, 13 years old and daughter of H J S Edwards War Reserve Police Constable of 72 Cadogan House.
Ivy Elsie Edwards, 39 years old, housewife of 72 Cadogan House.
Henry John Samuel Edwards, 38 years old, War Reserve Police Constable of 72 Cadogan House. Henry had been a leatherworker before becoming a War Reserve police officer. He was the son of Samuel John and Emily Annie Edwards living at number 1 Cadogan House, Beaufort Street.
Susan Jesser, 76 years old pensioner of 35 Cadogan House.
Thomas Frederick Jesser, 70 years old, pensioner of 35 Cadogan House.
Alfred England, 38 years old, contractor’s labourer in Public Works Water Company of 37 Cadogan House. Alfred was in the ARP trained in gas decontamination.
Violet England, 34 years old, housewife of 37 Cadogan House.
Mary Nora Mitchell, 17 years old, school pupil, of 17 Cadogan House.
William John Mitchell, 54 years old, a carpenter and joiner of 17 Cadogan House. Son of Mary Ann Mitchell, of 51 Brampton Park Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire. William Mitchell was also an ARP Warden trained in first aid.
Margaret Mary Mitchell, 48 years old, housewife of 17 Cadogan House.
Norah Rowena Bains, 59 years old, a Church Sister of 34 Cadogan House. Daughter of Charles William and Anne Isobella Bains, of Dursley, Gloucestershire. Norah was also in the ARP reserve.
Elizabeth Ann Gould, 67 years old, housewife of 61 Cadogan House.
William James Gould, 70 years old, pensioner of 61 Cadogan House.
Helen Litchfield, 70 years old, pensioner of 43 Cadogan House. Widow of W. J. Litchfield.
Lavinia Rosina Dowsey, 99 years old, pensioner of 19 Cadogan House. Widow of J. Dowsey.
Frank Murton, 32 years old, warehouseman’s assistant of 60 Cadogan House. Son of Charles Cracknell Murton, and E. Murton, of Aspal Cottage, Aspal Lane, Besk Row Common, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.
Gladys Murton, 32 years old, housewife of 60 Cadogan House. Daughter of John James and Alice Rebecca Read, of 56 Cadogan House.
Ada Ellen Lowe, 27 years old, housewife, of 52 Cadogan House. Wife of Reginald John Lowe.
Elizabeth Bowley, 40 years old, housewife of 33 Cadogan House. Wife of Wilfrid Thomas Bowley. Wilfred who was also forty years old and a shop assistant by day was most likely on duty that night in the Auxiliary Fire Service.
William George Seers, 68 years old, pensioner and retired taxi driver of 9 Cadogan House.
Rose Harriet Seers, 69 years old, pensioner of 9 Cadogan House.
Frank William Seers, 28 years old, gas fitter of 48A Tregunter Road, West Brompton.
Ethel Mary Hodgson, 68 years old, domestic cook, of 54 Cadogan House.
Dorothy Eileen Forster, 35 years old of 13 Cadogan House. Wife of William John Forster.
Adelaide Reid, 45 years old, daily maid of 38 Cadogan House. Daughter of the late Charles and Elizabeth Reid.
Jean Darling B A, 34 years old, A.R.P Warden of Mulberry Close, Chelsea, also of The Old Rectory, Trimley, near Felixstowe and Ipswich, Suffolk. Daughter of Jane Baird Darling, of The Old Rectory, Trimley, and of the late Austin Major Darling.
Emily Eliza Huntley, 56 years old, of 32 Cadogan House. Wife of C. H. Huntley.
Cecilie May Steggles, 32 years old of 40 Cadogan House. Daughter of Emily Alice, and of the late G. Steggles.
Mabel Grace Clarke, 49 years old of 47 Cadogan House. Widow of Charles Edwin Clarke, D.C.M.
Florence Evelyn Brooks, 42 years old and daughter of Alfred Horace and Florence Kate Brooks, of 55 Beaufort Mansions, Beaufort Street. Died at Cadogan House Shelter.
Florence Elizabeth Tomlin, 75 years old of 59 Cadogan House.
Walter Frederick Curzon, 29 years old of 55 Beaufort Mansions, Beaufort Street. He was killed in the Cadogan House shelter along with his wife. He was the son of Frederick Henry and Elsie Marguerite Curzon, of 16 Bramfield Road, Wandsworth Common.
Olive Phyllis Curzon, 31 years old of 55 Beaufort Mansions, Beaufort Street. She was the daughter of Alfred Horace and Florence Kate Brooks, of Speldhurst, Second Avenue, Wickford, Essex.
Kathleen Elizabeth Martin, 13 years old of 17 Chelsea Manor Buildings, Flood Walk. She died in the Cadogan House shelter and was the daughter of Sydney William and Winifred Bessie Martin.
Percy Alexander Cobby, 38 years old of 21 Langton Street who died at St Luke’s Hospital, Sydney Street on 15th September 1940 from the injuries he received in Beaufort Street on 9th September. He was the husband of Evelyn I. Cobby.
Declaration by Coroner that Jane McKee, 75 years old of 10 Cadogan House died in the street shelter bombing on 9th September 1940. She had not been seen or heard of since she was last spotted in the shelter on the night of 7th September 1940.
At Beaufort House
Jessie Alan Izat, 60 years old, a Red Cross nurse of 12 Beaufort House, Beaufort Street. She was the daughter of Dr. John Crerar and Catherine Crerar, of Maryport, Cumberland; widow of Capt. Alan Izat, R.E.
At Winchester House
Robert Samuel Chambers, who was 16, and lived at 17 Winchester House had been injured at the Winchester air raid shelter and died the same day at St Luke’s Hospital in Sydney Street. Robert had been working as a junior clerk with the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce.
Silent film of army and civilian ambulances and stretcher bearers attending to injured victims of the blitz in London in 1940
23/55 Walton Street. Unexploded bomb- not confirmed.
37 Cadogan Place. High explosive bomb.
Swan Court, Chelsea Manor Street. High explosive bomb. Direct hit. Damage to the building and casualties though not fatal.
14 St Leonards Terrace. High explosive bomb.
33 Smith Street. High explosive bomb.
2, 4, and 6 Bramerton Street. High explosive bomb. All three houses demolished with casualties.
See detailed narrative of the incident in the Bramerton Street posting.
Casualties in Bramerton Street Monday 9th September 1940
Gertrude Castillo, 51 years old of 4 Bramerton Street, wife of Dr. Richard Castillo.
47 year old Lily Fox, wife of L. C. Fox. Died at 6 Bramerton Street.
3 Smith Street. Unexploded bomb, though turned out to be false report.
Wellington Square. Unexploded bomb. False report.
Tuesday 10th September 1940
One raid at night and until the next morning.
[Home Office File 10th/11th September (Alert 2012-0443) 2 HE, 1 UXB, 2 Oil incendiaries. (One of which failed to ignite) 1 UX AA shell. One batch of small incendiaries.]
‘Paultons Square trenches. Unexploded bomb. False report.’
The Air Radio Shelter by Frances Macdonald
Sloane Square top of Lower Sloane Street. Incendiary bomb.
Sloane Street opposite Holy Trinity Church. Incendiary bomb.
Nell Gwynn House, Sloane Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
The 1960s and 70s BBC Television comedy series Dad’s Army resurrected through the character of ARP Warden Hodges the catchphrase and cry: “Put that light out!’ As Jo Oakman’s wartime diary demonstrates so amusingly, the exhortation was very much a reality in Chelsea during 1940 and 1941.
Rawlings Street. Incendiary bomb.
73 Pont Street. High explosive bomb.
519 and 529 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
Civilian Casualties Tuesday 10th September 1940
Ronald Leslie Peters, 10 years old. Son of Alfred Leslie and Mary Peters, of 105 Lots Road. Died at 523 King’s Road.
57 year old Elizabeth Shepherd. Wife of Frederick Shepherd, of 32 Meek Street. Injured 10 September 1940, at King’s Road; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Sandra Valerie Shepherd, 5 months old . Daughter of Frederick Charles and Winifred Shepherd, of 15A Ashburnham Road. Died at King’s Road.
58 year old Thomas Bradin of 523 King’s Road. Injured 10 September 1940, at 523 King’s Road; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital 20th September 1940.
104 Sloane Street. Incendiary bomb.
187 Pavilion Road. Incendiary bomb.
Connie Evans- Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner and WW2 anti-aircraft gunner on ‘Defending Britain From German Air Attacks | WW2: I Was There’
Wednesday 11th September 1940
One raid at night and until the next morning.
[Home Office File 11th/12th September (Alert 2036-0535) 2 AA shells.]
Cheyne Walk and Danvers Street. Incendiary bomb.
Cheyne Row. Incendiary bomb.
Battersea Bridge. Incendiary bomb.
94 and 96 Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Danvers Street and Petyt Place. Incendiary bomb.
Beaufort Street at Kingsley House. Incendiary bomb. Damage by water.
Dartrey Road. (now World’s Estate and ‘Dartrey Tower named after it) Incendiary bomb.
King’s Road at St Mark’s College. High explosive bomb.
Casualty Wednesday 11th September 1940
45 year old Mary Ann Ferguson. Wife of William Robert Ferguson, of 19 Tetcott Road. Injured at King’s Road; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
King’s Road end Edith grove. Oil bomb.
King’s Road. Guinness Trust Buildings. Incendiary bomb.
Beaufort Street and Cheyne Walk. Unexploded anti-aircraft shell.
38 Blantyre Street. Unexploded incendiary bomb. (Blantyre Street has been replaced by the World’s End Estate.)
Stella Clarke Caught In A Bombing Raid During The Blitz | WW2: I Was There
Beaufort Mansions. Unexploded incendiary bomb.
Cheyne Walk at the Cremorne Arms. Unexploded incendiary bomb.
Milman’s Street. Casual Ward. Incendiary bomb.
5 to 7 and 11 to 13 Edith Terrace. Unexploded bomb.
Living On Rations In The Second World War | WW2: I Was There
Thursday 12th September 1940
One raid at night and until the next morning.
[Home Office File: 12th/13th September (Alert 2110-0546) 8 HE, 1 UXB and 1 Oil incendiary.]
Edith Grove 16a and b. High explosive bomb.
4 Tetcott Road. High explosive bomb
Casualty and Civilian Deaths Thursday 12th September 1940
Frederick Andrew Hagger, 2 years old. Son of Doris May Hagger, of 96 Halford Road, and of Frederick George William Hagger. Injured at Buckler’s Alley, Fulham; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital. (He is also listed in the civilian war deaths maintained by Fulham Borough Council.)
36 year old Andrew Thomas Murphy of 11D Lewis Buildings, Ixworth Place, Chelsea who died in an air raid on the Fulham Telephone Exchange. He was the husband of Eva Murphy.
Friday 13th September 1940
One raid morning to afternoon. A second raid at night and until the next morning.
[Home Office file 13th September (Alert 0947-1357) 7 HE, 1 AA shell and one batch of small incendiaries.]
[Home Office file 13th/14th September (Alert 2100-0530) 1 UX AA shell and one batch of small incendiaries.]
Chelsea Manor Street, post office. Oil bomb.
Chelsea Manor Street, Gaumont Cinema. High explosive bomb at the rear. Cinema damaged and burst water main.
Chelsea Manor Street at the junction of Britten Street. High explosive bomb causing a burst water main.
Sydney Street, St Luke’s Churchyard. Burst gas main.
Cale Street. Between Sydney Street and Guthrie Street. Unexploded bomb landed on the pavement and was removed by a Bomb Disposal Squad of the Royal Engineers.
10 Ormonde Gate. Anti-aircraft shell.
Cheyne Court. Unexploded bomb. One casualty.
Chelsea Manor Buildings Council estate. High explosive bomb landed on the shelter for the residents. Several fatal casualties and flooding from burst water main.
Friday 13th September Civilian Casualties
63 year old Hilda Burden of 12 Chelsea Manor Buildings. Widow of A. N. Burden. Died at Chelsea Manor Street.
63 year old Kathleen Ray of 15 Chelsea Manor Buildings, Flood Street. Died at Chelsea Manor Buildings.
19 year old Kitty Ray of 15 Chelsea Manor Buildings, Flood Street. Daughter of Kathleen Ray. Died at Chelsea Manor Buildings.
68 year old Elizabeth Cecilia Peters of 39 Upcerne Road. Widow of S. Peters. Died at Chelsea Manor Buildings.
44 year old Kathleen Jane Cronin Wife of G. A. Cronin, of 80 Walton Street, Kensington. Died at Cheyne Court, Chelsea Manor Street.
44 year old Laura Shepherd Wife of Herbert Shepherd, of 15A Peabody Buildings, Manor Street. Injured at Peabody Buildings; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Radnor Walk, Embankment. High explosive bomb. False report.
Redesdale Street. High explosive bomb.
Elystan Street and Ixworth Place. Incendiary bomb.
Fulham Road, Thurloe Court. Incendiary bomb.
9 Jubilee Place. Unexploded bomb.
50/52 Lower Sloane Street. Incendiary bomb.
Burton(s) Court Mansions. Incendiary bombs. Fire on roof.
Shawfield Street. Incendiary bomb.
Royal Hospital. Incendiary bomb.
Sloane Square. Incendiary bomb.
Sloane Terrace Mansions. Incendiary bomb.
climbs down into a hole amongst the rubble. By the Chelsea artist Clifford Hall. Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/11956
St Luke’s Hospital. High explosive bomb. Opposite with bust water and gas mains.
Sydney Street. High explosive bomb between the King’s Road and Cale Street.
Saturday 14th September 1940
One raid early evening.
[Home Office File 14th September (Alert 1815-1915) 28 HE, 4 UXB of which 1 exploded next morning, and 10 oil incendiaries of which 3 failed to ignite.]
10 Sloane Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Junction of Sloane Street and Pont Street. Incendiary bomb.
Chesham Street at The Lowndes Arms. Incendiary bombs.
Junction of Sydney Street and Cale Street. High explosive bomb.
Sydney Street at St Luke’s Church. Oil bomb which fell in road opposite.
34 Lower Sloane Street. Incendiary bomb.
Holbein Place. Incendiary bomb.
Duke of York’s Headquarters. Incendiary bomb. (Now the Saatchi Gallery).
Junction of Lawrence Street and Justice Walk. High explosive bomb.
1 Stadium Street. Oil bomb.
The heart of Chelsea
Chelsea Borough Council employed Andrew Butler as its War Damage architect. Before his writing hand was crushed examining the weckage of a bombed out building, he kept a diary which was published by Constable as Recording Ruin in 1942. He explained that the ‘real Chelsea’ did not consist of the mansions of the rich and fashionable high rise Art Deco blocks of serviced flats:
‘The heart of the place is in and around King’s Road, from Sloane Square to the World’s End. Especially towads the latter, where life still hums in and out of little shops and through the shabby, inconvenient, blitzed and tattered houses- all much alike from Wellington Square to Tadema Road. Three storeys and a basement; the bulge at the back; a strip of garden; a slate roof with a leaking valley in the middle; often a pillared porch, steep steps and some crumbling stucco enrichments. Most of Chelsea lives in these, quite patiently. I’ve been through hundreds- almost thousands. A few have gone. Quite a lot are wrecked and hardly any have escaped unwounded.
That is the average house of the district. It is about eighty years old, neat and ladylike in the front, plain and sometimes squalid at the back. They’ve stood bravely to the blitz, propping each other in rows. But they were not built for resisting blast and all the old cracks and settlements in their walls are aggravated. Floors creak more than they did; doors are inclined to stick and their locks and handles rattle. They’ve almost had their day, these houses. One can’t for ever go on doing them up and pretend, by clever contrivances, that they are still so delightful to live in. I expect they will have to go. But, their replacement, I hope there will be some attempt to conserve a little of their individual charm and gentility.’
-o-
Beaufort Street at More’s Gardens. High explosive bomb. At the south end of Beaufort Street.
19 The Vale. High explosive bomb. Damage and casualties.
5 to 7 Upper Cheyne Row and Holy Redeemer Church. High explosive bombs.
See the detailed narrative and biographies of all the casualties in the posting Church of the Holy Redeemer and Upper Cheyne Row disaster- 14th September 1940.
Sutton Trust (Dwellings) in Cale Street. High explosive bomb and casualties reported.
Saturday 14th September Civilian Casualties
Margaret Helen Joyce Fisher, 44 years old, Chelsea A.R.P. (in 1939), daughter of a high court judge, of 88 Oakley Street. Died at Carlyle Laundry, Cheyne Road. Left an estate of £211.
Margaret Patricia Makin, 30 years old, a comptometer operator (key-driven mechanical calculator) of 2 Key House, Glebe Place. Daughter of Thomas J. and Nellie Makin, of 5 Brocco Bank, Sheffield. Died at Carlyle Laundry, Upper Cheyne Row.
Martha Page, 55 years old, a Shelter Marshall; of 15 Lawrence Street. Widow of C. Page. Died at Carlyle Laundry, Upper Cheyne Row.
Minnie Wilson, 44 years old, of Mulberry House, The Vale. A parlourmaid employed by Captain Cecil Harcourt at Mulberry House, The Vale. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, of 52 Parkfield Avenue, Northampton. Died at Carlyle Laundry, Upper Cheyne Row.
Adolphus Birkenruth, 84 years old, of 23 Cheyne Row. Died at 23 Cheyne Row.
40 year old Minnie Keating Wife of T. G. Keating, of 9 Bramerton Street. Injured at the Church of the Holy Redeemer, Cheyne Row; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
29 year old Muriel Mary Howell. (née Muriel Mary Simpson) A fashion artist and designer, wife of Leslie Frank Howell, a police officer with the City of London Police of 3 Key House, Glebe Place. Died at Cheyne Row. They had married only weeks earlier.
38 year old Eleanor Foxall Driver in the London Ambulance Service; of 4 Key House, Cheyne Row. Daughter of Benjamin and Eleanor Foxall, of The Leys, Oaksway, Gayton, Heswall, Cheshire. Died at Cheyne Row.
Pacha Randell, 72 years old, widowed and retired caretaker of 14 Lawrence Street. Died at Cheyne Row.
Edward Constans, 65 years old, A.R.P. Warden, of 53 Edith Grove. Husband of Mary Alicia Victoria (Cissie) Constans. Injured 14 September 1940, at the Church of the Holy Redeemer, Cheyne Row; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Mary Alicia Victoria (known as Cissie) Constans, 70 years old, of 53 Edith Grove. Wife of Edward Constans. Died at the Church of the Holy Redeemer, Cheyne Row.
46 year old Albert George Thorpe, A.R.P. Warden of 31 Smith Street. Son of the late Joseph and Harriet Thorpe. Died at the Church of the Holy Redeemer, Cheyne Row.
Alice Walkley, 73 years old, a needle-worker of 27 Cheyne Row. Injured in Crypt of the Church of the Holy Redeemer, Cheyne Row; died same day at Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
52 year old Mabel Edith Price-Jones An interior decorator of 5 Upper Cheyne Row. Wife of Edgar Price-Jones. Died at 5 Upper Cheyne Row. Mabel Edith Price-Jones is believed to have been the author of the illustrated volume of poems titled ‘Chelsea Charm’ under the nom-de-plume Peter Garrell. When researching this bombing incident it upset me to learn that the bodies of both Mabel and her daughter Eileen were completely destroyed in the explosion which killed them.
When I discovered that Mabel had been responsible for the delight and dignity of all the poetry going into the Chelsea Charm publication of 1931, this made me all the more determined that the memory of her and her daughter is given much more prominence and commemoration. The cover and first poem of her beautiful book below is just the beginning of this endeavour.
Eileen Price-Jones, 24 years old, a secretary of 5 Upper Cheyne Row. Daughter of Edgar Price-Jones, and of Mabel Edith Price-Jones. Died at 5 Upper Cheyne Row.
Dr. Randolph Lea Grosvenor, 73 years old, M.A., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., King Albert’s Medal with Bar; Medical Practitioner of 75 Oakley Street. Son of the late Dr. George Fox Grosvenor and Eliza Frances Grosvenor. Died at 5 Upper Cheyne Row.
Edward Moberley Grosvenor, 66 years old, a retired shipping freight manager of 75 Oakley Street. Son of the late Dr. George Fox Grosvenor and Eliza Frances Grosvenor. Died at 5 Upper Cheyne Row. The death of these two brothers would lead to a major legal precedent on probate about whose will is valid and takes precedence when two siblings die at the same time.
70 year old Elizabeth Sarah Parke of 75 Oakley Street. Daughter of the late J. Parke. Died at 5 Upper Cheyne Row.
Mary Alice Buchanan, 62 years old, of 15E Peabody Buildings, Lawrence Street. Daughter of George and Mary Reid, of Dublin, Irish Republic; widow of Robert Buchanan. Died at Upper Cheyne Row.
Robert George Buchanan, 31 years old, welder of 15E Peabody Buildings, Lawrence Street. Son of Mary Alice, and of the late Robert Buchanan. Died at Upper Cheyne Row.
Julie Veronika Manners, 39 years old, Wife of Hubert John Victor Manners, of 9 Cheyne Row. Died at the Royal Cancer Hospital.
Mary Ellen Sherbourne, 60 years old, a housekeeper of 22 Cheyne Row. Died at Carlyle Laundry, Cheyne Row.
Joseph Edmund Norris, 63 years old, husband of Agnes Norris, of 53 Rayleigh Road, West Kensington, London. Injured 14th September in Glebe Place, and died at the Memorial Hospital, Teddington on 19th October 1940.
Percy Philip Hourahan, of 14 Lawrence Street, Chelsea, London. Husband of Ethel E. J. Hourahan. Injured 14th September 1940, at Cheyne Row, Chelsea; died four years later at Hill End Hospital St Albans at the age of 48 in 1944.
Dagobert Trebitsch, 77 years old, leather exporter of 28A Glebe Place, Chelsea, London. Injured on 14th September at Cheyne Row. Died at Staines P.A.I., Ashford on 25th September 1940.
Detailed biographies of these casualties provided in the full narrative of the Cheyne Row and Upper Cheyne Row bombings on 14th September 1940 at: Church of the Holy Redeemer and Upper Cheyne Row disaster- 14th September 1940.
Burton(s) Court. (Locals would often say and still say ‘Burton’s Court’) Unexploded bomb. Removed by the Bomb Disposal Squad of the Royal Engineers.
Chelsea old [police] station 385 King’s Road and corner with Milman’s Street. High explosive bomb. The building has since been redeveloped. It was used as a community centre in the post WW2 period.
59 Oakley Gardens. Unexploded bomb.
12 to 14 Chelsea Park Gardens. High explosive bomb. Property badly damaged.
Chelsea Polytechnic in Manresa Road. High explosive bomb.
Oakley Street at the King’s Road end. High explosive bomb.
Carlyle Square. Inside and on the west side. Incendiary bomb in road.
Alan Dart Surviving the Blitz in London and Brighton | WW2: I Was There
Cadogan Avenue at the Royal Engineers dump. High explosive bomb. Broken windows nearby. [Cadogan Avenue was redeveloped after the war and replaced by Wiltshire Close.]
Chelsea Manor Buildings. High explosive bomb.
4 to 6 Lacland Place. [Replaced by World’s End redevelopment of early 1970s] High explosive bomb.
470 King’s Road, rear of Lamont Road. Oil bomb.
Sutton Dwellings in Cale Street. High explosive bomb.
77 King’s Road at Hoopers Yard. [This used to be the Mssrs Hooper’s coach building factory which was taken over by Donlopillo.] High explosive bomb.
Lots Road at the Reliance Rubber Company. Oil bomb.
52 Paultons Square. Unexploded bomb.
Movietone’s voiced report on the beginning of the London Blitz September 1940
73 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
48 Royal Avenue. High explosive bomb.
Peabody Buildings in Chelsea Manor Street. High explosive bomb. No casualties.
9 Mulberry Walk. High explosive bomb.
Apollo Place at Macnamara House. High explosive bomb.
100 Cheyne Walk. Unexploded oil bomb.
1 to 8 Beaufort Mansions. Unexploded oil bomb.
Junction of Limerston Street and Lamont Road. Unexploded oil bomb.
345 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
350 King’s Road at the Carlyle Garage. High explosive bomb.
25 Milmans Street. Oil bomb.
401 King’s Road at the junction of Riley Street. [The junction of Riley Street and the King’s Road was effacd by post WW2 development.] High explosive bomb.
British Pathé news report on ‘What To Do In An Air Raid’ 1940
Sunday 15th September 1940
One raid at night and until the next morning.
[Home Office File 15th/16th September (Alert 2009-0536) 1 HE (Damage was due to boats off Cheyne Walk by a bomb which fell in the river.]
370 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
Hacking’s Garage in Manresa Road. [The garage in Manresa Road was redeveloped after WW2 and is now an appartment block named after the artist Henry Moore who used to teach at Chelsea Art School when it was part of the Polytechnic.] High explosive bomb. Causing damage to the building.
Oakley Street at rear of number 83. High explosive bmob.
Casualty Sunday 15th September 1940
39 year old Aileen Mary Cooper died on 15th September 1940 from an air raid incident at Bermondsey Town Hall in Spa Road. She was a Senior Commander of the Women’s Legion and living at 50A Fulham Road, Chelsea.
The Women’s Legion played an important role of providing transport and mobile canteen facilities on the Home Front during the Second World War. Aileen was on duty serving drinks and refreshment to people in Bermondsey who had been bombed out of their homes and A.R.P. rescue workers. She was killed in her mobile canteen which took a direct hit from a high explosive bomb.
Those killed with her included her Chelsea flatmate Mrs Amy Noel, Commandant of the Legion, and Miss Phyllis Phillips a senior company leader of the Legion. Aileen was the daughter of Ellen Cooper and of the late Charles Cooper.
44 year old Muriel Amy Noel was Commandant of the Women’s Legion and died with Aileen Cooper when their mobile canteen was destroyed in the bombing outside Bermondsey Town Hall on 15th Septmber 1940.
She lived at 50A Fulham Road, Chelsea and was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. Frank Steedman, of 3 Stourwood Avenue, Bournemouth, Hampshire. She was the wife of Geoffroi-Hugh Noel.
Monday 16th September 1940
One raid at night and until the next morning.
[Home Office File 16th/17th September (Alert 2003-0040) 6 HE, 1 UXB.]
112 Edith Grove. Fire- not raid damage.
99 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
Junction of Cranmer Court and Sloane Avenue. High explosive bomb.
Junction of Makins Street and Sloane Avenue. Unexploded bomb.
95 Walton Street. High explosive bomb. Damage and casualties.
106 Draycott Avenue. High explosive bomb.
Civilian Casualty
Florence Agnes Donaldson, 14 years old. A schoolgirl. Daughter of Sarah and William Donaldson, of 24P Sutton Dwellings. Died at the Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
Tuesday 17th September 1940
One early in the morning. A second raid at night until the next morning.
[Home Office File 17th September 1940 (Alert 0350-0523) 1 AA shell & 1 UX AA shell.]
[Home Office File 17th/18th September 1940 (Alert 2007-0559) 3 Oil incendiaries of which 1 failed to ignite and 1 AA shell.]
18 Godfrey Street. Incendiary bomb.
37 St Lukes Street. Incendiary bomb.
85 King’s Road. Oil bomb.
Royal Hospital. High explosive bomb.
British Pathé news report on bombing of Buckingham Palace in September 1940
Civilian Casualty
73 year old Helen Elizabeth Drake. A retired coal merchants clerk and daughter of S. Drake, of 74 Archel Road, Fulham Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Wednesday 18th September 1940
One raid at night and continuing into the morning.
[Home Office File 18th/19th September (Alert 1955-0529) 7 HE, 1 AA shell and 1 batch of small incendiaries.]
94 Old Church Street. Unexploded bomb.
53 Riley Street. Incendiary bomb.
29 Riley Street at the T53 Ambulance Station. Incendiary bomb.
Junction of Cheyne Walk and Albert Bridge. Incendiary bomb.
Paultons Square. Incendiary bomb. (No incident)
Royal Hospital. Incendiary bomb. (No incident)
20 Bramerton Street and King’s Road. Incendiary bomb. Building gutted.
Hobury Street. Incendiary bomb.
14 The Vale. Incendiary bombs.
Thursday 19th September 1940
One raid at night and continuing through to the following morning.
[Home Office File 19th/20th September 1940 (Alert 2001-0545) 11 HE, 1 Oil incendiary wich failed to ignite and one batch of small incendiaries.]
Royal Raid Visit 19th September 1940: King George VI (1895 – 1952) and Queen Elizabeth (1900 – 2002) talking to local residents of a bomb damaged area of West London. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
King’s Road at Carlyle Garage. [Also known as the Bluebird Garage] Incendiary bomb.
2 Embankment Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
29 Chelsea Park Gardens. High explosive bomb. This caused a fire and resulted in casualties.
13 Chelsea Embankment. Incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Basin. Unexploded bomb. [Also dated 18th September 1940 in later record]
89 Sloane Street- rear in the garden. Anti-aircraft shell.
British Pathé news report 1940 on doing the job well when building air defence at home. ‘When you take cover be covered!’
Friday 20th September 1940
Chelsea Manor Buildings. High explosive bomb at the Flood Street end of the Council estate.
18 Mulberry Walk. High explosive bomb.
52 Elm Park Road. High explosive bomb.
Junction of Flood Street and St Loo Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
217 King’s Road, High explosive bomb.
Anthony Gross captured the aftermath of an air raid on the King’s Road in September 1940 with a gas main on fire in the middle of the road.
24 to 26 Elm Park Gardens. Unexploded oil bomb.
Scottorn’s Garage at 88 Lots Road. High explosive bomb.
102 to 104 Beaufort Street. High explosive bomb landing the rear of the property. Premises practically burnt out.
Cheyne Court. Incendiary bomb which caused a fire.
Carlyle Square. High explosive bomb landing on the south west side. No damage reported.
5 to 6 Oakley Street. High explosive bomb.
Christchurch Street. Incendiary bomb.
4 Redburn Street. High explosive bomb.
Kings Court South. High explosive bomb.
Thursday 19th September 1940
Casualty
30 year old Hugh Donoghue, a labourer with the Underground network of the London Passenger Transport Board, died in an air raid on 19th September 1940 near Euston Square Station in St Pancras. He was the husband of 32 year old Mrs Ada Mary Donoghue. They were both living at 43 Blantyre Street, World’s End, Chelsea. Mrs Donoghue was accidentally killed on 25th September 1940- only six days later when she fell from a train near Peterborough while returning to London from Sunderland.
She had been trying to close an open door in her carriage when the express train was travelling at speed. The Coroner observed: ‘This was an unfortunate accident especially as the deceased had been so tragically bereaved.’
This is one of many poignant narratives of the Chelsea Blitz. After learning of her husband’s death she decided to travel to Sunderland to offer condolences to Hugh’s family and take a bicycle and clothing to her 11 year old daughter Bertha Norma from a previous marriage. Bertha was being looked after by her mother’s family. Ada’s first husband and Bertha’s father, George Herbert Dickson, had died in 1938.
After meeting and marrying Hugh, the couple had moved down to London in 1939 to begin a new life.
Ada was also travelling up to Sunderland with her friend, 13 year old Chelsea schoolgirl Betty Horrocks, to give her a short holiday away from the London Blitz and meet her daughter.
It was Betty’s misfortune to see Ada Donoghue hanging onto the open door of the moving carriage, screaming for help, and then falling from the train onto the tracks. Ada was also known as ‘Betty’ to her friends and her family who would place ‘In Memoriam’ notices in Sunderland newspapers remembering the couple in the years following their tragic deaths.
Friday 20th September 1940
Casualty
Police War Reserve Constable Ernest Christopher George Valentine Taylor. 34 years old and husband of Mrs. Dorothy Diana Taylor, of 2 Derby Street, Westminster. Died at Hans Court, Hans Road. PC Taylor was attached to Chelsea Police station. During an air-raid and while on duty, he jumped from a fire-escape to avoid falling shapnel and died from a head injury. His last words were ‘Look Out!’
Searchlight battery operating in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, 1940. Images Imperial War Museum.
SEARCHLIGHTS, ETC. THE ROYAL HOSPITAL, CHELSEA (H 1279) Original wartime caption: The crew turn out. The searchlight battery at the Royal Hospital. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205471075 
SEARCHLIGHTS, ETC. THE ROYAL HOSPITAL, CHELSEA (H 1280) Original wartime caption: The army sound locator with its mournful ‘trumpets’ which pick up the sound of aeroplane engines. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205471076 
THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 1939-45 (H 1291) Anti-aircraft searchlight and crew at the Royal Hospital at Chelsea in London, 17 April 1940. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205197121
Sunday 22nd September 1940
Civilian Casualties
39 year old Margaret May Fiander of 26 Purser’s Cross Road, Fulham. Daughter of Kathleen Garratt; wife of bus driver Frank Fiander. Injured at 26 Purser’s Cross Road; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
67 year old Kathleen Garratt of 26 Purser’s Cross Road, Fulham. A retired ‘O.A.P.’Widow of J. Garratt. Injured at 26 Purser’s Cross Road; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Monday 23rd September 1940
One raid in the evening continuing until the following morning.
[Home Office 23rd/24th September 1940 (Alert 1944-0559) 1 HE.]
Junction of Chelsea Embankment and Chelsea Bridge. Unexploded bomb. Gas main was burst.
Tuesday 24th September 1940
One raid at night and continuing into the following morning.
[Home Office 24th/25th October (Alert 2012-0531) 1 UXB, One batch of small incendiaries.]
Walton Street. Incendiary bomb.
Peabody Buildings in Lawrence Street. Incendiary bomb.
5 Mulberry Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Trenches in Paultons Square. Incendiary bomb.
Danvers Street. Incendiary bomb.
Cygnet House 184 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
St Luke’s Church. Incendiary bomb. Fire service attended and put out the fire.
Harrods Depository between Sloane Avenue and Draycott Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
Jubilee Cottage in Jubilee Place. Incendiary bomb.
99 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
Glebe Place. Incendiary bomb.
Six Bells pub in King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
Wray House in Elystan Street. [Wray House was originally purpose built as a police house for officers and their families in the Metropolitan Police. It has been redeveloped as luxury flats] Incendiary bomb.
3 Britten Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire reported.
Chelsea Library in Manresa Road. [The Chelsea Library was moved to Chelsea Town Hall and the original purpose built building for the South West Polytechnic and Chelsea Borough Council community sold into private ownership. It was acquired by The Hampshire Private School and in November 2023 was taken over by the Francis Holland Schools Trust to become the location of the Francis Holland Preparatory School in 2024.] Incendiary bomb. Roof burnt and damage caused by flooding.
66 Pont Street. Incendiary bomb.
44 Cadogan Square. Incendiary bomb.
Mulberry Close in Beaufort Street. [A purpose built block of flats built in 1934 with five stories and forty flats.] Incendiary bomb.
Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb. North end.
Apple Tree House, The Vale. Incendiary bomb.
Beaufort Street opposite King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
15 Mallord Street. Incendiary bomb. Small damage.
35 Pavilion Road. Incendiary bomb.
Pont Street. Incendiary bomb.
Throughout the Second World War there was also fear that Hitler’s regime would revert to using poisonous gas in air raids on civilians. Consequently, in 1939 the government ordered the manufacture and distribution of a gas mask for every citizen- over 30 million were manufactured.
ARP members were also trained in decontamination measures and the Home Office published special guides to wearing gas masks and first aid in the event of chemical warfare.
GAS DECONTAMINATION SQUADS IN BRITAIN DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR (HU 36133) A member of the Chelsea Decontamination Squad wearing protective clothing and holding a warning rattle, during a practise gas attack. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205082003 
Lennox Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Basil Mansions, Basil Street. Incendiary bomb.
13 The Vale. Incendiary bombs.
Sutton Trust (Dwellings) in Cale Street. One incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Square, Depot II. Incendiary bombs
Wednesday 25th September 1940
One raid at night and continuing into the following morning.
[Home Office File 25th/26th September (Alert 2030-0528) 1 HE.]
Junction of Walton Street and Ixworth Place. Incendiary bombs.
33 to 40 Beaufort Mansions, Beaufort Street. Incendiary bombs. On roof and the top floor damaged but not in a major way.
Park Walk Schools. Incendiary bomb.
407 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
60 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bombs which caused a fire.
The Victoria Tavern/Club, 1 Gertrude Street.
91 Edith Grove. Incendiary bomb.
Studios, Moravian Close. Incendiary bomb.
Knightsbridge Chambers. Incendiary bomb.
22 Cadogan Place. Unexploded bomb in the garden at the rear. Removed by the UXB bomb disposal squad of the Royal Engineers.
Wednesday 25th September 1940 Civilian Casualties
34 year old Thomas Long , plasterer labourer, of 146 Bishops Road. Son of L. Long, of 1A Riley Street; husband of Ruby Lilian Long and father of 4 year old Patricia. Injured 25 September 1940, at 146 Bishop’s Road; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital. Fulham Road, Chelsea.
50 year old Annie Perrin Manageress of Off license, daughter of Robert W. and Sarah Emery; wife of George Perrin, of 139 Munster Road, Fulham. Injured 25th September 1940, at her shop and home,139 Munster Road and died at St. Stephen’s Hospital, Fulham Road, Chelsea.
54 year old William Dunn died in the bombing of 38 Medway Drive, Perivale on 25th September 1940. He was a member of the F.A.P. (First Aid Party) of Civil Defence and was living at the address with his wife Alice. William was the son of William and Anne Dunn, of 24 Milman Street, Chelsea.
Thursday 26th September 1940
Junction of Tetcott Road and King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
Friday 27th September 1940
One raid in the morning and a second raid at night going into the following morning.
[Home Office File 27th September (0907-0955) 1 HE.]
[Home Office File 27th/28th September (2020-0600) 8 HE and 1 AA shell.]
99 Elm Park Gardens. High explosive bomb.
20 Chesham Place. Anti-aircraft shell.
Guinness Trust Buildings in Draycott Avenue. High explosive bomb.
Cadogan Place Gardens. High explosive bomb. No casualties.
81 Cadogan Gardens. High explosive bomb in the garden. Premises badly damaged but no casualties.
150, 152, 191, 192, 201 Pavilion Road. High explosive bomb.
St Mary’s Catholic Church in Cadogan Street. A high explosive bomb detonated and caused one casualty on the south side near Draycott Terrace.
Casualty
70 year old Florence Ada Emily Hewett née Seymour, died in the bombng of 20 and 22 Prince’s Road, Wimbledon on 27th September 1940. She was the daughter of Robert Henry Seymour of 501 King’s Road Chelsea, and the widow of the late Charles Hewett.
45 year old Mildred Cox née Conner, the daughter of Charles and Emma Conner of 25 [Old] Church Street, Chelsea died in a bombing of 78 South Ealing Road, Ealing on 27th September 1940. She was the wife of William Cox.
60 year old Emma Louisa Thurston née Conner was another daughter of Charles and Emma Conner of 25 Old Church Street, who died as a result of the bombing of 78 South Ealing Road on 27th September 1940. She had been injured and taken to Clayponds Emergency Hospital, but died the following day 28th September 1940. She was the wife of Charles William Thurston.
Saturday 28th September 1940
19 to 25 Edith Grove. [The site was rebuilt and redeveloped as a block of flats ‘Little Chelsea House’.] High explosive bomb.
10 Edith Terrace. High explosive bomb.
Civilian Casualties (21 to 23 Edith Grove Friday 27th/Saturday 28th September 1940)
26 year old Jean Flora Wicks Tobacconist’s assistant of 21 Edith Grove, Fulham. Daughter of Charles Dennis Wicks. Injured 27 September 1940, at 21 Edith Grove; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
25 year old Iris Gertrude May Chisholm of 21 Edith Grove. Daughter of Gertrude Osman, of 4 Fawcett Street, and of the late Charles Osman; wife of William Joseph Chisholm. Injured 28 September 1940, at 21 Edith Grove; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
33 year old William Joseph Chisholm, Engineer and surveyor serving in the Home Guard; of 21 Edith Grove. Son of William Chisholm, of 485 Cathedral Street, Glasgow; husband of Iris Gertrude May Chisholm. Died at 21 Edith Grove.
Ann Harper, 65 years old. Nurse and householder’s assistant of 21 Edith Grove. Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Harper, of Angus, Scotland. Died at 21 Edith Grove.
Ronald Stuart Mackenzie, 58 years old, Stockbroker by profession and serving in the Royal Observer Corps; of 21 Edith Grove. Son of the late Col. J. S. F. Mackenzie, and Mrs. Stuart Mackenzie, of The Bungalow, Pirbright, Surrey; husband of R. S. Mackenzie. Died at 21 Edith Grove.
66 year old Ethel Kate Hake of 23 Edith Grove. Widow of Henry S. Hake. Died at 23 Edith Grove.
35 year old Barbara Kate Hake A commercial clerk of 23 Edith Grove. Daughter of Ethel Kate Hake, and of the late Henry S. Hake. Died at 23 Edith Grove.
67 year old Harry Taylor Newsagents’ assistant and husband of Annie Taylor. Died at 23 Edith Grove.
76 year old Annie Taylor Wife of Harry Taylor. Died at 23 Edith Grove.
64 year old Susannah Spain Wood B.R.C.S. (British Red Cross Society ARP Reserve) of 23 Edith Grove. Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jones, of 70 Park Walk; wife of Flying Officer H. F. G. Wood, R.A.F.V.R. Died at 23 Edith Grove.
33 year old Thomas George King painter and decorator of 85 Guinness Buildings. Husband of Florence King. Died at Guinness Buildings.
Wednesday 2nd October 1940
One raid from 20 minutes before midnight the previous night, 1st October and continuing into the following morning 2nd October. A second raid in late evening 2nd October and continuing into the following morning.
[Home Office File 1st/2nd October (Alert 2340-0530) 1 Oil incendiary.]
[Home Office File 2nd/3rd October (Alert 2211-0624) 1 UXB and 1 A.A. shell.]
27 Stadium Street. Incendiary bomb.
Thursday 3rd October 1940
King’s Head and Eight Bells, Embankment Gardens, 50 Cheyne Walk. [It is no longer a pub having been converted into a restaurant.] Unexploded bomb.
Images of the King’s Head and Eight Bells late 1930s and during WW2 along with pre WW2 advertisements– ‘I know a Place’…
Woolland Brothers Department Store, Knightsbridge. [‘Woollands’ was a department store at 95-107 Knightsbridge and neighbour to Harvey and Nicols.] Anti-aircraft shell.
Friday 4th October 1940
One raid from the evening until early hours of following morning.
[Home Office File (Alert 1909-0121) 2 AA shells.]
38 First Street. Anti-aircraft shell.
11 to 13 Cadogan Court. anti-arcraft shell.
Tuesday 8th October 1940
One raid from evening and continuing overnight into the following morning.
[Home Office File 8th/9th October (Alert 1922-0640) 1 Oil incendiary which failed to ignite and one batch of small incendiaries.]
69 Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
21 to 23 Blantyre Street. [Most of Blantyre Street has been replaced by the World’s End estate development of early 1970s] Unexploded oil bomb.
Chelsea Embankment and Old Church Street. Incendiary bomb.
Wednesday 9th October 1940
One raid starting in the evening and continuing overnight into the following morning.
[Home Office File 9th/10th October (Alert 1921-0703) 1 HE and one batch of small incendiaries.]
21 Ashburnham Road, 37 to 41 Stadium Street. High Explosive. Casualties. The grocer’s shop at 21 Ashburnham Road completely destroyed. Fatal casualties as well as many injured. Numbers 37, 39 and 41 Stadium Street demolished.
Civilian deaths in 41 Stadium Street
Millicent Newman. She was 47 years old of 41 Stadium Street. Wife of John D. Newman. Injured 9 October 1940, at 41 Stadium Street; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Violet Hilda Newman. 22 years old of 41 Stadium Street. Daughter of John D. Newman, and of Millicent Violet Newman. Died at 41 Stadium Street.
Mabel Phyllis Newman. 17 years old of 41 Stadium Street. Daughter of John D. Newman, and of Millicent Violet Newman. Died at 41 Stadium Street.
Frederick Walter Patmore. 24 years old, a member of the Home Guard. Son of George and Mary Patmore, of 34 Parfrey Street, Fulham Palace Road. Injured 9 October 1940, at 41 Stadium Street; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
The deaths at 21 Ashburnham Road
Albert Edward McKay Commonwealth War Graves Commission 48 year old grocer of of 21 Ashburnham Road. Husband of Kate (Kitty) Elizabeth McKay. Died at Ashburnham Road.
Kate Elizabeth (Kitty) McKay Commonwealth War Graves Commission 42 years old of 21 Ashburnham Road. Wife of Albert Edward McKay. Died at 21 Ashburnham Road.
Christchurch opposite Robinson Street. Incendiary bomb.
16 Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb
Junction of Flood Street and Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Rossetti Studios Flood Street. Incendiary bomb
Police Box on Albert Bridge. Incendiary bomb.
2 Cheyne Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Manor Buildings. Incendiary bomb.
75 Chelsea Manor Street. Incendiary bombs. Roof pierced and damaged by fire.
19 Cheyne Walk.
17 to 21 Oakley Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
2 Cheyne Mews. Incendiary bomb
Lots Road. Incendiary bomb
Central London Electricity, Alpha Place. [The electricity board building was redeveloped as Cheyne Terrace Appartments.] Incendiary bomb.
71 Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Pier Hotel, 30 Cheyne Walk and top of Oakley Street. [This popular local building along with what was the Blue Cockatoo restaurant was demolished against local opposition and replaced with a block of flats and boy with a dolphin statue in 1974-5. Incendiary bomb.
Shrewsbury House, 43 to 45 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea Embankment. Incendiary bomb.
Petyt Place. Incendiary bomb.
Carlyle Mansions [former home of T S Eliot and Henry James.]. Incendiary bomb.
431 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
Friday 11th October 1940
Civilian Casualties
64 year old Amy Poupart Injured 11 October 1940, at 55 New King’s Road, Sands End; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital. Husband of 74 years old James Poupart, a retired butcher’s assistant.
Ronald Sadler, 5 years old, of 27 William Parnell House, Sands End Fulham. Son of Mr. B. Sadler. Injured at William Parnell House; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital. [William Parnell House was demolished after WW2].
Saturday 12th October 1940
One raid starting in the evening and continuing overnight and into the early hours of the following morning.
[Home Office File 12th/13th October (Alert 1915-0207) 1 HE.]
Beaufort Street Convent [30 Beaufort Steet]. High explosive bomb. Fell in front of the chapel and cut the building in half.
Sunday 13th October 1940
One raid again starting in the evening and continuing overnight and into the following morning.
[Home Office File 13th/14th October (1910-0600) 2 HE, 5 UXB and one batch of small incendiaries. (Damage was caused in Chelsea by a bomb which fell in Kensington.)]
369 King’s Road. Unexploded bomb.
Pelham Court, Fulham Road. High explosive bomb. Casualties.
Civilian Casualties Sunday 13th October 1940
Mary Ann Lowe, 83 years old of 42 Burnfoot Avenue, Fulham. Widow of F. W. Lowe. Injured at Burnfoot Avenue; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
30 year old Margery Florence Almond of 29 Onslow Square. Daughter of G. R. C. and E. Almond. Injured 13 October 1940, at 29 Onslow Square; died at the Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in the Fulham Road.
34 year old Florence Annie Maloret Daughter of William and Emma Heaks, of 7 Bridport Street, Marylebone; wife of newsagent John Egenue Maloret, of 67 Portobello Road, Notting Hill. Injured 13 October 1940, at South Kensington; died at Royal Cancer Hospital.
19 year old Matthew Murphy and his 16 year old brother Patrick Joseph Murphy both died in an air raid attack on Praed Street London Underground Station in Paddington on 13th October 1940. They were living with their parents, brothers and sisters at 4 Gertrude Street, Chelsea.
They were buried together in ‘a common grave’ at Brompton Cemetery on Thursday 17th October in a ceremony performed in accordance with the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church by the Reverend W. J Tucker. Matthew’s grave was dug seven feet long and that of his younger brother was five feet.
Matthew was born on 8th September 1921 and Patrick Joseph on 4th March 1924 and both worked as ‘Carpenter’s Helps.’
Their 52 year old father Patrick was employed as a heavy worker builder’s labourer. Mother Katie, 51, was, according to the 1939 Register, looking after two ‘incapacitated’ daughters at home.
55 year old Evelyn Fanny Charlotte Charlemont was another Chelsea victim of the bombing of Praed Street Underground Station on 13th October 1940. She was a resident of Nell Gwynne House, Sloane Avenue, Chelsea and the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. C. E. P. Hull, of Earlswood Mount, Redhill, Surrey.
Monday 14th October 1940
One raid starting in the evening and continuing into the following morning.
[Home Office File 14th/15th October (Alert 1901-0550) 13 HE, 5 UXB, 4 of which exploded next morning. 2 Batches of small incendiaries.]
Junction of Seaton Street and Cremorne Road. High explosive bomb. [Seaton Street has disappeared in the World’s End development of early 1970s.] Casualties.
For more detailed narrative of this incident see the posting on Seaton Street (adjoining Cremorne Road)
The Casualties at Seaton Street and Cremorne Road
78 year old John Edward Quinlan of 1A Seaton Street who was injured at 1A Seaton Street, rescued but died the same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital. Mr Quinlan lived on the premises of his tobacconist, confectioner, and newsagents shop at number 1A which was on the corner with Cremorne Road.
35 year old Robert Frederick Fuller, a baker of 3 Seaton Street, son of the late William Fuller, husband of Edith Fuller who died at 3 Seaton Street.
34 year old Edith Fuller, a clerk in the War Office, of 3 Seaton Street, daughter of the late John Wright, wife of Robert Frederick Fuller who died at 3 Seaton Street. Edith Fuller was the manageress of a library before the war.
15 year old Dennis Buckley, an errand boy, of 3 Seaton Street. Son of E. A. Buckley, who died at 3 Seaton Street.
68 year old Bertram John Turner, a boat repairer, of 4 Cremorne Road, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Turner, of 40 Seymour Walk, South Kensington, and husband of Mary Frances Turner who died at 4 Cremorne Road. He was identified by the distinctive snuff box he always had on hm.
70 year old Mary Frances Turner of 4 Cremorne Road, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. Mayo, of 34 Crouch Street, Banbury, Oxfordshire, wife of Bertram John Turner who died at 4 Cremorne Road.
34 year old Marjorie Mary Turner of 4 Cremorne Road, daughter of Bertram John and Mary Frances Turner who died at 4 Cremorne Road.
48 year old Maud Mary Martin of 1A Cremorne Road, wife of William Charles Martin, who died at 1A Cremorne Road.
23 year old Emily Margery Eileen Martin, a shop assistant caterer, of 1A Cremorne Road, daughter of William Charles and Maud Mary Martin who died at 1A Cremorne Road.
49 year old William Charles Martin, a motor mechanic of 1A Cremorne Road, husband of Maud Mary Martin who died at 1A Cremorne Road.
52 year old Margaret Marie Morley of 6 Cremorne Road, wife of Francis George Morley who died at Cremorne Road. Her body was one of the last to be recovered three days later at 1.30 p.m. on Thursday 17th September 1940.
Elm Park House, Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
Farmer Brothers, [The hardware store has had different locations including 164 (1960s) and is currently situated at number 319 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
33 Milmans Street. High explosive bomb.
Mulberry Close, Beaufort Steet. Unexploded bomb.
Apollo Place. Unexploded bomb. Large evacuation of persons.
11 Cremorne Road. Unexploded bomb.
22 to 23 Elm Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
32 Mallord Street. Incendiary bomb
319 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
81 to 88 Beaufort Mansions. Unexploded bomb.
Pelham Court, Fulham Road. High explosive bomb. Casualties.
Civilian Casualties Monday 14th October 1940
42 year old Robert John Hanson, volunteer A.R.P. Warden and warehouseman at the manufacturing chemist Messrs Park Davies living at 47M Sutton Dwellings. Died at Pelham Court. He married Annie Lewis in 1932. He left an estate in probate of £156 and 6 shillings to his widow which in June 2023 was the equivalent of £7,186.29. Mr and Mrs Hanson had twins in 1934- Joan and John who were, therefore, 6 years old and among the mourners at his funeral in Brompton Cemetery.
15 year old Reginald James McKewen A bank messenger, son of Mr Richard McKewen, a civil service messenger, and Annie McKewen, of 86 Sloane Avenue. Died at Pelham Court.
Gregory Marc Rosen, 46 years old an interpreter of 14 Sydney Street. Died at Pelham Court. Mr Rosen had served in the Intelligence Corps of the Royal Fusiliers during the First World War and tansferred to the War Reserve in 1919.
132 Cheyne Walk. [The building no longer exists- here is a link to an image of it published by the Library Time Machine blog] Unexploded bomb.
141 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb. Landed in rear garden.
Junction of Limerston Street and Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
Albert Grey House in Lacland Place. [This building no longer exist and the location has been redeveloped and replaced by the World ‘s End Estate.] Incendiary bomb.
Gillray Square. [Off Milman’s Street and no longer existing following post WW2 redevelopment.] Incendiary bomb
St Johns Hall, Worlds End Passage, Worlds End. Incendiary bomb. Caused outbreak of a fire.
[A fire was reported at number 8 Hubbard House, Worlds End Passage caused by enemy action, was recorded in the Chelsea Borough records and it is assumed this could have been caused by an incendiary bomb dropped during this air-raid.]
5 Cremorne Road. Incendiary bomb.
St John’s Church, Tadema Road. Incendiary bombs. Church gutted.
Andrew Butler was employed by the London County Council to examine and report on bomb damage in Chelsea. He wrote up his experiences of working in the Borough during 1941 in the book Recording Ruin which was published in 1942. He recalled examining the ruins of St John’s Church:
‘…then came to a church with its roof blown off. It was an ugly building but quite picturesque as a ruin, all red and scorched insided. Today’s black sky helped it to look a little like one of Piper’s modern paintings of fire and desolation.
After that I spent an exhausting hour writing up the rectory. It was tremendously smashed, just as if Hitler had wanted to teach it to be so big and inconvenient. I walked in by a large hole, then upstairs. But the top landing was wobbling, so I had to crawl quite flat to distribute my weight over the surviving floor joists. The whole roof was slipping off one side. That meant worming my way behind the wall of the attic along a tunnel-like space about three feet high. It was nearly quite dark and incredibly dirty. Antique bell-wires twitched me and entangled themselves in my torch. There was not enough room to turn around. So I went on, found another hole and came out under the broken lavatory basin of a bathroom. An old green sponge-bag was dangling from it. I thought, as I sat up breathlessly, that it was strange to be there, looking like that, in this mess in a back street in Chelsea. It was like one morning in 1915, when I sat huddled in a gap near the Crater at Hooge, aiming guns with a telescope. Just for a moment I thought how strange to be there, looking like that, between two armies and with a dead german’s elbow beside me. Then it was mud. Now it’s dust. Then I had guns to shoot back with. Now I haven’t.’
It seems incendiary bombs were responsible for destroying the church apart from the tower and later in October 1940 the vicarage was wrecked when struck by an unexploded bomb. The church tower was demlished in 1949 and the site left derelict for twenty years. It is currently the site for a block of flats and petrol station.
Watney’s Brewery, Gunter Grove. [The bottling plant was just off the King’s Road and the site has been redeveloped. Incendiary bomb.
441 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
434 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
17 Fernshaw Road. Incendiary bomb.
Embankment Res., Dartrey Road. [This building at the junction of the Chelsea Embankment and Dartrey Road no longer exists. The current Dartrey Tower in the World’s End Estate remembers the road eradicated in the development.] It is not clear whether this was an incendiary bomb or high explosive ordnance.
57 to 59 Old Church Street. High explosive bomb.
Mulberry Close, Beaufort Street. Unexploded bomb removed by UXB bomb disposal squad of the Royal Engineers.
Ministry of Information film narrated by US correspondent Quentin Reynolds ‘London Can Take It.’ This had a huge impact in America in paying tribute to London and its people during the Blitz on the capital.
15th October 1940
One raid starting in the evening and continuing through the night until the following morning.
[Home Office File 15th/16th October (Alert 1927-0510) 19 HE. 7 UXB, 2 of which exploded next morning and 1 next afternoon. 1 Oil incendiary and 3 batches of small incendiaries. (Damage was caused in Chelsea by a bomb which fell in Kensington.)]
Six Bells, 195 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
[Google street view link is of the Six Bells in its incarnation as ‘Henry J Beans’ in 2012. It was previously called ‘The Bird’s Nest’. It was reopened as a restaurant called ‘The Ivy’ in 2022.]
Civilian Casualties King’s Road Tuesday 15th October 1940
60 year old Frederick Antrobus, Licenced Victualler’s barman of 40a Barons Court Road, West Kensington W15. Husband of Annie Cecilia Antrobus. Died at The Six Bells Public House, 195 King’s Road. Mr Antrobus received the Mercantile Marine Medal for services in the Merchant Marine during the Great War. This medal was awarded to merchant seamen and who had made a voyage through a war zone or danger zone during the 1914-1918 war.
46 year old Annie Cecilia Antrobus bread machinist and cake packer of 40a Barons Court Road, West Kensington W15. Wife of Frederick Antrobus. Died at The Six Bells Public House, 195 King’s Road.
Duke of York’s Headquarters. High Explosive bomb.
150 Sloane Street. R.E. Jefferys and Sons Bakers, Confectioners and Flour Merchants- By Royal Appointment to H.M. Th King. [Previously D. Penny Y Quick- Family baker, pastry cook and confectioner.] Oil bomb.
St Luke’s Churchyard. Unexploded bomb. Located at the end of Britten Street and rendered safe.
30 Lowndes Street. High explosive bomb.
Stamford Bridge. [The actual bridge over the railway line; not the soccer stadium. This would be later renamed ‘King’s Road Bridge.] Incendiary bomb.
St Mark’s College, King’s Road. [The teacher training college, known as ‘MarJohn’ vacated the premises in 1973 and moved to Plymouth. The site has been redeveloped as the King’s Chelsea Estates. Incendiary bomb.]
33 Milmans Street. High explosive bomb.
Chelsea Park Gardens, South side. Two high explosive bombs. Two casualties reported.
9 to 15 Fernshaw Road. Incendiary bomb.
178 Lots Road. Incendiary bomb.
Editha Mansions, Edith Grove. Incendiary bomb.
Hudsons Depository, Hortensia Road. Incendiary bomb.
32 to 34 Upcerne Road in junction with Meek Street. [These houses are now the site of Westfield Park.] High explosive bomb.
5 Tetcott Road. Incendiary bomb.
Fulham and Chelsea Station, West London Extension Railway. [The destruction led to its closure to passengers. The line has been revived as a passenger carrying transport link though the station between the King’s and Fulham Road bridges has not been reopened. The nearest operational stations are now West Brompton and Imperial Wharf.] High explosive bomb.
St Stephens Hospital, Fulham Road. (Now the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.] High explosive bomb and unexploded bomb.
105 Cheyne Walk. Unexploded bomb.
Chelsea Basin. High explosive bomb. Lines 5, 6, and 7 out of order.
Chelsea Basin and Lots Road Power Station from the air in 1921 showing the multiple railway line sidings.
Rolands Wharf, Lots Road. High explosive bomb.
River Thames- opposite Old Church Street. High explosive bomb.
Royal Hospital. South grounds. High explosive bomb and unexploded bomb.
2 to 4 Elm Park Lane. High explosive bomb.
9 to 13 Limerston Street. High explosive bomb. Many casualties. [This section of Limerston Street on the east side was redeveloped after WW2 as a three storey block of flats running as far as the Fulham Road called ‘The Sandhills.’]
Civilian Casualties at Limerston Street Tuesday 15th October 1940
71 year old Florence Annie Offermann of 11 Limerston Street. Daughter of Valentine De Conte; wife of Karl Freidrich Otto Offermann. Described as ‘of independent means.’ Died at 11 Limerston Street.
36 year old Mary Catherine Shanley, a domestic servant, died at at 11 Limerston Street.
66 Year old Sophie Gardener. Daughter of Henry Gardener, a carman. Died at 13 Limerston Street. She was a retired cook.
51 year old Lottie Emily Goodwin of 13 Limerston Street, West Brompton. Wife of Henry Charles Goodwin, the manager of a grocery store. Died at 13 Limerston Street. Their newly married 20 year old daughter Joyce Munro who was working as a civil servant survived the bombing.
21 year old Constance Margaret Noney Secretary and typist, daughter of Francis Lily Noney, of 19 Jossey Lane, Scawthorpe, Doncaster, Yorkshire, and of the late physician and surgeon Dr. Edward Harland Noney who passed away in 1935. Died at 13 Limerston Street.
60 year old Louisa Robinson of 11 Limerston Street. Wife of Herbert Thomas Robinson whom she had divorced. Died at 13 Limerston Street.
66 year old William Lawrence Robinson retired tailor’s assistant of 11 Limerston Street. Died at 11 Limerston Street. His 21 year old draughtsman son Herbert Robinson survived the bombing.
Louise Alice Von Arx, 49 years old of 11 Limerston Street. Died at 13 Limerston Street. She had married Albert Butikofer in 1919, a dealer in watches and chronographs trading in Clerkenwell. They were both from Switzerland. She was described at the time of her death as a domestic servant and was identified by a police officer from the ‘aliens record office.’
Bessie Spruels, 52 years old of 14B Riley Street. Commonwealth War Graves Commission record says she died at 14B Riley Street, but Chelsea Borough Council records from the time state she died from bomb blast injuries in Limerston Street. In the 1921 Census she was described as working at general domestic duties in the ‘Mrs Lewis Eating House’ while living with her mother in Paddington.
Hudsons Depository in Hortensia Road. [Redeveloped as Hudson’s House block of appartments.] Incendiary bomb.
Civilian Casualty at Knockholt, Orpington 15th October 1940
67 year old Helena Mary Rocke was injured in an air raid at Knockholt, in Orpingon. She was taken to the County Hospital in Farnborough. but died the same day. She lived at 55 Cranmer Court, Sloane Avenue, Chelsea. She was the daughter of the late Reverend James and Mrs. Owen of Swansea, and the widow of Robert Ernest Rocke.
Wednesday 16th October 1940
Chelsea Polytechnic, Manresa Road. Incendiary bomb. ‘Fire in Depot II and one fireman hurt.’
The Chelsea Polytechnic accommodated ‘war-training’ instruction as shown in this portfolio of images from 1941 archived by the Imperial War Museum.
TRAINING FOR WAR WORK AT THE CHELSEA POLYTECHNIC MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 3963) A view of a corner of the machine shop at the Ministry of Labour training centre at Chelsea Polytechnic. Several female trainees can be seen working on various pieces of machinery, and the male supervisor can also be seen in the background. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198689 
TRAINING FOR WAR WORK AT THE CHELSEA POLYTECHNIC MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 3964) A machine shop trainee at the Ministry of Labour training centre at Chelsea Polytechnic at work on a milling machine. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198690 
TRAINING FOR WAR WORK AT THE CHELSEA POLYTECHNIC MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 3971) An instructor at the Ministry of Labour training centre at Chelsea Polytechnic draws a diagram on the blackboard to help explain something to a group of female trainees. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198692 
TRAINING FOR WAR WORK AT THE CHELSEA POLYTECHNIC MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 3965) A trainee reads a micrometer at the Ministry of Labour training centre at Chelsea Polytechnic. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198691 
TRAINING FOR WAR WORK AT THE CHELSEA POLYTECHNIC MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 3956) A trainee in the fitting shop of the Ministry of Labour training centre at Chelsea Polytechnic punches a hole into a bar of metal. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198687 
TRAINING FOR WAR WORK AT THE CHELSEA POLYTECHNIC MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 3958) A trainee in the fitting shop of the Ministry of Labour training centre at Chelsea Polytechnic bends sheet iron as part of her training. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198688 
TRAINING FOR WAR WORK AT THE CHELSEA POLYTECHNIC MINISTRY OF LABOUR TRAINING CENTRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 3972) A trainee at the Ministry of Labour training centre at Chelsea Polytechnic makes a screw thread in the fitting shop of the centre. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198693
115 and 147 Old Church Street (Chelsea Arts Club.) Incendiary bombs.
12 to 14 Riley Street. 2 high explosive bombs.
Macnamara House, Lacland Place. High explosive bomb.
St Luke’s Church, Sydney Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire in the belfry and extinguished.
Tulleys, furniture store, 291 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
13 Meek Street. [One of the lost streets of the World’s End in Chelsea. The Blitz was largely responsible for its destruction. It ran from Lots Road across Tetcott, Upcerne and Uverdale Roads as far as Tadema Road.] Unexploded bomb. Detonated later with casualties. The crater ‘right across the road.’
19 to 21 Upcerne Road. [Now Westfield Park.] High explosive bomb.
Post “Ack” at 67 Lots Road. High explosive bomb.
Chelsea Creek at 67 Lots Road. High explosive bomb which when falling split into two. This was the address used by Air Raid Wardens’ Post A serving the Stanley and World’s End area. After striking the building it fell into Chelsea Creek behind.
The devastation by bombing around Lots Road Power station has been immortalised in poster art by Walter E Spradbury. He captured the scene in one of a series of six posters commissioned by London Transport in 1944 on the theme of ‘The Proud City.’ They celebrated London’s survival in the Blitz. The view of London Transport’s power station at Chelsea is silhouetted against wartime searchlights and surrounded by the devastation of bomb sites nd wrecked housing. Underneath there are quotations from the writing of artist James McNeill Whistler whose work is strongly associated with the history of this area of Chelsea.
Westminster Institute in Fulham Road. [Site of the present Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.] Incendiary bomb.
Fulham Road opposite Westminster Institute. High explosive bomb.
36 Tetcott Road. Unexploded bomb.
26 Uverdale Road. Incendiary bomb.
14 Sydney Street. Unexploded bomb.
Carlyle Laundry, Upper Cheyne Row. Incendiary bomb.
Station 22, (Ambulance) 18 Danvers Street. This was Blanch’s Garage requisitioned by London County Council for operation as an ambulance station during WW2. The building traversed the area between Danver’s Street to Old Church Street including the ‘Merlins Eyot’ block of flats constructed for BOAC pilots and their families in the 1960s. Incendiary bomb. The proprietor of Blanch’s Garage, Thomas A. Blanch was active in local government politics, as was his father, and before WW2 represented Stanley Ward as an independent ‘Municipal Reform’ councillor.
53 Slaidburn Street. High explosive bomb.
Chelsea Borough Council’s war damage architect during WW2, Andrew Butler, in his 1942 book Recording Ruin talked about some places in Chelsea which ‘really upset met. […] But perhaps the worst is Slaidburn Street- long narrow cul-de-sac, with tallish houses close together and doors opening straight on the pavement. I had to go there yesterday to see a house. The poor people are so huddled that they have to hang their washing on the stairs. It quite impeded me going up; and, at the top, a fierce chow began attacking me until a woman’s voice, from behind the pendent underwear, shouted “now, now, Winston!” and the dog became friendly. We all felt nice and united after that.’
One wonders if Slaidburn Street’s Winston ever met Cheyne Place’s Hitler [Frances Faviell/Olivia Parker’s dachshund- the dog’s real name was Vicky- she was nicknamed ‘Hitler’ by locals because of her German breed] and which of them would have got the better of each other. Perhaps their noses might have nuzzled and they ended up sniffing in rude places.
Guinness Trust Buildings, Edith Grove. High explosive bomb.
St Stephens Hospital, Fulham Road. (Now the site of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.) High explosive bomb.
102 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof gutted.
22 Sloane Gardens. Oil bomb.
St Mary’s Church Cadogan Street. High explosive bomb. This landed in the cemetery, but there were no casualties.
53 Cadogan Street. High explosive bomb. There wre no casualties.
103 Fulham Road. Unexploded bomb.
Peter Jones Paint Store, Mossop Street. High explosive bomb.
96 Elm Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Hans Crescent Hotel. High explosive bomb
16 to 18 Hans Crescent. High explosive bomb.
22 Hans Crescent . High explosive bomb.
6 to 7 Hans Crescent. High explosive bomb.
15 to 21 Uverdale Road. High explosive bomb.
Junction of Lots Road and Burnaby Street. Incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Pensioners in Conversation Blitz. Chelsea History Festival 2020
115 Old Church Street. Incendiary bomb.
Infirmary, Royal Hospital. (Site of the current National Army Museum). 3 unexploded bombs.
6 Mallord Street. Incendiary bomb.
1 Callow Street. Incendiary bombs. These caused fire and damage.
Osborne’s Timber Yard, Lots Road. Incendiary bomb.
6 Lower Sloane Street. High explosive bomb.
510 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
38 Fernshaw Road. Incendiary bomb.
14 Fernshaw Road. Incendiary bomb.
Lyons Stores, Lots Road. Incendiary bomb.
Cremorne Bottling Stores, Lots Road. Incendiary bomb.
6 Damer Terrace. Incendiary bomb.
14 Tetcott Road. Incendiary bomb.
The famous Italian restaurant Caletta at 95 King’s Road whose proprietor was interned because of his ‘enemy alien’ status and was reported missing when the ship evacuating internees to Canada was sunk by U-Boat.
In A Chelsea Concerto Frances Faviell wrote: ‘it was announced that the Arondora Star had been torpedoed on her way to Canada, whither she was carrying a large number of enemy aliens for internment there. Amongst the 470 Italians on the ship was Joseph Caletta, of the King’s Road, Chelsea. I was very upst about this and went at once to see Madame Caletta when I was told that her husband was missing. She was still at her desk in the restaurant, calm and dignified as always. She bore no resentment or bitterness about her loss. “It was war,” she said, spread out her hands in a helpless gesture, “it is no one’s fault.”‘
Despite this blow the Caletta Restaurant continued trading after the war and was still providing an à la carte menu until 10.30 p.m. in September 1957.
363 Fulham Road, corner of Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
2A Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
317 Fulham Road, corner of Callow Stret. Incendiary bomb.
34 Edith Grove. Incendiary bomb.
Casualties Wednesday 16th October 1940
55 year old Beatrice Mary Wheeler 305 Brompton Road. Died at Brompton Road.
51 year old William Edward Reginald Woodward Son of William Joseph Woodward, of 74 Comeragh Road, West Kensington. Injured at St. George’s Court; died same day at Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
57 year old Agnes Mary Fenn living at 120 Beaufort Mansions, Beaufort Street, Chelsea was injured in an air raid incident at 39 Sheffield Terrace in Kensington and died the same day at St. Mary Abbot’s Hospital.
41 year old Mabel Elinor Mills died in an air raid incident at 179 Stependale Road, Fulham on 16th October 1940. She was the daughter of Mr. J. Cobby, of 5 Langton Street and the wife of George Mills.
Killed at St Stephen’s Hospital
30 year old Ivy Louise Abbott Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Garrad, of 3 Horseferry Estate, Islington; wife of Henry Leonard Abbott, of 13 Douglas Road, Islington. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
29 year old Charlotte Morris Arnold C.N.R. Daughter of H. L. Arnold, of Onslow Square, Glasgow, and of the late Alice Asher Arnold. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
31 year old Selina Frances Bain Hospital Nurse. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
26 year old Veronica Burke Hospital Nurse; of Askhill, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, Irish Republic. Daughter of T. Burke. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
50 year old Lily Maud Cole Hospital Sister. Daughter of Mrs. E. Cole, of 21 Prince of Wales Drive, Battersea. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
24 year old Matilda Mary Daly Hospital Nurse. Daughter of Josephine G. F. Daly, of Castle Island, Co. Kerry, Irish Republic. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
55 year old Agnes Rosa Hollands of 3 Bendemeer Road, Putney. Widow of W. D. Hollands. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
19 year old Doreen Margaret Jones Hospital Nurse. Daughter of David James and Lilian Violet Jones, of 15 Upper North Road, Bargoed, Glamorgan. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
43 year old Olive Evelyn Jones Hospital Nurse. Daughter of John Jones, of Bridgehouse, Quakers Yard, Treharris, Glamorgan, and of the late Mary Hannah Jones. Died at Royal Hospital.
55 year old Ethel Louise Julier of 309 Upper Richmond Road, Putney. Widow of H. Julier. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
49 year old Louisa Parsons of 7 Engadine Street, Wandsworth. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
29 year old Mary Bridget Matthews of John Fisher School, Purley. Daughter of Roger Matthews. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
3 year old Michael Stephen Mertens Son of J. Mertens, of 91 Lillington Street, Pimlico. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
30 year old Rose Mary Roberts of 111 New North Road, Shoreditch. Daughter of Charles George and Alice Roberts, of 15 Falkirk Street, Shoreditch. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
58 year Lilian Maud Seldon of 168 Wimbledon Park Road, Southfields. Daughter of Ellen Flint, of 251 High Street, Rochester, Kent; widow of Thomas Seldon. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
64 year old Edith Louise Sheasby of 78 Kenyon Street, Fulham. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
35 year old Sybil Lilian Frances Mary Tompkins Hospital Sister; of St. Stephen’s Hospital. Daughter of the late Henry George and Mary Tompkins, of 18 The Greenways, Uxbridge, Middlesex. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
35 year old Philip Cornelius Wyand of 23 Cortayne Road, Fulham. Son of the late Philip Henry and Amelia Palmer Wyand. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
British Pathé news feature on ‘Your Home As An Air Raid Shelter’ 1940
Thursday 17th October 1940
One raid beginning in the evening and continuing overnight until the following morning.
[Home Office File 17th/18th October (1850-0645) 3 HE and 1 UXB which exploded.]
16 to 17 Riley Street. Unexploded bomb.
117 Old Church Street. High explosive bomb.
273 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
14 Elm Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
141 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb.
234 Elm Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
1 Mulberry Walk. Incendiary bomb.
21A Carlyle Square. Incendiary bombs. No damage reported.
26 Carlyle Square. Incendiary bombs. North west side. No damage reported.
147 Old Church Street. Incendiary bomb.
279 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
3 Elm Park Lane. Incendiary bomb.
299 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
Ashburnham Mansions, Ashburnham Road. High explosive bomb on the East side. Bad damage and casualties, though not fatal.
St John’s Vicarage. Unexploded bomb. The bomb exploded five hours after falling causing huge amounts of damage to the building which became uninhabitable. There were no casualties.
Friday 18th October 1940
523 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
Chelsea Town Hall in the King’s Road opposite the junction with Sydney Street was the strategic centre for front line home defence during WW2. [Images taken circa 1937]
2 Upcerne Road. High explosive bomb.
St Mark’s College grounds. High explosive bomb.
Saturday 19th October 1940
One raid beginning in the evening and continuing overnight until the early hours of the following morning.
Home Office File 19th/20th October 1940 (Alert 1909-0205) 10 HE, and 2 UXB.]
27 Gertrude Street. High explosive bomb.
Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
2 Park Walk, Goat In Boots. High explosive bomb.
166 Fulham Road. High explosive bomb.
Servite School, in Winterton Place. [In 1953 the site of the school was compulsorily purchased by Chelsea Borough Council for a housing scheme extending to Limerston Street.] High explosive bomb fell on a wall causing damage to the property.
448 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
118 Cheyne Walk. High explosive bomb.
Casualty Saturday 19th October 1940
39 year old Desiré Anthony Charles Corteel Air Raid Warden. Son of Desiré and Martha Corteel, of 333 Fulham Road; husband of Anne L. F. Corteel, of the same address. Died at 333 Fulham Road.
Sunday 20th October 1940
One raid in the evening and lasting until the early hours of the morning.
[Home Office File 20th/21st October (Alert 1900-0328) 5 HE.]
20 Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb.
79 Limerston Street. Unexploded bomb.
Odell Arms, 41 Limerston Street. [Demolished and rebuilt in 1971. Now called the Sporting Page.] High explosive bomb.
Albert Gray House, Lacland Place. High explosive bomb.
Gurney Nutting factory, coachbuiders, Lacland Place. [This business, building and area was compulsorily purchased by Chelsea Borough Council in 1946 for a housing redevelopment. High explosive bomb.
19 to 20 Riley Street. High explosive bomb.
24 Gertrude Street. Unexploded bomb.
Flaxman Telephone Exchange in Mallord Street. High explosive bomb.
Paultons Square trenches. High explosive bomb.
73 to 75 Elm Park Gardens. High explosive bomb.
55 Elm Park Gardens. High explosive bomb.
332 King’s Road and the Vale. High explosive bomb.
26 Mallord Street. High explosive bomb to the front. Severe damage to the property.
Casualties Sunday 20th October 1940
30 year old Leslie Horace Frank Brown Constable, Police War Reserve. Son of Frank Brown, of 410A High Street, Cheltenham; husband of May Curtis Brown, of 475 King’s Road. Died at Beaufort Street.
16 year old Margaret Mary Dorothy Hobley Daughter of C. W. and D. L. Hobley, of 16 Lamont Road, King’s Road. Injured at Paultons Square Shelter; died same day at Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
56 year old Edward George Purver Air Raid Warden. Husband of Elizabeth Purver, of 9 Cadogan House, Beaufort Street. Died at Paultons Square Trench Hut.
26 year old Kenneth Douglas Blain Son of Thomas and Violet Blain, of 17 Redcliffe Gardens, Kensington. Injured at Paultons Square; died same day at Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
53 year old George Fallows Husband of R. M. Fallows, of 44 Dacre House. Injured at Paultons Square; died same day at Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
Casualty Monday 21st October 1940
46 year old James Aloysius Cronin Husband of A. Cronin, of 1A Kempsford Gardens, Kensington. Died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Friday 25th October 1940
One raid in the evening and continuing until the following morning.
[Home Office File 25th/26th October (Alert 1847-0703) 1 HE and 1 UXB.]
Ashburnham School, Lots Road. [Site has been redeveloped as the Chelsea Academy.] High explosive bomb. Also affecting Upcerne Road.
Casualty Friday 25th October 1940
57 year old Arthur George Carey had been injured on 16th October 1940, at Upcerne Road, Chelsea. He died nine days later at Crimp Hill House, Old Windsor on 25th October and is buried and commemorated in Windsor, Rural District Cemetery. He was the husband of Phoebe Ethel Carey, of 37 Tadema Road, Chelsea, London.
Saturday 26th October 1940
One raid in the evening and continuing until the following morning.
[Home Office File 26th/27th October (1834-0705) 1 HE.]
70 Elm Park Road. Unexploded bomb.
Casualty 26th October 1940
57 year old Henry Ride was killed in an air raid bombing at Curzon Street House, Curzon Street, Westminster on Saturday 26th October 1940. He was living at 29 Tadema Road, World’s End Chelsea, the son of the late George Ride and husband of Ada Ride. Henry had been a house painter and decorator working for W Knight Builder and Decorator of Gunter Grove, Chelsea. His daughter Violet worked as a kitchen maid for the Barker’s department store in Kensington High Street. Henry had been a private in the Labour Corps of the Queen’s Regiment during the First World War and had been the recipient of the British Victory and War medals.
Sunday 27th October 1940
Royal Hospital. High explosive bomb.
Burton(s) Court. Unexploded bomb. Landed on the tennis court grounds. Removed by the bomb disposal squad of the Royal Engineers.
Royal Hospital. South grounds. High explosive bomb.
Wednesday 30th October 1940
One raid lasting from the evening until early hours of the following morning.
[Home Office File 30th/31st October (Alert 1904-0339) 1 AA shell.]
Lamont Road and Langton Street. Anti-aircraft shell.
Casualty Wednesday 30th October 1940
32 year old Lionel Richard Edgar Windmill Son of Kate Windmill, of 47 Gertrude Street. Injured 30 October 1940, at Langton Street; died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
84 year old Marie J. Naylor of 1 Stamford Bridge Studios, Chelsea died at the Royal Hospital on 30th October 1940. She had been injured on 9th October 1940, at The Thatch, Sandpits Road. Petersham.
Thursday 31st October 1940
One raid in the evening.
[Home Office File 31st October (Alert 1834-2103) 1 AA shell.]
18 Cadogan Gardens. Anti-aircraft shell. Removed by bomb disposal squad.
Friday 1st November 1940
One raid in the evening and continuing until early hours of the following morning.
[Home Office File 1st/2nd November (Alert 1841-0209) 1 HE.]
32 to 44 Shawfield Street. High explosive bomb.
H.E. also impacted on the Hall of Remembrance, Hadley Cottages in Flood Street and Radnor Walk.
29 Redesdale Street. Unexploded bomb.
Casualties Friday 1st November 1940
48 year old Annie Elizabeth RIng [died 5th November 1944 at St Luke’s Hospital] Daughter of Archibald Ring, of 109 Elm Park, Brixton Hill, and of the late Elizabeth Ring. Injured 1 November 1940, at Shawfield Street; died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
43 year old Thomas Wallace Hamilton Husband of Ethel Hamilton, of 475 Redcliffe Square. Died at 3 Hoadley Cottages.
66 year old Mercy Brown of 34 Shawfield Street. Widow of Thomas Brown. Died at 34 Shawfield Street.
65 year old Georgina Ward Wife of Edwin Ward, of 69 Manor Drive, Ewell, Surrey. Died at 36 Shawfield Street.
26 year old Percy Wilfred Valentine Ilott of 38 Shawfield Street. Son of the late Mr. and Mrs. F. Ilott; husband of Edna Phyllis Ilott. Died at 38 Shawfield Street.
30 year old Edna Phyllis Ilott of 30 Shawfield Street. Daughter of B. H. and E. Metcalfe, of 14 New Park Avenue, Palmer’s Green, Middlesex; wife of Percy Wilfred Valentine Ilott. Injured at 38 Shawfield Street; died same day at St. Luke’s Hospital.
42 year old Lily Lanham of 38 Shawfield Street. Wife of Harry Lanham. Died at 38 Shawfield Street.
18 year old Beatrice Lily Lanham of 38 Shawfield Street. Daughter of Harry Lanham, and of Lily Lanham. Injured 1 November 1940, at 38 Shawfield Street; died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
45 year old Emily Elizabeth Wakeling of 38 Shawfield Street. Daughter of the late Albert Edward and Emily Jane Wakeling, of 40 Christchurch Street. Died at 38 Shawfield Street.
65 year old Henry Mundy Baker of 40 Shawfield Street. Husband of Emily Beatrice Baker. Died at 40 Shawfield Street.
26 year old Violet Beatrice Baker A.R.P. Control Centre worker; of 40 Shawfield Street. Daughter of Emily Beatrice Baker, and of Henry Mundy Baker. Died at 40 Shawfield Street.
70 year old Mary Elizabeth Fitzgeorge of 40 Shawfield Street. Died at Shawfield Street.
57 year old Charlotte Violet Blanche Munro of 40 Shawfield Street. Daughter of the late James and Susanah Munro, of 62 Finborough Road, West Brompton. Died at 40 Shawfield Street.
29 year old Thomas Henry Drummond of 50 Shawfield Street. Son of Douglas and Lucy Drummond. Injured at 50 Shawfield Street; died same day at St. Luke’s Hospital.
28 year old Kathleen Alice Elizabeth Ralph Daughter of Mrs. Freed, of 79 Tothill House, Page Street, Westminster. Died at 50 Shawfield Street.
Monday 4th November 1940
One raid in the evening and continuing through to the following morning at breakfast time.
[Home Office File 4th/5th (Alert 1835-0705) 3 HE and 1 AA shell.]
9 Chesham Street. [Now Pembroke House]. High explosive bomb. Casualty and damage.
32 Cadogan Lane. High explosive bomb. House demolished.
Casualty Monday 4th November 1940
61 year old Jessie Annie Dunkley Wife of Arthur Richard Dunkley, of 9 Chesham Street. Died at 9 Chesham Street.
Tuesday 5th November 1940
17 Cadogan Gardens. High explosive bomb on pavement. It was a small bomb and there were no casualties.
45 Cadogan Square. Anti-aircraft shell. The shell exploded on the pavement outside. There were no casualties.
Casualty Wednesday 6th November 1940
64 year old Martin David George Michael Suter Husband of Emma Jane Suter, of 99 Vauxhall Bridge Road. Injured 6 November 1940, at Chalwood Street; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Thursday 7th November 1940
Raid starting in the evening and continuing until early hours of following morning.
[Home Office File 7th/8th November (Alert 1850-0308) 3 HE 2 UXB (Damage was caused to Chelsea Embankment by HE’s in the river).
6 Hans Crescent. High explosive bomb.
7 Cottage Walk. [Cottage Walk was a cul-de-sac east of Sloane Street and near Cadogan Place. It was closed by redevelopment in 1961] High explosive bomb.
3 and 5 Harriet Walk. High explosive bomb.
River Thames, 100 yards west of Chelsea Bridge. 5 high explosive bombs.
Royal Hospital, Ranelagh Gardens. High explosive bomb.
Friday 8th November 1940
Raid beginning in the evening and continuing until following morning.
[Home Office 8th/9th November (Alert 1820-0542) 1 AA shell.]
Royal Hospital cemetery. Unexploded bomb.
81 Fulham Road, corner of Sloane Avenue. High explosive or anti-aircraft shell.
Saturday 9th November 1940
Royal Hospital grounds. Unexploded bomb.
Casualty Monday 11th November 1940
30 year old Walter Francis Durcan died in an air raid incident at Halco House, Great Peter Street in Westminster. He was a resident of 26 Danvers Street, Chelsea.
16 year old Edward Frederick Charles Gibbins also died in the bombing in Great Peter Street, Westminster. He was living with his parents John W. and Catherine C. Gibbins at 8 B Block Sutton Trust Dwellings in Cale Street, Chelsea. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery on 29th November 1940. Born on 18th September 1924, he worked as an errand boy for electrical engineers. His father was a dustman for Chelsea Borough Council.
48 year old director and manager Leonard Taylor was another victim of the bombing in Great Peter Street, Westminster which claimed the lives of people living in Chelsea. He died at the offices of Holden and Co. Ltd. He lived with his wife Violet at 64 Cadogan Square, Chelsea. Leonard was a member of the Home Guard and had a distinguished record during the Great War receiving the Military Cross and Bar in addition to the conflict’s campaign medals.
Tuesday 12th November 1940
Sloane Square underground station. High explosive bomb. Many casualties. The detailed narrative of this dreadful bombing incident is set out in the posting on Sloane Square Underground Station.
Civilian victims Tuesday 12th November 1940
Radio beginning in evening and continuing overnight until breakfast time the following morning.
[Home Office File 12th/13th November (Alert 1838-0735) 1 HE]
Henry Herbert Waller, a 33 year old bus driver for the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) of 2 Crofton Road, Peckham, Southwark, Camberwell, London, England, married to Kathleen A Waller. Died at Sloane Square Station.
George James Cooper, a 40 year old omnibus driver employed by the LPTB. Husband of F. K. Cooper, of 126 Glenesk Road, Eltham, Woolwich, Kent. Died at Sloane Square Station.
James Patrick Dingnan, a 32 year old labourer employed by the LPTB of 40 Farm Lane, Fulham. Died at Sloane Square Station.
William Hedley George, a 35 year old booking clerk employed by the LPTB. Son of Lottie George, of 5 Meadowbank Gardens, Hounslow, Middlesex, and of the late William George; husband of Daisy Primrose George, of 23 Burnham Gardens, Bath Road, Hounslow. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Henry Gordon Houston, a 30 year old inspector employed by the LPTB. Son of William John Anderson Houston, and Nora Beatrice Mary Houston, of 45 Tolworth Rise, Tolworth, Surrey; husband of K. M. Houston, of 32 Grimwood Road, Twickenham, Middlesex. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Albert Edward Patterson, a 39 year old railway guard for LPTB and a member of the Home Guard. Son of Mr. and Mrs. F Patterson, of 13 Greencourt Gardens, Edgware, Middlesex; husband of Violet Elizabeth Patterson, of 104 Cuckoo Avenue, Hanwell, Middlesex. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Arthur Richardson, a 36 year old porter employed by the LPTB of 7 Old Compton Street, Soho. Injured 12 November 1940, at Sloane Square Station; died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Silvester George Rogers, a 61 year old motorman employed by the LPTB. Husband of Frances Rogers, of 7 Belsize Avenue, West Ealing. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Walter William Saunders, a 32 year old bus driver working for the LPTB. Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. Saunders, of 86 Poole’s Park, Finsbury Park, Middlesex; husband of Hilda Saunders, of 9 Nutbrook Street, Peckham. Died at Sloane Square Station.
George G Walkling, a 35 year old railway guard working for the LPTB. Husband of Iden Frances Walkling, of 42 Mirabel Road, Fulham. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Frederick Victor Adams, a 30 year old omnibus inspector working for the LPTB. Son of Albert and Rosina Jane Adams, of 15 Fairfax Road, Bedford Park, Chiswick, Middlesex. Died at Sloane Square Station.
William Charles Bullock, a 34 year old fitter working for the LPTB. Husband of Doris E. Bullock, of 47 Lamont Road. Died at Sloane Square Station.
William Henry Chamberlain, 35 years old and husband of W. Chamberlain, of 53 Stockwell Green, Stockwell. Died at Sloane Square.
George Henry Albert Daniels, a 33 year old bus conductor working for the LPTB. Husband of Ivy Winifred Daniels, of 284 Bexley Lane, Sidcup, Kent. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Edith Rosa Duce, a 53 year old private secretary to the Managing Director of Random Express Newspaper Ltd. She was living at 4B Pont Street and died at Sloane Square Station.
Vincent Alfred Lock, a 43 year old railway guard working for the LPTB. Husband of E. A. Lock, of 87 Merton Road, Southfields. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Robert George Head, a 29 year old railway guard working for the LPTB. Son of Robert H. and Edith Head, of 5 Lilac Gardens, South Ealing; husband of Violet Ruby Head, of 53 Chestnut Grove, South Ealing. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Edward John Jenning, a 56 year old heavy lorry driver working for the LPTB. Son of Edward J. Jenning, of 52 Star Road, West Kensington. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Ernest Walter Peachey, a 48 year old motorman working for the LPTB. Husband of E. M. Peachey, of 4 Wingrove Road, Hammersmith. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Elizabeth Ann Pitt, a 26 year old canteen assistant working for the LPTB. Daughter of Charles Henry and Catherine Pitt, of 14 St. George’s Drive. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Alfred Reynolds, a 46 year old labourer in the LPTB building department. Husband of E. Reynolds, of 22 Sands End Lane, Fulham. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Norman Henry Thompson, a 31 year old labourer in the LPTB building department. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, of Devonport, Plymouth, Devon; husband of Mary Elisabeth Thompson, of 84 Trinity Road, Upper Tooting. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Clifford Charles Tilbery, a 27 year old inspector working for the LPTB. He was also a Special Constable with the Metropolitan Police. Son of Charles Bunc Tilbery, and Grace Tilbery, of 31 Westow Street, Upper Norwood; husband of Phyllis M. Tilbery, of 90 Cowley Road, Mortlake, Surrey. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Leonard Albert Birch, a 46 year old fitter and driver working with the LPTB. He had been a King’s Corporal in the British Army. Son of George Samuel and Elizabeth Birch, of 33 Holly Road, Chiswick, Middlesex; husband of Ada Mary Birch, of 241 Acton Lane, Middlesex. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Fred F. Box, a 58 year old electrical engineer working in the signals department of the LPTB of 9 Barley Lane, Goodmayes, Essex. Son of Charles and Mary Anne Box, of 15 Pembroke Square, Kensington; husband of Freda May Box. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Ambrose John George Dance, a 34 year old bus driver working for the LPTB. Son of J. and E. Dance, of Blacknest, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berkshire; husband of Letty E. V. Dance, of 141 Conisborough Crescent, Catford. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Ernest Fox, a 40 year old bus driver working for the LPTB. Serving in the Home Guard. Husband of Minnie Fox, of 17 Westbury Avenue, Southall, Middlesex. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Ada Sophie Henderson, a 29 year old canteen charge hand. Daughter of Sophie Henderson, of 15 Boyson Road, Walworth. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Florence Audrey Boreham, a 32 year old bus conductress working for the LPTB. Daughter of the late Joseph and Frances Lynham; wife of C. Boreham, of 122 Stockwell Road, Brixton. Died at Sloane Square Station. She was also pregnant.
James John Cook, a 37 year old omnibus driver working for the LPTB. Husband of Mary Ann Cook, of 133 Shaldon Drive, Morden, Surrey. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Charles Griffin, a 39 year old motorman working for the LPTB. Husband of B. R. Griffin, of 35 Fernhurst Road, Fulham. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Frederick Thomas Knight, a 48 year old advertisement fixer working for the LPTB. Husband of B. Knight, of 52 Malva Road, Wandsworth. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Albert Henry Russell, a 55 year old motorman working for the LPTB. Husband of Lily Mary Harding, of 17 Clairvale Road, Hounslow, Middlesex. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Benjamin Hawes, a 46 year old railway guard working for the LPTB. Son of Harry and Mary Hawes, of 22 Antrobus Road, Chiswick; husband of Rose Hawes, of 155 Old Oak Common Lane. Died at Sloane Square Station.
Charles Thomas Hinchcliffe, a 29 year old bus conductor working for the LPTB. Son of Edith Hinchcliffe, of 28 Chubworthy Street, New Cross, Deptford; husband of Constance Ella Hinchcliffe, of 32 Ightham Road, Erith, Kent. Died at Sloane Square Station.
James George Heber Loveday, a 50 year old motorman working for the LPTB. Son of Mrs. E. Loveday, of 58 Archel Road, Fulham, husband of E. F. Loveday, of 11 Sheringham Avenue, Woodlawn Park, Whitton, Twickenham, Middlesex. Died at Sloane Square Station. 36 named in relation to Sloane Square Station. LPTB stands for London Passenger Transport Board, which was later shortened to be known as ‘London Transport.’
Servicemen killed at Sloane Square
Michael Robert MacIntyre of the Royal Engineers. (Sapper) 22 years old of 33 Walpole Street SW3.
Bernard Alexander Tisdale, of the RAF (civilian occupation- shipbroker’s clerk) who was 18 years old and living at 36 Chesterfield Road, Chiswick.
Nathan Abrahams, a private in the army serving in the Pioneer Corps. He was 35 years old and living at Hyde Park Barracks.
British Pathé news report on the spirit of a Londoner Mrs Barker (and her cat)- bombed out of her home like so many people in Chelsea during the London Blitz of 1940 and 1941
Saturday 16th November 1940
Casualty
31 year old Mary Ellen Abbott (also known as Isaacs) was killed in an enemy air raid bombing of 82 Greyhound Road in Fulham on 16th November 1940. She was a resident of 81 Dale Street, Chiswick and the daughter of Mrs. Florence Duffield, of 144 Walton Street, Chelsea. She was the wife of Louis George Abbott, otherwise known as Isaacs.
Mary had been brought up and educated in Chelsea and at the time of the 1921 Census was living at 27 Orford Street, which was renamed Rosemoor Street after the construction of the late 1940s housing development at Wiltshire Close.
Sunday 17th November 1940
Raid beginning in the evening and continuing overnight until breakfast time the following morning.
[Home Office File 17th/18th November (Alert 1957-0754) 5 HE.]
172 to 174 Lots Road. High explosive bomb exploding between the two houses. Fatal casualties and damage to the properties.
87 to 89 Lots Road. High explosive bomb.
Lots Road Power House. High explosive bomb.
Casualty Sunday 17th November 1940
22 year old Mary Kathleen Heath also known as Watson (otherwise WATSON); Daughter of C. and E. S. A. Watson, of 172 Lots Road; wife of Pte. J. C. Heath, The Gordon Highlanders. Died at Lots Road.
13 year old Edward Thompson of 172 Lots Road. Adopted son of Walter Edwin and Elizabeth Louisa Thompson. Died at 172 Lots Road.
Monday 18th November 1940
St Mark’s College grounds. High explosive bomb.
Chelsea Creek by Lots Road Power Station. High explosive bomb which detonated behind the power station.
Jo Oakman’s wartime diary shows that for the last 12 days of November 1940, there were quiet nights when she was on patrol.
Friday 29th November 1940
Casualty
Metropolitan Police War Reseve Constable Phillip Frank Nye, 32, died in the bombing of the Running Horse pub in Sunbury-On-Thames on Friday 29th November 1940. He served in B Division Chelsea and was living at 113 Wilton Street, Chelsea. He was the son of Frederick and Annie Nye, of 104 Heathcroft Avenue, Sunbury-On-Thames.
Saturday 30th November 1940
Raid in the morning for just less than an hour.
[Home Office File 30th November (Alert 1006-1103) 1 HE.]
21 Cadogan Lane. High explosive bomb. Three people injured and rescued.
Casualty Sunday 1st December 1940
62 year old Edwin Bernard Trinder of 33 Elsynge Road, Wandsworth. Husband of Florence Trinder. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Tuesday 3rd December 1940
Explosion at tea-time caused by unexploded bomb detonating in Burtons Court.
[Home Office File 3rd December at 1646. UXB brought from Westminster by B.D.S. exploded in Burtons Court.]
Burton Court. Unexploded bomb. Suddendly blew up leaving large crater but there were no casualties.
British Pathé short feature 1940 on using the Anderson Shelter in London during the Blitz and how to make it more comfortable
Sunday 8th December 1940
Air raid beginnig in early evening and continuing overnight until breakfast time the following morning.
[Home Office File 8th/9th December (Alert 1732-0709) 6 HE, 3 UXB, 1 AA and 1 UXAA shell.]
39 Christchurch Street. High explosive bomb.
32 and 33 Smith Street. High explosive bomb.
Victoria Hospital, Tite Street. [Situated on the corner of the Royal Hospital Road and Tite Street with the Royal Hospital Infirmary on its east side. These buildings have been redeveloped as St Wilfred’s Convent and nursing home and the National Army Museum.] Unexploded bomb.
31 Tedworth Square. High explosive bomb.
9 Sloane Avenue. High explosive bomb.
Wellington Square (West Side) High explosive bomb. All mains broken. No casualties.
Casualty Sunday 8th December 1940
43 year old Reginald Williams of 39 Christchurch Street. Son of the late Frederick and Frances Anne Williams, of 39 Francis Street; husband of Madeline Nell Williams. Died at 39 Christchurch Street.
Monday 9th December 1940
20 Tedworth Square. High explosive bomb.
Royal Hospital grounds. Unexploded bomb.
51 King’s Road. Unexploded bomb.
1 Margaretta Terrace. Exploding anti-aircraft shell causing broken windows.
44 Lowndes Square. Unexploded anti-aircraft shell.
Monday 23rd December 1940
One UXB discovered during afternoon though the time of its dropping not known. Air raid beginning in evening and continuing until early hours of following morning.
[Home Office File 23rd December at 1559 1 UXB discovered. (Time & date of fall unknown.)]
[Home Office File 23rd/24th December (Alert 1818-0121) 1 HE, 1 UXAA shell and one batch of explosive (IBEN) incendiaries.]
False report of unexploded bomb in the grounds of the Royal Hospital.
37 Bramerton Street. Unexploded anti-aircraft shell. Removed by the bomb disposal squad of the Royal Engineeers.
64 Chelsea Square. Explosive incendiary. Fire was extinguished.
23 South Parade. Explosive incendiary.
13 Elm Park Gardens. Explosive incendiary.
94 Elm Park Gardens. Explosive incendiary.
9 Mallord Street. Explosive incendiary.
Fulham Road and Elm Park Gardens. Explosive incendiary.
Location as it is now.
48 Gertrude Street. Explosive incendiary.
4 Herbert Crescent. High explosive bomb.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s speech addressing the blitzing of London and his affirmation that those killed in the capital (30,000 during WW2) would be avenged on Hitler. In particular this speech provided an eloquent tribute to the people of London and their civil defence workers and firefighters.
Friday 27th December 1940
Air raid from early evening to late at night.
[Home Office File 27th December (Alert 1836-2250) 1 batch of explosive (IBEN) incendiaries.]
St Mark’s College. [Now Kings Chelsea Estates] Explosive incendiary.
St Mark’s College grounds. [Now Coleridge Square] Explosive incendiary.
West London Extension railway. [The railway line from Battersea to Chelsea bridged over by the King’s and Fulham Roads. It now serves th Imperial Wharf station at Chelsea Harbour and connects to West Brompton. ] Explosive incendiaries.
1 Upcerne Road. [Not rebuilt and now Westfield Park] Explosive incendiaries.
5 Upcerne Road. [Not rebuilt and now Westfield Park] Explosive incendiaries.
7 Upcerne Road. [Not rebuilt and now Westfield Park] Explosive incendiaries.
5 Fernshaw Road. Incendiary bomb.
Chastons Garage, 15 Gertrude Street. Explosive incendiary.
Cadogan Iron Works, Lots Road. Explosive incendiary.
Milton House, 2 Fernshaw Road. Explosive incendiary.
Fernshaw Road, Watneys Brewery. Explosive incendiary.
Gunter Grove, King’s Road end. Explosive incendiary.
34 Gunter Grove. Explosive incendiary.
38 Gunter Grove. Explosive incendiary.
24 Gunter Grove. Explosive incendiary.
King’s Road near Edith Grove. Explosive incendiary.
538 King’s Road. Explosive incendiary.
18 Edith Grove. Explosive incendiary.
443 Fulham Road. Explosive incendiary.
Sunday 29th December 1940
One air raid from early evening until late at night.
[Home Office File 29th December (Alert 1808-2329) 1 Oil incendiary which failed to ignite and one batch of small incendiries some of which were explosive (IBEN) type.]
John Lewis, Mossop Street. Unexploded oil incendiary.
104 Sloane Street.
Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge. 6 incendiary bombs.
Incidents recorded during between September 1940 and May 1941 but not given a specific date.
51/60 Cheyne Court. High explosive on the roof. Sometime during the autumn blitz of 1940. Much damage.
19/21 Chesham Street. An incendiary bomb some time during 1940-41. The roof was damaged.
Chelsea Court. Sometime in 1940. Incendiary bomb causing small amount of damage.
67 Cadogan Street (Presbyterian Church Schools). Two incendiary bombs during 1940-41 which caused fires which were extinguished.
69 Cadogan Square. Incendiary bomb sometime during 1940-41. Fire caused much damage to the property.
70 Cadogan Square. Incendiary bomb sometime during 1940-41. The premises were damaged by fire and water.
57 Cadogan Place. Incendiary bomb sometime in 1941. Caused a fire on the roof.
17 Cadogan Place. Oil bomb during autumn of 1940. Little damage.
15 to 17 Cadogan Lane. High explosive on the pavement causing damage to numbers 15 and 17 sometime during the autumn of 1940.
63 Cadogan Gardens. Incendiry bomb between 1940 and 1941. Fire and some damage.
79 Cadogan Gardens. Two incendiary bombs between 1940 and 1941. Little damage.
Alpha Place. Incendiary bomb fell on the roof of Shrimpton’s Garage some time during the Blitz in 1940.
2 Anderson Street. Two incendiary bombs. One fell into the road and another on the roof of number 2.
7 Burnaby Street. Incendiary bomb reported in 1941. Bad fire reported.
19 Burnaby Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire reported.
75 to 79 Burnaby Street. Bad fire. Premises almost totally destroyed.
125 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof burnt.
54 Blantyre Street. Incendiary bomb on roof recorded sometime in September 1940. [The street has been replaced by the World’s End estate completed in early 1970s and remembered through the name of Blantyre Tower.]
29 Walton Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire caused severe damage.
77 Walton Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof holed and little damage.
101 Walton Steet. Incendiary bomb. Damage.
Number 8 Hubbard House, World’s End Passage. Incendiary bomb. Fire broke out but extinguished by Wardens.
10 Walton Place. Incendiary bomb. Fire causing some damage.
29 Walpole Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire and some damage.
3 and 5 The Vale. Incendiary bomb. Fire. Much damage.
17 The Vale. Exploding incendiary bomb. Bomb pierced roof.
1 The Vale. Incendiary bomb. Fire and water damage.
6 Upper Cheyne Row. Incendiary bomb.
28 Tedworth Square. Incendiary bomb. Fire and much damage.
Sydney Street- British School of Motoring. High explosive bomb at rear. Premises damaged. Also Chelsea Palace theatre damaged. [The BSM was founded by S.C.H. Roberts in 1910 and moved to 100 Sydney Street in 1925 with the College of Aeronautical and Automobile Engineering which he also founded. The College and BSM had premises which connected with an entrance and building in Britten Street.]
Sydney Street- St Luke’s Church. 4 incendiary bombs. Damage to the vestry and roof.
17 to 18 Smith Street- Eastern Court. Incendiary bomb. Little damage.
Sloane Terrace. First Church of Christ Scientist. [Now Cadogan Hall] Incendiary bomb. Fire and some damage.
53 Sloane Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire, roof pierced, some damage.
8 Sloane Gardens. 3 Incendiary bombs autumn of 1940. Fire, damage to roof and interior.
20 Slaidburn Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire on roof.
21 Slaidburn Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire on premises.
44 Slaidburn Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof pierced.
Sloane Avenue- Chelsea Cloisters. Incendiary bomb in restaurant. Damage by fire.
3 Shawfield Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire. Roof pieced.
3 Shalcomb Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof damaged.
6 Shalcomb Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof damaged.
7 Shalcomb Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof damaged.
8 Shalcomb Street. 4 Incendiary bombs. Roof damaged.
11 Shalcomb Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof damaged.
15 to 16 St Leonard’s Terrace. Oil bomb. Autumn 1940. Slight damage to property.
Jo Oakman’s war-time diaries are full of little sketches and pasted newspaper cuttings. On this page she found time to sketch in water-colour ‘What did we look like?’- the ARP Warden’s uniform issued in August 1939. The ARP uniform was actually a very dark blue and it is possible the ink colour Jo used in her diary sketch has faded and changed in tone over 80 years.
40 St Leonard’s Terrace. Incendiary bomb. Roof damaged.
6 Rossetti Garden Mansions, St. Loo Avenue. High explosive bomb at rear. Autumn 1940. Property damaged.
17 Rossetti Garden Mansions. High explosive bomb at the front outside. Autumn 1940. Property damaged.
9 and 13 Redesdale Street. Incendiary bombs. Some damage.
1 to 3 Rawlings Street. 1940- date not known. Incendiary bomb. Fire and water damage.
58 Rawlings Street. Incendiary bomb. Shed roof burnt at rear.
64 Pont Street. Incendiary bomb fell down chimney and did some damage.
45 Pont Street. Two incendiary bombs. Fire and damage.
42 Pont Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof penetrated.
Swan Court in Chelsea Manor Street. During autumn of 1940. High explosive bomb on luggage rooms causing damage to north and north west blocks.
Wednesday 1st January 1941
Unexploded anti-aircraft shell dicovered early evening.
[Home Office File 1st January at 1720 1 UXAA shell discovered (time and date of fall unknown]
Saturday 11th January 1941
Gaumont Cinema, King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
Westons Timber Yard, 49a Elystan Place [Elystan Place was previously called College Place] . Incendiary bomb.
The Gateways, Sprimont Place. Incendiary bomb.
Clabon Mews off Cadogan Square. Incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Cloisters, Sloane Avenue. Incendiary bombs. Caused a fire which was put out by the Auxiliary Fire Service.
Elystan Street and Lucan Place. Incendiary bomb.
8 Elystan Street. Incendiary bomb.
12 Elystan Street. Incendiary bomb.
6 Elystan Street. Incendiary bomb.
11 Chelsea Embankment. Incendiary bomb. The incendiary bomb ignited in the building’s water tank and was consequently put out of action.
9 Chelsea Embankment. Incendiary bomb. Caused a fire.
Cheyne House, Chelsea Embankment. Incendiary bombs. Fire.
1 Swan Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Royal Hospital Road and Tite Street. Incendiary bomb.
25 Tite Street. Incendiary bomb.
Christchurch Street. Incendiary bomb.
4 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
5 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
17 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
42 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
44 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
51 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
49 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
33 Redesdale Street. Incendiary bomb.
Christchurch Street and Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
Smith Street and Smith Terrace. Incendiary bomb.
Top of Smith Street. Incendiary bomb.
Voiced Pathé news report of incendiary raid of 29th December and the terrible destruction and fire in the City of London.
Tedworth Square- gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Shawfield Steet. Incendiary bomb.
41 Markham Square rear of 44 Elystan Place. Incendiary bomb.
21 Caversham Street. Incendiary bomb. Caused a fire.
4 Christchurch Terrace. Incendiary bomb.
5 Durham Place. Incendiary bomb.
3 Jubilee Place. Incendiary bomb.
8 Godfrey Street. Incendiary bomb.
52 Godfrey Street. Incendiary bomb.
Loathsome Looting
During WW2 nearly 50 per cent of Chelsea’s original population had left abandoning many houses and buildings.
This was a rich and lucrative market for burglars who would also relish taking advantage of the chaos caused by bombing, unexploded bombs and over-stretched emergency services.
Chelsea’s bomb damage architect, Andrew Butler, wrote down his anger at the desecration of human dignity and invasion of privacy caused by looting:
‘There is one of these ordinary houses which is deeply impressed on my memory. I had got into it from the balcony of its next-door neighbour, through a window, for the usual purpose. A bomb had burst not far from the back, so that the rooms towards the yard behind were somewhat damaged. That is, their window frames were blown right in, with all their panes smashed; three ceilings were partly down and plaster surfaces quite severely cracked. One or two doors were split. But that was all; and I could not understand why the whole interior of the house- fully and quite elegantly furnished- was in a state of such appalling devastation. It had a number of quite good pictures too. I expect what are called cultured people lived there once. Yet everything was flung about as if a madman had rampaged through all the rooms. Cupboards expecially and drawers in dressing-tables were all wrenched open, with their contents unpicked, messed up and then thrown down. Bedclothes hung in bundles down the staircase and I kicked a broken slop-pail in the hall. Books were out of the shelves and ornaments smashed. The sideboard was a wreck in the dining-room and spoons and forks were strewn about with broken glasss. So I made enquiries after my visit and found that this house had been looted. Some devils had come in after the raid and gone through everything, looking for hidden valuables and not caring, of course, how they left the place or for the grief of the already ruined owners. That, I thought, is quite the foulest thing in all this defiling barbarism.’
-o-
53 Godfrey Street. Incendiary bomb.
Sutton Dwellings 30 Block M. Incendiary bomb. (Reported for 12th January 1941) Fire.
Sutton Dwellings 29 Block M. Incendiary bomb. (Reported for 12th January 1941) Fire.
Sutton Dwellings 24 Block H. Incendiary bomb. (Reported for 11th January 1941) Fire.
131 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
145 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
Pheasantry Club, King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
28 Markham Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof damaged.
42 Markham Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof damaged.
Pontiac Motors. [Later renamed Kay Don Ltd motor dealers] Jubilee Place Incendiary bomb.
43 Radnor Walk. Incendiary bomb.
84 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
85 King’s Road (23 Ambulance Station) Incendiary bomb.
Walpole Street. Eight incendiary bombs in the road. No damage.
Casualty Saturday 11th January 1941
34 year old Wilfred Leslie Holland died in an air raid on St Martin’s-le-Grand, City of London. He was living at 27 Langton Street, Chelsea.
He was the son of the late John Holland, of 48 Daneville Road, Camberwell and the husband of Rose Holland.
The September 1939 Register states that he was an assistant manager for “Black and White” Milk Bars and he was the night manager of one of their milk bar shops in the City of London when the high explosive bomb detonated nearby on Saturday 11th January 1941.
On the same day he was killed he had received his call-up papers for the army.
He married Rose Vanstone at St Luke’s Church in Chelsea in 1935.
They were bringing up a young family of three children and previously lived in Albert Grey House in the World’s End Passage.
On the night of his death she was a patient in St Luke’s Hospital recovering from injuries received during another air raid earlier in the Blitz. Their three young children, Jean aged four, Sylvia aged one and David, aged three, had been evacuated to the country.
Wilfred Holland’s funeral was reported in the Westminster and Pimlico News and West London Press because of the considerable expression of public sympathy over his death and the plight of his family.
It was reported that as the cortege passed Sydney Street it stopped in front of St. Luke’s Hospital so that his widow Rose, who had been wheeled in a chair outside, could see it pass. Many beautiful floral emblems were placed by his graveside in Streatham Cemetery.
Public records indicate that Wilfred’s widow Rose married Frederick W McQueen in Chelsea in 1942 and had a daughter, Heather, born in Buckinghamshire in 1943.
From the British Pathé news archive silent film recorded in London most likely after the air-raid of 29th December 1940 which as the recorded incidents in Chelsea indicate was a mass blanket bombing operation dropping incendiary explosives.
Thursday 30th January 1941
Tedworth Square Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Wednesday 19th February 1941
Air raid for two hours in late evening.
[Home Office File 19th February (Alert 2045-2243) 10 HE.]
47 Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
52 Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
27 Paultons Square and Danvers Street. High explosive bomb.
Cheyne Hospital for Children. 60 to 61 Cheyne Walk. High explosive bomb.
St Stephen’s Hospital High explosive bomb. This was redeveloped as the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. [See many casualties below]
349 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
341 King’s Road. High explosive bomb.
Cheyne Hospital for Children, 60-61 Cheyne Walk. High explosive bomb.
Casualties Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th February 1941 at St Stephen’s Hospital
45 year old Alice Bertha Louise Giles C.N.R.; of 92 Felsham Road, Putney. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
78 year old Andrew Brown Husband of Grace L. Brown, of 41 Antrobus Street, Pimlico. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
63 year old James John Thomas Daintree of 244 Merton Road, Wandsworth. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
77 year old William Evans of 367 Fulham Road. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
33 year old Giussepe Galea of 27 St. Anne’s Court, Dean Street. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
31 year old Petros Haji Theologou of 4 Richmond Buildings, Dean Street. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
48 year old Thomas Sidney Hall of 359 Oxford Street. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
61 year old James Hollins A.R.P. Stretcher Bearer B.R.C.S.; of 156 Merton Road, Southfields. Husband of R. S. Hollins. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
17 year old George Edward James Son of William Joseph James, of 49 Dante Road, Newington Butts. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
67 year old William James Jones of 33 Chesham Place, Westminster. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
29 year old John Henry King Son of Eleanor King, of 3 Grove Street, Glasgow, and of the late John King; husband of Elizabeth King, of 13 Jeypore Road, Wandsworth. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
72 year old Henry Kohler of 399 King’s Road. Injured 19 February 1941, at St. Stephen’s Hospital; died at Royal Cancer Hospital.
41 year old Donald McDonald Seaman, Merchant Navy; of 24 Alderney Street, Westminster. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
54 year old Alfred Barker Mannering Husband of Ethel Mary Mannering, of 16 Woodstock Road, Walthamstow, Essex. Injured 19 February 1941, at St. Stephen’s Hospital; died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
60 year old Frederick Pease of 5 Worcester Street, St. George’s Square. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
67 year old George Florian Edward Mechet Husband of Mrs. Mechet, of 15 Siddons Buildings, Tavistock Street. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
21 year old Charles Mooney of 56 Cambourne Road, Southfields. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
56 year old Joseph Myers of 24 Ganton Street, in the West End and soho area of Westminster. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
21 year old Doris May Smith S.R.N. Daughter of George and Gwendoline H. Smith, of 78 Margam Road, Tailbach, Port Talbot, Glamorgan. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
79 year old Walter Thompson of 367 Fulham Road. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
70 year old James Ascott Tomalin Husband of E. Tomalin, of 24 Westmorland Terrace, Westminster. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
38 year old Joseph Ward Constable, Police War Reserve. Son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Ward, of Market Stainton, Lincolnshire; husband of Alice Ward, of 29 Williams Mews. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
34 year od George Wills Husband of Lily Florence Wills, of 82 Petty France, Westminster. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Images from the London Blitz released by the Ministry of Information in its booklet Front Line published in 1942 Part One
Saturday 8th March 1941
Air raid from evening until just after midnight.
[Home Office File 8th/9th March (Alert 1950-0006) 3 HE, 4 UXB, and 2 batches of small incendiaries some were explosive (IBEN) type.]
Pimlico Road. Unexploded bomb.
69 Lower Sloane Street. Unexploded bomb penetrated into the basement. It was removed later by a Royal Engineers army UXB squad.
26 Royal Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
32 Royal Avenue. Report taken, but no actual incident.
44 Royal Avenue.
37 St Leonards Terrace. Incendiary bomb.
Burton(s) Court. In the grounds. 15 incendiary bombs.
Duke of York’s Headquarters. Incendiary bomb.
Hooper & Co. (Coachbuilders) works, 77 King’s Road. [The business ended its opration in Chelsea in 1947] Incendiary bomb.
26 and 27 Wellington Square. Incendiary bombs. Fire put out.
Thomas Crapper & Co, 116 King’s Road. [Post WW2 it would move to number 120 King’s Road and can be seen in the opening sequence of the 1963 Joseph Losey film The Servant starring Sir Dirk Bogarde. Incendiary bomb.
65 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
International Stores, 124 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
George Glover & Co. Factory, [Gas meter manufacturers. The factory was rebuilt after a major fire in 1927. During WW2 like most of the light industrial businesses in Chelsea such as Fraser & Ellis in Old Church Street it was repurposed to make military equipment and war munitions.] 122 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
85 King’s Road, 23 Ambulance Station. Incendiary bomb.
Carter Paterson & Co. Ltd, Depot [A national road carriers and parcel delivery firm] 99 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
Andrews and Hitch [Surveyors and Auctioneers], 69a King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
King’s Road junction with Smith Street and Markham Square. Incendiary bomb.
Cale Street and Jubilee Place. Two explosive incendiary bombs.
8 Embankment Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Dilke Street. Incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Physic Botanical Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Tite Street- south of Royal Hospital Road. Incendiary bomb.
Cheyne Place and between Cheyne Place and Caversham Street. Incendiary bomb.
Royal Hospital Road. Incendiary bomb.
Royal Hospital grounds Incendiary bomb. .
Royal Hospital The Lodge. Incendiary bomb.
Christchurch Street. North side. Incendiary bomb.
33 Ormonde Gate. Incendiary bomb.
6 Ormonde Gate. Incendiary bomb.
Fulham Road and Old Church Street. Incendiary bomb.
Shawfield Street. Incendiary bomb.
9 Shawfield Street. Incendiary bomb.
Redesdale Street. Incendiary bomb.
4 Smith Street. Incendiary bomb.
24 Smith Street. Incendiary bomb.
45 Smith Street. Incendiary bomb.
Tryon Street. Incendiary bomb.
Radnor Walk, rear of Tedworth Square. Incendiary bomb.
Woodfall Street. Incendiary bomb. Caused a fire in the road.
No 19 The Gateways. Incendiary bomb.
7 The Gateways. Incendiary bomb.
49 Elystan Place. Incendiary bomb.
25 Elystan Place. Incendiary bomb.
33 Elystan Place. Unexploded incendiary bomb.
Elystan Place. Incendiary bomb.
Elystan Place and Sprimont Place. Incendiary bomb.
41 Markham Square. Incendiary bomb.
20 Markham Square. Incendiary bomb.
Markham Square, garden. Two Incendiary bombs.
Rear of Elystan Street. Incendiary bomb.
76 Elystan Street. Incendiary bomb.
Petyward. Incendiary bomb.
12 Symonds Street. Incendiary bomb.
Nell Gwynn House. Incendiary bomb.
Sloane Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
Peter Jones in Sloane Square. Incendiary bomb.
Draycott Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
Culford Mansions. Incendiary bomb.
Sutton Dwellings, 39 Block M, Cale Street. One Incendiary bomb.
102 Edith Grove. Incendiary bomb.
Royal Hospital, Ranelagh Gardens. Unexploded bomb.
8 Marlborough Street. Incendiary bombs.
The Beehive pub, Chelsea Manor Street. [The pub had been situated prior to 1928 at number 48 Chelsea Manor Street, was demolished, rebuilt and moved to 60 Chelsea Manor Street, but was again demolished in 2004 to make way for a new housing project.] Incendiary bomb. No damage caused.
St Luke’s Mission Onslow Dwellings Hall, Pond Place. Incendiary bomb.
30 Elystan Street. Incendiary bomb.
20 Coulson Street. Incendiary bomb.
Symonds Street- Sloane Square end. High explosive bomb.
Chelsea Bridge Road. Unexploded bomb on pavement. Cleared by a bomb disposal squad of the Royal Engineers.
This photograph was taken by a Captain G.V.Myer of the Royal Engineers on 6th September 1940, is marked ‘Secret’ ‘for CRE of the London District.’
21 Sloane Street. High explosive bomb.
1 to 12 Basil Mansions. High explosive bomb falling at the rear. Damage and injured casualties.
76 Lots Road. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens.
60 Lots Road. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens.
Rex Paste Works. Incendiary bomb.
Location as it is now.
Chelsea Basin. Incendiary bombs. These caused fires which were put out by the Auxiliary Fire Service.
Reliance Rubber Company, Lots Road. Incendiary bomb.
Thames River. Incendiary bomb.
Casual Ward, Milmans Street. Incendiary bomb.
55 Stadium Street. Incendiary bomb.
Tadema Road and Burnaby Street. Explosive incendiary bombs all put out by Wadens.
65 Uverdale Road. Incendiary bomb.
68 Uverdale Road. Incendiary bomb.
477 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
Anderson Street. 2 incendiary bombs in the road.
Casualty Saturday 8th March 1941
58 year old Walter Rowland Turner died in an air raid incident at 24 St. James’s Street in Westminster. He was living at 23 Cadogan House, Baltic Street in Chelsea.
Casualty Friday 14th March 1941
33 year old Marcus William Merthyr Bowden A.R.P. (Control Staff); of 32 Lytton Grove, Putney. Son of Ethel Bowden, of 6 Meadow Bank, Upper Richmond Road, Putney. Died at Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
Wednesday 16th April 1941. This devastating air raid became known as ‘The Wednesday’ because of the large number of fatal casualties in Chelsea and the extent of destruction caused by parachute mines.
Air raid from late evening until early hours of the morning.
[Home Office File April 16th/17th April (Alert 2104-0458) 7 Parachute mines. 11 HE and a batch of small incendiaries. (Damage was caused in Chelsea by a bomb which fell in Westminster.)]
25 to 43 Cheyne Place, [All of these addresses were destroyed and rebuilt after the Second World War.] Royal Hospital Road. Parachute mine. This is the incident where the author of A Chelsea Sonata, Frances Faviell- whose real name was Olivia Parker- miraculously survived being blown up in her own home. She described the experience dramatically and movingly in her book. She lost close friends and neighbours.
15 to 17 Caversham Street. Parachute mine. There was heavy damage all around and casualties- one fatal.
Olivia Parker was a highly talented polyglot. She was a successful novelist and writer with the nom de plume ‘Frances Faviell’ and also portrait artist painting and exhibiting under the name of Olivia Fabri. In fact, she painted and designed the distinctive and symbolic original cover of A Chelsea Concerto when it was published in 1959.
It seems she was born Olive(ia) Faviell Lucas and her writing name was her second forename. She married the distinguished Hungarian-born academic Dr Charles Louis Fabri in Kensington in 1930 and travelled to India, and then afterwards to Japan and China. She had an exhibition of her paintings in New Delhi in 1935.
She met the civil servant Richard H Parker in 1939 and the The Register/Census taken in late September of that year records them living at 33 Cheyne Place. They married in Westminster in 1940.
She died in October 1959 only three months after the publication of A Chelsea Concerto. She had been ill for some time and passed away in her sleep at Roland Gardens in South Kensington.
She was well known in Chelsea when living at 33 Cheyne Place and showed courage and determination in WW2 working with ARP Wardens as a Red Cross volunteer (VAD) nurse based at the First Aid Station in the Victoria Children’s Hospital nearby on the corner of Royal Hospital Road and Tite Street.
Her Art School training in anatomy meant she was expert at assisting identification of Blitz victims at the Chelsea mortuary in Dovehouse Street.
Her vivid description of having to administer morphia to a trapped man while being lowered head first into a narrow tunnel, held only by her feet was read out in a recent BBC documentary on the Blitz presented by the historian Dr Lucy Worsley.
The book ended with her harrowing description of surviving the destruction of her home and friends in the Cheyne Place parachute mine explosion: ‘Picking our way across the piles of glass was perilous, and when I saw in the mass something which looked like a garment and found it was a very old camel-hair coat of mine I fell upon it as if it were the most valuable mink.’
After the war she travelled with her son to post war Berlin where Richard was working as a civil servant in British Control Commission known as the CCG.
Her memories and experiences instigated her writing career which included her first book The Dancing Bear (1954), followed by three novels A House on the Rhine (1955), Thalia (1957), and The Fledgeling (1958). All of her books, along with A Chelsea Concerto have been republished by Dean Street Press as Furrowed Middlebrow books.
On June 10th 2021, Dean Street Press published a commemorative tweet on what would have been her 118th birthday which features black and white photographs of Olivia with her second husband Richard Parker and their dachshund dog Vicki, and the devastation wrought on their home at 33 Cheyne Place by the parachute bomb. The pictures were provided by their son John who was born during the Blitz. He also provided an image of the coloured painting Olivia created for her book’s front cover design.
Happy 118th birthday to the incomparable Frances Faviell (Olivia Parker), subject of the #BlitzSpirit documentary and author of one of the very best Blitz memoirs. Here, photos from her son John of Olivia, husband, and dog Vicky, and their Cheyne Walk home after bombing. pic.twitter.com/QGuk5V99ei
— Furrowed Middlebrow (@FurrowedMiddle) June 10, 2021
Royal Hospital- infirmary. Parachute mine. [During World War Two the ‘Soane Infirmary’ was situated at the current location of the National Army Museum. 80 years after the event in 2021, The Royal Hospital commemorated those who died.]
Martin Cawthorne has researched and written an excellent book The Royal Hospital Chelsea At War published in 2024 describing all the incidents affecting The Royal Hospital between 1939 and 1945. I strongly recommend it.
Bottom of Danvers Street. Incendiary bomb.
Sub Fire Station 6W, 19-21 Cheyne Place (auxiliary fire service). Parachute mine. (The firefighters decided to leave a permanent mark of their presence during WW2 by carving their code letters “6W” into a masonry wall facing the road at the entrance to number 19 Cheyne Place. )
Plaque currently on the wall of Chelsea Fire Station commemorating firefighters killed at Sub Station 6W in Cheyne Place and the main 6 Station, Brompton at South Parade, Chelsea Square.
19 Whiteheads Grove. Incendiary bomb. Fire caused damage and one casualty.
10 Woodfall Street. Incendiary bomb. Caused a fire on the premises.
15 Anderson Street. Incendiary bomb on the roof.
83 Cadogan Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Roof pierced.
Thursday 17th April 1941
77 Cheyne Walk. [One of the houses destroyed between Danvers Steet and Old Church Street whose basements are now the site of Roper’s Garden.] Parachute mine.
The tall houses in Cheyne Walk destroyed in the Parachute mine bombing and never rebuilt with their basements being converted into Roper’s Garden.
Chelsea Old Church. Parachute mine.
Petyt Place. Parachute mine.
2 to 6 Old Church Street. Parachute mine.
Another significant eye witness to the aftermath and rescue operation in Old Church Street and Cheyne Walk was ambulance driver June Spencer who was assigned to Ambulance Station 22 in what was Blanch’s Garage between Danvers Street and Old Church Street.
Like Jo Oakman, she was a diarist and has preserved for posterity her remarkable description of the impact of the double parachute mine blast on people who survived:
‘Got to the ambulance station (opposite the Old Church). It was quite flat, and most of Cheyne Walk, too. Glass in windows puffed out as you looked at them. I hunted for ambulance people and found all were safe (they had all been called out to the Royal Hospital just before).
One huge sheet of glass from the garage roof moved in the brilliant moonlight. Sydney pulled at it and from underneath rose a very tall policeman with a long beard, very drunk. He said he had no legs. To assure him he was standing on them, I pulled up his trousers. In his relief, he danced down the street holding Sydney’s hand. [He was Stanley Grimm, the painter, a special constable.]’
In 2021 Naomi Clifford published Under Fire: The Blitz diaries of a volunteer ambulance driver which elegantly brings to a wider audience June’s writing. Naomi Clifford’s book also contextualises all of June’s experiences in an excellent narrative of the Blitz in Chelsea and London. This is another recent publication I recommend highly.
Sketch of 2 to 6 Old Church Street, Petyt House and the Old Church in 1931 and then images of the destruction caused by the Parachute mine.
People standing outside Chelsea Old Church which was reduced to rubble after a direct hit from a parachute mine during an air raid, London, Friday 18th April 1941. (Photo by Topical Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Chelsea Embankment by Chelsea Bridge. High explosive bomb.
32 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Caused fire and badly damaged the house.
34 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Caused fire and badly damaged the house.
36 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Caused fire and badly damaged the house.
42 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Caused fire and badly damaged the house.
46 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bombs. Caused a fire which badly damaged the house.
10 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bombs. Fire damaged premises.
15 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Damage caused by fire.
16 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bombs. Fire damaged premises.
20 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Fire damaged premises.
22 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Fire damaged premises.
23 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Fire badly damaged premises.
24 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Fire slightly damaged premises.
20 Cheyne Row. (House on immediate right of porch entrance to number 22 in photograph below.) Incendiary bomb.
Elm’s Garage and Paradise Walk. Incendiary bomb.
5 Chelsea Embankment. One incendiary bomb.
17 Chelsea Embankment. High explosive bomb in the road opposite Old Swan House. Sewers damaged and water main burst.
8 Danvers Street. [Replaced post WW2 by Ropers Orchard appartment block.] Incendiary bomb.
20 Upper Cheyne Row. Incendiary bomb.
10 Danvers Street. (After destruction in the blitz the site of this house had been redeveloped post WW2 as the block of flats called ‘Robers Orchard.’) Incendiary bomb.
25 Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
Carlyle Garage King’s Road. [During WW2, the garage- known previously as the ‘Blue Bird Garage’ was requisitiond by the London County Council to be a supply depot for its ambulance service. A lease by LCC subsequently resulted in the garage operating as an ambulance station. ] Incendiary bomb.
St Andrews Church, Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
341 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
303 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
5 Henniker Mews. Incendiary bomb.
121-128 Beaufort Mansions. Incendiary bomb.
4 Callow Street. One incendiary bomb which caused little damage.
5 Callow Street. Incendiary bombs causing considerable damage.
13 Callow Street. Incendiary bombs. Fire and damage to the top floor.
15 Callow Street. One incendiary bomb. Little damage.
16 Callow Street. Incendiary bombs. Caused a fire which was put out by fire-watchers.
17 Callow Street. One incendiary bomb causing little damage.
22 Callow Stret. One incendiary bomb causing little damage.
Moravian Close. Incendiary bomb.
9 Henniker Mews Incendiary bomb.
113 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb. Roof and top floor burnt.
87 Elm Park Mansions. Incendiary bomb.
366 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
35 Park Walk Incendiary bomb.
23 Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
21 Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
16 Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
10 Limerston Street. Incendiary bomb.
363 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
St Stephens Hospital. Incendiary bomb.
Westminster Institute [The St George’s Union Workhouse was renamed ‘The Westminster Institute’ and connected to St Stephen’s Hospital and Victoria Grove was renamed Netherton Grove.] Incendiary bomb.
25 Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
48 Christchurch Street. Incendiary bomb.
9 Caversham Street. Incendiary bombs. Small fire put out by ARP Wardens.
Christchurch School, Robinson Street. Incendiary bomb.
10 Embankment Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
13 to 16 Embankment Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Court and Tite Street near Chelsea Embankment. Incendiary bombs. Caused small amount of damage.
Victoria Hospital, Tite Street. The hospital for children was located on the east side of Tite Street at the junction of Royal Hospital Road, was closed in 1964 and demolished in 1966. It was redeveloped into the St Wilfred Convent nursing home.] Incendiary bomb.
46 Tite Street. Incendiary bomb.
River House, Embankment, just off Tite Street. Incendiary bomb.
Cheyne House, Embankment, south of Royal Hospital Road. Incendiary bombs causing a fire which was put out by ARP Wardens.
Swan House, near Royal Hospital Road and Chelsea Embankment. Incendiary bomb.
5 Swan Walk. Incendiary bomb. Fire and slight damage.
3 Swan Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Physic Garden, Swan Walk. Incendiary bomb.
29 to 32 Paradise Walk. Incendiary bomb.
8 Duke Street. [Duke Street had ceased to exist by the time of WW2 so it is presumed this could be a reference to a location between Danvers and Beaufort Streets. It is also possible Jo Oakman was referring to Dilke Street which would have been in the line and direction of incendiary explosives dropped during this air raid. Incendiary bomb.
Location as it is now of where Duke Street used to be.
Current location of 8 Dilke Street.
Cheyne Court, foot of Flood Street. Incendiary bombs on the roof. The resulting fire badly burnt and damaged the roof.
1A Sloane Court East. Incendiary bomb.
343 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
11 Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Stanley Studios, Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
20 Park Walk Incendiary bomb.
139 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb. Little damage caused by fire because it was put out by the occupants.
22 Park Walk. Incendiary bomb.
‘A Day in the life of a War-time Housewife [in Chelsea]’- photographic narrative story from the Ministry of Information in 1941. Rationing controls were increasing and Great Britain was losing the Battle of the Atlantic with thousands of tons of merchant shipping being sunk by U-Boats. Images from the Imperial War Museum. It looks like Mrs Day picks up a double decker bus in the Fulham Road and goes shopping in the King’s Road at a groceries opposite the Duke of York’s headquarters. One of the businesses trading there at that time was G A Baker High-Class fruiterer and grocer at number 41 King’s Road.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WARTIME HOUSEWIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 2377) Mrs Day, helped by the female conductor, jumps on the bus that will take her to work. In the background, it is clear that quite a bit of air raid damage has been sustained. This photograph was probably taken on Fulham Road. The tower visible in the background is part of St Stephen’s Hospital (now the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital), which was built in 1878 as the Fulham Workhouse and St George’s… Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198058 
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WARTIME HOUSEWIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 2378) Mrs Day is helped by a female conductor onto the bus that will take her to work. This photograph was probably taken on Fulham Road. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198059 
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WARTIME HOUSEWIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 2370) After lunch, Mrs Day sets out to do her weekly shop on the King’s Road in Chelsea. She walks past several women with prams and a member of the RAF as they queue to the left of a large furniture store. The shop has furniture displayed on the street and the sign on its frontage says ‘Antique, Second-Hand and Modern Furniture’. Just above the heads of this group of people is a small sign directing pe… Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198054 
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WARTIME HOUSEWIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 2371) A close up view of Mrs Day’s shopping basket and gas mask case, which she has taken with her on her shopping trip. The gas mask case has a special pocket which enables it to be used like a handbag. Behind her, the greengrocer arranges his wares. This photograph was probably taken on the King’s Road in Chelsea. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198055 
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WARTIME HOUSEWIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 2372) Mrs Day stops to look in the window of a shop to see what is available to her this week. The photograph is taken from inside the shop, and Mrs Day can be seen next to the shopkeeper. A group of other shoppers can also be seen. This photograph was probably taken on the King’s Road in Chelsea. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198056 
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WARTIME HOUSEWIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 2373) A shopkeeper stamps Mrs Day’s ration book during her shopping trip on the Kings Road in Chelsea. In the foreground can be seen the tea, sugar, ‘national butter’, margarine, cooking fats and bacon she is allowed for one week. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205195858 
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WARTIME HOUSEWIFE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN LONDON, ENGLAND, 1941 (D 2375) Mrs Day says goodbye to the butcher as she leaves his shop, after having bought her meat ration. The window of the butcher’s shop has been boarded over after the glass was knocked out during an air raid. The sign in the butcher’s window says ‘Help Win the War on the Kitchen Front. Above All Avoid Waste’. This photograph was probably taken on the King’s Road in Chelsea. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198057 
3 Phene Street. Incendiary bomb.
85 Elm Park Mansions. Incendiary bomb.
10 Elm Park Road. Incendiary bomb.
355 Fulham Road. Incendiary bomb.
2 Mulberry Walk. Incendiary bomb.
109 Old Church Street. Incendiary bomb.
15 Elm Park Road. Incendiary bomb.
18 Elm Park Road. Incendiary bomb.
20 Elm Park Road. Incendiary bomb.
121 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire caused damage.
129 Beaufort Street. Incendiary bomb.
26 Chelsea Park Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
25 The Vale. Incendiary bomb. Fire which burnt itself out.
25 Mulberry Walk. Incendiary bomb.
181 to 220 Cranmer Court. Parachute mine. Many casualties.
50 to 53, 50 to 61 and 62 to 75 Chelsea Square. Including the South Parade Sation 6 main fire station in Chelsea. Parachute mine. Very heavy damage and casualties.
Burton(s) Court Mansions. Parachute mine. Blocks 50 to 61 and 62 to 75. Both buildings totally destroyed and rebuilt as Burton Court after WW2. Casualties.
Numbers 50 to 85 Burton Court mansions seen from the junction of Franklin’s Row and Turks Row after their construction in 1903. These were the blocks destroyed by the April 1941 parachute mine.
Most of the residents were in the covered trench public air-raid shelters in the gardens opposite though several decided to stay in their flats and were killed.
Movietone London Blitz coverage. Silent film released Monday 21st April 1941 after raids Wednesday 16th, Thursday 17th and Friday 18th April 1941
Royal Hospital Road 25 yards east of Tite Street. High explosive.
Sloane Court West. High explosive.
Chelsea Embankment at the junction of Royal Hospital Road, at Old Swan House. High explosive. bomb.
Elm’s Motors Garage, Paradise Walk. High explosive bomb.
Whittaker Street and Holbein Place. High explosive bomb. Gas and water mains damaged.
74 Cale Street. High explosive bomb. This caused damage to water, gas and sewer supplies and piping, but there were no casualties.
Cale Street, Warden’s Post E. The detonation of a high explosive bomb outside put the post out of action.
29 and 31 Sydney Street. High explosive bomb.
43 Sydney Street. High explosive bomb.
63 Dovehouse Street. High explosive bomb.
Ranelagh Garage, Royal Hospital. not confirmed.
Casualties Wednesday 16th, Thursday 17th and Friday 18th April 1941
48 year old Aimée Isobel Girardot .Daughter of Herman and Charlotte Dax, of Umbumbulu, Natal, South Africa; wife of Edmund David Girardot, of 38 Cranmer Court. Injured at 74 Ebury Street; died same day at Royal Cancer Hospital.
25 year old Margaret Frances Barnard Daughter of Reginald and Damrise Jane Barnard, of 215A Latchmere Road, Lavender Hill. Died at 43 Sydney Street.
21 year old Hannah May Burnett of 43 Sydney Street. Daughter of Mrs. C. A. Welsford, of 21 Albany Road, Windsor, Berkshire; wife of Cpl. A. G. R. Burnett, Royal Army Service Corps (killed in same incident). Died at 43 Sydney Street.
36 year old Reginald Bruce Wakeman Fireman, A.F.S. Husband of I. Wakeman, of 81 Ashmore Road, Paddington. Died at South Parade Fire Station.
29 year old Mervyn James Bastow Taylor Fireman, A.F.S. Son of Lillian Dora Forrest (formerly Taylor), of 513 Wharncliffe Gardens, and of the late Herbert James Taylor; husband of Ida Cathleen Taylor, of 248 Wharncliffe Gardens. Died at South Parade Fire Station.
35 year old Frederick Charles Winter Firewatcher. Son of Mrs. L. Winter, of 67 Quicks Road, Wimbledon, Surrey; husband of Nora Grace Winter, of 129 Graham Road, Wimbledon. Died at 1 Petyt Place.
30 year old Yvonne Marie Dunbar Green Driver, A.F.S. Daughter of Forbes Sutherland and Jeanne Tachereau Sutherland, of Montreal, Canada; wife of Lieut. Leonard G. Green, Canadian Army, of 34 Old Church Street. Died at Petyt Place.
Yvonne had volunteered to do fire-watching duty at the Old Church even though she wrote in a letter shortly before her death that she found climbing the stairs of the church’s tall tower in an air raid rather frightening. She had a small child from a previous marriage being looked after by her mother in Canada. Her granddaughter in adult life has campaigned to have her contribution and sacrifice to home defence commemorated. The Auxiliary Fire Service plaque fixed to the wall of Roper’s Garden in Old Church Street is one manifestation of her efforts.
23 year old Sydney Robert Sims Firewatcher. Son of Henry Edwin and May Constance Sims, of 51 Blantyre Street, King’s Road. Died at Old Chelsea Church.
Destruction of Chelsea Old Church with only the Sir Thomas More Chapel surviving nearly intact and a drawing of the church in 1931 with the old Lombard Café which was pulled down for redevelopment just before the outbreak of WW2. [Images: War Illustrated 1941 and a photo taken by ARP Warden Leslie Matthews looking through the wreckage towards Petyt Place in a booklet celebrating the rebuilding of the Church given to the author when he was Head choirboy at the Church 1969-72,]
42 year old William Frederick Cooper Sub-Officer, London Fire Brigade; of 177 Newport Buildings, Westminster. Husband of Jessica Emma Cooper. Injured at Newport Buildings; died same day at Royal Cancer Hospital.
39 year old John William Stringer Firewatcher. Husband of Hilda May Stringer, of 26 Ronaldson Road, Sidcup, Kent. Died at 77 Cheyne Walk.
32 year old Frederick Joseph Gomersall of 29 Barkworth Road, Rotherhithe. Son of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. Gomersall. Died at 77 Cheyne Walk.
63 year old Albert William Barton Firewatcher. Husband of Isabella Barton, of 35 Elystan Place. Died at New Lombard Cafe, Cheyne Walk.
48 year old Mary Ethel McCandlish Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. Simpson, of Aberford, Leeds; wife of J. A. McCandlish, of La Solana, La Haule, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died at 195 Cranmer Court.
51 year old Barbara Grace Anson Firewatcher; of 176 Cranmer Court, Sloane Avenue. Daughter of Col. the Hon. Sir George Anson, K.C.B., and of the Hon. Lady Blanche Mary Anson. Died at 176 Cranmer Court.
76 year old The Hon. Lady Blanche Mary Anson of 176 Cranmer Court, Sloane Avenue. Wife of Col. the Hon. Sir George Anson, K.C.B. Injured at 176 Cranmer Court; died same day at Royal Cancer Hospital.
65 year old Julius Edwards of 174 Cranmer Court. Died at Cranmer Court.
52 year old Charles Day Buckworth-Herne-Soame. Son of Evelyn Buckworth-Herne-Soame, of Woodville Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, and of the late George D. Buckworth-Herne-Soame; husband of Amy Margaret Buckworth-Herne-Soame. Died at Cranmer Court.
34 year old Charles Edmund Moore Fireman, A.F.S. Husband of Margaretha K. Moore, of 206 Cambridge Road, Kilburn, Middlesex. Died at 64 Chelsea Square.
29 year old Frederick Scates Fireman, A.F.S. Husband of Nora Alice Scates, of 41 Goldney Road, Paddington. Died at 64 Chelsea Square.
60 year old Charles Spencer Golding Husband of Leila M. Golding, of 35 Meriden Court. Injured at Burton(s) Court; died same day at Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
68 year old Francis Druce M.A.; of 60 Burton Court. Son of the late Alexander Devas Druce, of Upper Gatton, Merstham, Surrey. Died at Burton(s) Court.
34 year old Norah Kathleen Jefferies Firewatcher; of 55 Burton Court. Daughter of Major-General Sir Guy Beatty, and Lady Mabel Beatty, of Sea Haven, Budleigh Salterton, Devon; wife of Tommy Jefferies. Died at 55 Burton(s) Court.
42 year old Daniel Ignatius Hogan Firewatcher; of 51 Burton Court. Husband of Miranda Caroline Hogan. Died at 51 Burton(s) Court.
59 year old Wilfred George Lucas LT.-COL. (retd.); Light Rescue Service; of 50 Burton Court. Son of the late Col. A. G. Lucas, C.B., M.V.O.; husband of C. J. Lucas. Died at 50 Burton(s) Court.
40 year old Thomas William Sargeant; Firewatcher, Son of Emily Sargeant, of 22 Athelstane Road, Finsbury Park, Middlesex; husband of Alice Sargeant, of 175 Keir Hardie House, Hazellville Road, Upper Holloway, Middlesex. Died at Thomas Grey’s Yard, Danvers Street.
73 year old Charlotte Elizabeth Langham of 67 Dovehouse Street. Wife of Alexander Langham. Injured 16 April 1941, at 67 Dovehouse Street; died at Chelsea Hospital for Women.
49 year old Mildred Isabel Wilson B.R.C.S.; of 106 Cranmer Court. Daughter of the late Harris L. and Celia Wilson. Injured 16 April 1941, at Cranmer Court; died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
63 year old Cyril Etheridge Ashley of 31 Cheyne Place. Died at 31 Cheyne Place.
47 year old Roger Bevan Crewdson CAPT. (retd.); Air Raid Warden. Husband of Stella Crewdson, of 126 Cranmer Court. Died at Cale Street.
Killed in the Royal Hospital Infirmary
73 year old William Cameron of Royal Hospital. Son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Cameron, of Elgin, Scotland; husband of the late L. C. Cameron. Died at Royal Hospital.
51 year old James Hutchins Son of J. Hutchins. Died at Royal Hospital.
79 year old Samuel John Jackson of Royal Hospital. Died at Royal Hospital.
67 year old Patrick Johnson of Royal Hospital. Died at Royal Hospital.
85 year old William McGovan of Royal Hospital. Died at Royal Hospital.
52 year old Edith McMullen Hospital Sister; of 64 Muirhead Avenue, West Derby, Liverpool. Died at Royal Hospital.
53 year old Elizabeth Lilian Fisher Nicholson Hospital Sister. Died at Royal Hospital.
81 year old Samuel Pope of Royal Hospital at Royal Hospital.
100 year old Henry Augustus Rattray of Royal Hospital. Died at Royal Hospital.
55 year old Edith Taylor Hospital Sister. Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. T. Taylor, of Oak Bank, Borough Road, Birkenhead, Cheshire. Died at Royal Hospital.
81 year old William West of Royal Hospital. Husband of the late Elisabeth West. Died at Royal Hospital.
68 year old James Wogan of Royal Hospital. Injured 16 April 1941, at Royal Hospital; died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
68 year old John Thomas Davis injured at Royal Hospital Chelsea on 17th April 1941; died same day at County Council Emergency Hospital, Old Windsor. He lies buried and commemorated at Windsor, Rural District cemetery.
Killed in Old Church Street
17 year old Michael James Hodge Firewatcher. Son of Lt.-Col. and Mrs. J. P. Hodge, of Cheyne Walk. Died at Old Church Street.
34 year old Henry Vivian Frankland Husband of Dorothy Evelyn Frankland, of 39 Crown Road, Morden, Surrey. Died at Old Church Street.
67 year old Joseph Frederick Kirk of 4 Old Church Street. Husband of Rose Kirk. Died at 4 Old Church Street.
From right to left: The Old Church, Petyt House and numbers 4 and 6 Old Church Street- all destroyed by the parachute mine on 17th/18th April 1941. The large entrance adjacent to front door of number 4 led to the horse stables behind Petyt House.
61 year old Rose Kirk of 4 Old Church Street. Daughter of Joseph Calcott, of 8 Callow Street; wife of Joseph Frederick Kirk. Died at 4 Old Church Street.
16 year old Emma Rose Mary Chandler of 4 Old Church Street. Daughter of Lottie, and of the late William Chandler. Died at 4 Old Church Street.
54 year old Lottie Chandler of 4 Old Church Street. Daughter of Joseph Calcott, of 8 Callow Street; widow of William Chandler. Died at 4 Old Church Street.
Killed in Cheyne Place and Caversham Street
38 year old Alfred Robert Haylen Fireman, A.F.S. Son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Haylen, of 18 Moore Park Road, Fulham; husband of Ellen Gladys Haylen, of 12 Mendora Road. Died at 21 Cheyne Place.
26 year old Anne Stainton of 33A Cheyne Place. Daughter of Kathleen Marshman, and of the late Maj. Moore Marshman; wife of Cecil Stainton, Canadian Military Forces (killed in same incident). Died at 33A Cheyne Place.
Private Cecil Stainton Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. Son of Walter Sydney and Ellen Constance Stainton; husband of Ann Stainton who with her mother, Kathleen Marshman of Chelsea, were killed in the same incident. Personal Inscription on monument: ‘ALSO HIS WIFE ANNE, AND HER MOTHER KATHLEEN MARSHMAN WERE KILLED BY ENEMY ACTION AT THE SAME TIME. PRO PATRIA.’
56 year old Kathleen Marshman of 33 Cheyne Place. Widow of Maj. Moore Marshman. Died at 33A Cheyne Place.
39 year old Victor George Wratten Fireman, A.F.S. Husband of Mrs. Wratten, of 28 Radnor Walk. Died at 21 Cheyne Place.
27 year old George Eric Goldsmiths Fireman, A.F.S. Son of Carl and Madeleine Goldschmitt, of 15 Beechwood Avenue, Finchley, Middlesex. Died at Cheyne Court.
66 year old Matilda Norton of 15 Caversham Street. Daughter of Job and Maria Richards, of Penylan, Cardiff; wife of Ewart William Norton. Died at 15 Caversham Street.
Killed in Fulham
62 year old Arthur Edward Wallington was a firewatcher who died in an air raid bombing at Seagrave Road in Fulham on 17th April 1941. He was the husband of Celestine Wallington. They lived at 45 Uverdale Road.
Kllled in Lambeth
25 year old Joan Campbell Forsyth was an A.R.P. Ambulance driver who was killed during the 17th April 1941 air raid when she was caught in a bomb blast on the Westminster Bridge Road. Joan lived at 24 Smith Street, Chelsea.
She was the daughter of Sir Donald and Lady Kathleen Kingdon, of Newcourt, Lugwardine, Hereford, and the wife of Captain Hamish William Forsyth of The Royal Scots.
Saturday 19th April 1941
Casualty
29 year old Metropolitan Police Constable Benjamin Surflen Wathen died in an air raid on the Prince of Wales pub in Manor Road, Chigwell. He was a serving officer in Chelsea living in the Police Section House in Ixworth Place, Chelsea,
He was the son of Fanny Selina Wathen, of 208 New North Road, Hainault, Ilford, and of Benjamin Wathen.
British Pathé voice news report on huge 1941 air raid on London. This is likely to relate to the bombing blitz on either 17th April or 11th May 1941.
Casualty Wednesday 7th May 1941
Infant Janice May Burrows Aged 7 hours. Daughter of R. Burrows, of 107 Dovehouse Street. Died at 107 Dovehouse Street.
Saturday 10th May 1941
Air raid from late evening and continuing overnight until the following morning.
[Home Office File 10th/11th May (Alert 2300-0549) 10 HE, 1 TGM, 4 batches of small incendiaries. (Damage was caused to Chelsea Embankment by a bomb which fell in the river.)]
The air-raid on London Saturday night 10th May and early hours Sunday 11th May 1941 is regarded as the worst and the capital’s home defence infrastructure was overwhelmed. But it would also be the last of the main London Blitz of 1940-41. Jo Oakman’s diary entry described its impact in Chelsea:
‘A quiet day but what a night. London caught it proper because:
- It was full-moon;
- We had bombed Berlin the night before;
- It was Saturday night. It was a gorgeous night, full by moon in a clear sky and cloudless.
… It was a night of bombs, one per minute…’
Private Papers of Miss J M Oakman (Documents.1071) Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030001007 
Private Papers of Miss J M Oakman (Documents.1071) Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030001007
Sunday 11 May 1941
Junction of Blantyre Street and Cheyne Walk. Two incendiary bombs in the road. Put out by Wardens ‘at zero damage.’ [Blantyre Street has been largely replaced by redevelopment in the late 1960s and early 1970s.]
Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street and Sloane Square Incendiary bomb. [During World War Two the church was hit by several incendiary bombs, one at least bursting in the nave, causing considerable structural damage. Shortage of money and materials post-war meant that it took several decades of work to effect repairs and the church was closed except for Sunday matins.]
46 Clabon Mews. Incendiary bomb.
Cadogan Place Gardens. Eight incendiary bombs landed. Two blew up, but there was no damage arising.
Chesham Street. An unexploded incendiary bomb.
23 Cadogan Square. Incendiary bombs. Fire.
39 Cadogan Place. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens.
Walton Place. Incendiary bombs. Fire.
St Columba’s Church [of Scotland], Pont Street. Incendiary bomb. The building caught fire and was mostly destroyed and then rebuilt and re-opened in 1955. […disaster struck on the night of 10 May 1941. An incendiary bomb dropped from an enemy aircraft destroyed the whole building in a matter of hours, to the stunned bewilderment of the congregation who turned up for service the next morning.)
69 Cadogan Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Fire and water caused damage.
84 Cadogan Square. Incendiary bomb. The premises were damaged by fire.
205 Pavilion Road. Incendiary bomb.
10 Harriet Walk. Incendiary bomb.
Lower Sloane Street (number of property not specified). One incendiary bomb fell into the boiler room and was dealt with by the building’s porter.
76 Sloane Street. Explosive incendiary bomb.
Chelsea Court in the building’s gardens. One incendiary bomb in the gardens. No damage.
18 Pont Street. Incendiary bomb.
456 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
416A King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
1 to 10 Culford Mansions. Incendiary bomb.
23 Coulson Street. Incendiary bomb.
11 to 13 Cadogan Court. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens.
13 Draycott Avenue Incendiary bomb.
Blacklands and Cadogan Garage, 24 Cadogan Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens.
St Mary’s Convent. The Sisters of Mercy vacated their convent adjacent to Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Cadogan Street in 1954 to enable the establishment of the St Thomas More Roman Catholic Secondary School. It is now the St Thomas More Language College– a mixed Catholic comprehensive school for children aged 11-16. Incendiary bomb landed and ignited, but the fire arising was put out by ARP Wardens.
48 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
108 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
72 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
19 Draycott Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
3 Draycott Place. Incendiary bomb.
17 Draycott Place. Incendiary bomb.
23 Draycott Place. Incendiary bomb.
49 Draycott Place. Incendiary bomb.
37 Halsey Street. Incendiary bomb.
5 Coulson Street. Incendiary bomb.
33 Ovington Street. Incendiary bomb.
104 and 106 Walton Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens. No casualties.
53 Hasker Street. Incendiary bomb.
2 Draycott Place. Incendiary bomb.
Guinness Trust Buildings, Draycott Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
19 Cadogan Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Hans Crescent Hotel. [The building of number One Hans Crescent was converted into a Crown Court and then acquired by Harrods Estates in 1996, and subsequently converted into apartments. During WW2 the building was used by the American Red Cross.] Incendiary bomb.
26 King’s Road. Incendiary bomb.
127 Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb.
2 Apollo Place Incendiary bomb. Bomb fell on the roof causing a fire which was put out by the Auxiliary Fire Service.
33 Blantyre Street. [This street disappeared with the World’s End development]. Incendiary bomb on roof causing a fire.
116 Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb.
118 Cheyne Walk. Incendiary bomb.
41 Danvers Street. Incendiary bomb.
80 Cheyne Court. Incendiary bomb. This caused a fire which was put out by ARP Wardens.
9 Sloane Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
14 Sloane Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
19 Sloane Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
29 Sloane Gardens Incendiary bomb.
31 Sloane Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
49 Sloane Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
War-time posters people in Chelsea would have been familiar with 1939-45 from the Imperial War Museum.
Any Old Iron? (Art.IWM PST 14748) whole: the image is positioned in the upper two-thirds. The title and text are separate and placed along the top edge and in the lower third, in black. Further text is integrated and located in the upper left, in black. All set against a pink background. image: a full-length depiction of a man cycling on a Penny Farthing bicycle along a white path, leading towards a pile of scrap metal. text: any … Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/32250 
They Talked … This Happened (Art.IWM PST 13902) whole: the two images occupy the majority, with the title integrated and positioned in the upper half, in red outlined white, and in the lower half, in yellow. The text is separate and placed across the top edge, in red and across the bottom edge, in yellow, set against a black background. image: the upper image is a photograph a young couple standing in the street, embracing and kissing. The man … Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/31819 
Plan Ahead – Allow for Growing (Art.IWM PST 8564) whole: the image is positioned centrally with text in black above, and text in white below. All is set against a green background. image: two young boys dressed in school uniform. The boy on the left is smiling and wearing a uniform that fits him well. The image on the right appears to be the same boy but a little older and taller, wearing the same school uniform. He appears miserable as the unifo… Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/29163 
Think Twice (Art.IWM PST 14319) whole: the image occupies the whole, with the title integrated and positioned in the upper right, in red outlined brown. The text is integrated and placed in the lower left, in brown. All set against a white background. image: a cat hides behind a tree, waiting to pounce on a robin as it approaches a discarded slice of bread. text: THINK TWICE- before you risk an accident! HARRY ROWNTREE Issued by… Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/23458 
Doctor Carrot – the Children’s Best Friend (Art.IWM PST 8105) whole: the image is placed left with the text, in black and orange, positioned right, set within a irregular yellow inset. All is set against a green background. image: ‘Dr Carrot’, a bright orange bespectacled carrot, skips left to right carrying a top hat and a doctor’s briefcase marked ‘Vit- A’. text: DOCTOR CARROT the Children’s best friend Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/29038 
Staggered Holidays Help Everyone (Art.IWM PST 15213) whole: the three images are positioned in the upper left, centre and lower right. The title is separate and positioned in the lower left and upper right, in black. The text is separate and positioned in the upper centre, centre left and lower centre, in black, held within green insets, and in the centre right, in green, held within a black inset. All set against a blue background. image: the upper… Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/19811 
Better Pot Luck Than Humble Pie – Don’t Waste Food! (Art.IWM PST 3108) whole: The images are positioned in the upper left and lower right, with text in black and red incorporated above, between, below and alongside the two images. image: In the upper half a caricature of the head of Churchill as a lidded casserole, confidently steaming. Below a pie dish with a caricatured face of Hitler, replete with saluting arm and moustache. text: BETTER POT LUCK WITH CHURCHILL … Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/27963 
Be Like Dad – Keep Mum! (Art.IWM PST 13946) whole: the image occupies the whole, with the title and text integrated and positioned in the centre, in yellow and white. All set against a white background. image: a stylised full-length depiction of a man standing, facing away from the viewer, with his hands in his pockets and smoking a pipe. A large red piece of paper inscribed with the poster’s text is attached to his back with a safety pin. … Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/22551 
Walk Short Distances – Go by Shanks’ Pony (Art.IWM PST 15267) whole: the image occupies the whole, with the title integrated and positioned in the upper third, in black outlined orange. The subtitle is integrated and placed in the centre right, in brown. The text is separate and located in the lower quarter, also in brown. image: a depiction of a pony, with its torso shaped and coloured to look like a shoe. The pony holds the shoelace in its mouth. text: WAL… Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/32569 
A Handkerchief in Time Saves Nine (Art.IWM PST 14149) whole: the main image is positioned in the upper half, with nine smaller images positioned across the centre. The title and text are separate and placed along the top edge and in the lower half, in black. Further text is separate and placed in the lower quarter, in black, held within a yellow inset. All set against a white background. image: a portrait of a sneezing man, holding a handkerchief up … Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/31965
Wyndham House, Sloane Square. Incendiary bomb.
22 Walpole Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire. Put out by Wardens.
33 Walpole Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire. Put out by Wardens.
Cheltenham Terrace. Five incendiary bombs in the street. No damage caused.
4 Cheltenham Terrace. Incendiary bomb which caused a fire on the roof and the interior.
5 Cheltenham Terrace. Incendiary bombs. Causing fire which was put out by the Auxiliary Fire Service.
7 Cheltenham Terrace. Incendiary bomb. Causing a fire which was put out by ARP Wardens.
15 Woodfall Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire was put out by the Auxiliary Fire Service.
28 Woodfall Street. Incendiary bomb. Fire was put out by ARP Wardens.
Sloane Square underground station. Incendiary bomb.
26 Holbein Place. Incendiary bomb.
13 Holbein Place Incendiary bomb.
7 St Leonards Terrace. Incendiary bomb.
35 St Leonards Terrace. Incendiary bomb.
Duke of York’s Lodge. Incendiary bomb.
1 Sloane Court East. Incendiary bomb.
10 Redburn Street. Incendiary bomb.
4 Holbein Mews. Incendiary bomb.
29 Cadogan Place. Incendiary bomb.
84 Cadogan Place. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens.
156 Sloane Street. Incendiary bomb.
113 Cadogan Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Fire put out by Wardens.
Movietone voiced report on Sunday May 11th London air-raid
Durham Cottage, Christchurch Street. Incendiary bomb.
31 Royal Avenue. Incendiary bomb.
Burton(s) Court in the grounds. A total of 50 explosive incendiary bombs were found. But no damage was caused.
97 Cadogan Gardens. Incendiary bomb. Bad damage by fire. Roof destroyed.
21 Lennox Gardens. Incendiary bomb.
Shafto Mews. Incendiary bomb.
9 Chesham Street. High explosive bomb detonating in the road just outside. Gas and water mains were breached. Four casualties.
181 to 184 Shelton House, Sloane Street. High explosive bomb.
15 and 16 Cadogan Place. High explosive bomb in road opposite. Water and gas mains burst.
River Thames opposite Swan Walk and Tite Street. High explosive bomb.
52 Hans Place. High explosive bomb.
37 and 38 Hans Place. High explosive bomb.
Herbert Crescent. High explosive bomb
Junction of Lowndes Square and Harriet Street. High explosive bomb.
Herbert Mansions. High explosive bomb.
St Luke’s Hospital. High explosive bomb. Nurses’ quarters destroyed and casualties.
5 Chelsea Embankment. High explosive bomb opposite causing flooding from burst water main.
62 to 64 Sydney Street. High explosive bomb.
19 Gillray Square. Incendiary bomb. [The square was deleted through post WW2 Council estate development.]
Milman’s Street at the British Tyre and Rubber company. Two incendiary bombs. No damage caused.
15 and 17 Basil Street and 17 and 18 Rysbrack Street and Hans Crescent. G type land mine. Much damage and many casualties- fatal and injured.
Civilian Casualty 10th May 1941
61 year old John William Payne died in an air raid incident at 257 Vauxhall Bridge Road, Westminster. He was a resident of 37 Lamont Road, Chelsea.
Military and Civilian Casualties at Basil Street Sunday 11th May 1941
35 year old John Gilbert Garner. Chelsea Borough records show that he died in Basil Street. Commonwealth War Graves Commission records indicate he was eventually buried at Brookwood Military cemetery in his English alias of Garner and real name of Garnier and he had been seconded to the Special Operations Executive SOE.
Jacques Edwin Fresco otherwise known as Forrester was a second lieutenant in the British Army with the service number of 183030 and 29 years of age. His body was recovered from the debris and destruction in Basil Street at 8.20 a.m. on 11th May 1941. He has a second record in the Commonwealth War Graves Commision database as James Edwin Forrester.
Lieutenant Richard Goff of the Free French forces, who was 43 years old, was another casualty of this air-raid. That was the name given to the body recovered at 8.45 p.m. on 11th May whose cause of death was ‘burns and bomb blast.’
The records of SOE trainee agent Nicolas B Popoff, who was being trained with Garnier by the SOE to be infiltrated back into occupied France for operations are filed as HS 9/1205/10 in the National Archives under the name Peter Nicholas Powell. He also has an entry with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission under this second name- Second Lieutenant Peter Nicholas Powell though this is designated as an ‘alias’ with Nicolas B Popoff identified as the ‘true family name.’
60 year-old Ronald Marryat. He was a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Field Artillery with a Distinguished Service Order, and the son of Admiral Joseph Marryat, and Frances Marryat, of Downe Hall, Downe, Kent. He was a widower and resident of number 15 Basil Street and died from the bomb blast and falling masonry.
20 year old Annie Parkes– daughter of John and Mary Parkes, of Baragher, Fivemilebourne P.O., Co. Leitrim, in the Irish Republic and was working as a domestic maid at number 15 Basil Street.
28 year old May Murray– daughter of John and Catherine Murray, of Cuilnakillen, Lahardane, Ballina, Co. Mayo, Irish Republic. May was working as a domestic cook in number 15 Basil Street.
28 year old Diana Sichel daughter of Adrian and Geraldine Dingh; wife of Sub-Lieut. Gerald Theodore S. Sichel, R.N.V.R. She was recovered from the debris at around the same time as Ivy Davis on 15th May with cause of death given as bomb blast and falling debris.
55 year old Ivy Linda Davis of Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand. Daughter of the late Herbert and Emma Smith; widow of Adolphus Davis.
The Hon. June Mary Forbes-Sempill, aged 18. Daughter of Col. the Rt. Hon. Lord Sempill, A.F.C., of Craigievar Castle, Aberdeenshire, and of the late Lady Eileen Sempill. June was serving in the WVS and about to go to work at its Ebury Street mobile canteen depot when the landmine descended to wreak its destruction.
Maurice Freedman, aged 50. A distinguished Belgian subject and described as a diamond merchant in the Chelsea Borough records of Blitz casualties. He was buried in the United Synagogue Burial Society section of Willesdon cemetery. His Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry discloses he had been awarded the Ordre de Leopold; Croix de Guerre and Ordre de la Couronne of Belgium and he was the husband of Suzanne H. Freedman, of The Kingsway Hotel, Minehead, Somerset.
Amalia Huizinga-De Groot, aged 53. A Dutch national of Amsterdam. Daughter of M. and S. De Groot, of Leeuwarden; widow of W. J. C. Huizinga. Mrs Huizinga-De Groot was a Jewish refugee from Holland and had been a resident of number 15 Basil Street.
38 year old Christina Marthe Johnson. A.R.P.warden and Nurse; of Croydon Wilds, Bladen, Oxfordshire. Wife of Capt. D. M. I. Johnson, Royal Army Medical Corps.
69 year old Edith Night, aged 69. Daughter of William and Martha Hammond, of Newbridge House, Bollington, Cheshire; widow of Samuel Knight.
44 year old Kathleen Juliette Hedley was injured at 28 Basil Street on 11th May 1941. She died at St Thomas’ Hospital Hambledon on 22nd October 1941. She was living at 176A Brompton Road, Chelsea, London. She was the wife of Major Ivor Mathews Hedley, of the Pioneer Corps.
Casualties Sunday 11th May 1941 Continued
21 year old Barbara Rooke of 46 Lupus Street, Westminster. Died at the Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in the Fulham Road, Chelsea.
40 year old Margaret Walker also of 46 Lupus Street, Westminster. Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. Walker, of 29 Broomwood Road, Wandsworth Common, Battersea. Injured 11 May 1941, at 46 Lupus Street; died at the Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in the Fulham Road, Chelsea.
65 year old Maud Lucy Bevan of 63 Pelham Court, Fulham Road Chelsea died in an air raid strike on 43 York Terrace on the southern edge of Regent’s Park in Marylebone. She was the daughter of the late Wilfred Bevan.
20 year old Frederick Titherley died in the bomb explosion on the Eaton Square shelter, Westminster during the air raids on 10th/11th May 1941. He was living at 18A Danvers Street, Chelsea and the son of Mrs. Violet E. M. Titherley. He was buried in an unmarked ‘common grave’ in Brompton Cemetery on 19th May 1941.
17 year old firewatcher Edward James Raymond Payne was killed in the bombing at 8 Buckingham Gate, Westminster on 11th May 1941 near Victoria Station. He was the son of Edward Payne and lived with his father at 40G Lewis Trust Buildings, Ixworth Place in Chelsea. By day he worked as a clerk in a charity organisation. His mother Alice Payne had passed away in Chelsea in 1936 at the age of 54.
Killed at Shelton House Sloane Street
71 year old Henrietta Sarah Houghton of 2 Shelton House. Widow of Henry Sheargold Houghton. Died at 2 Shelton House.
59 year old Helen Mary Inman of 3 St. Leonard’s Terrace. Daughter of the late Capt. James Inman and Mary Inman. Died at 2 Shelton House, Sloane Street.
54 year old Helena Marie Richardson A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Daughter of Ellen Scherf, of 19 Braybrooke Terrace, Hastings, Sussex, and of the late Louis Scherf at 6 Shelton House, Sloane Street.
Killed at St Luke’s Hospital
44 year old Thomas Frederick Theodore Bond Son of T. J. Bond, of 25 Dellfield Crescent, Cowley, Uxbridge, Middlesex; husband of Constance Bond, of 40A Poynder’s Road, Clapham. Died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
21 year old Damaris Juliet Vivian Purcell Daughter of Maj. (retd.) Vivian Edward Purcell, and Ivy Leslie Purcell, of Nutford House, Nutford Place. Died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
31 year old Dr John Gerald Rogers M.B., Ch.B., of 224 Southport Road, Bootle, Lancashire. Son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Rogers, of Benagh, Ballyardle, Co. Down, Ireland. Died at St. Luke’s Hospital.
28 year old Dr Richard Edmund Symes-Thompson B.A., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. Son of Dr. and Mrs. H. E. Symes-Thompson, of Finmere House, Buckingham. Died at St. Luke’s Hospital. [Dr Symes-Thompson was a friend of artist/author Frances Faviell- real name Olivia Parker,]
Casualty Monday 19th May 1941
80 year old William Murphy of the Royal Hospital. Husband of Elizabeth Murphy, of Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
British Pathé news footage most likely of the destruction caused in London by the air raid of Sunday 11th May 1941.
Casualty Wednesday 15th October 1941
79 year old Tobias Hankard of 367 Fulham Road. Died at 367 Fulham Road.
London 1942
This year of the war was probably the quietest in terms of air raids and bombing damage. The British Council produced a film released in 1943 titled ‘London 1942’ to highlight, for propaganda purposes, what life in London was like.
Tuesday 28th July 1942
Unexploded bomb in early hours of the morning.
[Home Office file 28th July 1942 (Alert 0301-0413) 1 UXB.]
Chelsea Bridge Road. Unexploded bomb which turned out to be a high explosive one which detonated and burst the water main at the entrance to Chelsea Barracks.
Saturday 1st August 1942
Casualty
49 year old Harold William George Castledine died on 1st August 1942 at the Westminster Hospital in Horseferry Road as the result of an illness contracted while on duty during air raids.
He had been an Air Raid Warden. He was the husband of Muriel May Castledine and they both lived in Flat 2, 53 Lowndes Square, Chelsea.
Pathé report on Civil Defence Day in London in 1942 [Vocalisation of the original script likely AI or dubbed many decades after the original report]
June 1942. Great Britain. A group of people sit amongst the rubble in Chelsea, London to have a picnic, shortly before starting work to create allotments on derelict bomb site land.
Images from the London Blitz released by the Ministry of Information in its booklet Front Line published in 1942 Part Two
Pathé News. Silent film footage of clearing London Bomb Damage (1942)
Humphrey Jennings and and Stewart McAllister’s montage sound film ‘Listen to Britain’ in 1942 from Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Overseas Operations Branch. New York Office. News and Features Bureau. (12/17/1942 – 09/15/1945) The sound and picture quality of this transcription is very poor and much better on the version hosted by the British Film Institute at: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-listen-to-britain-1942-online
Sunday 17th January 1943
[Home Office FIle 17th January 1943 (Alert 2018-2054) 5 AA shells.]
Air raid in late evening for 36 minutes.
Sutton Trust (Dwellings) Block L. Anti-aircraft shell. Two casualties reported.
Cadogan Avenue. Anti-aircraft shell. [Cadogan Avenue no longer exists. It was redeveloped after WW2 into The Wiltshire Close estate by Chelsea Borough Council. During the war Jo Oakman said a ‘Royal Engineers Dump’ was located there.]
50 and 51 Oakley Street. Anti-aircraft shell.
27A Smith Terrace. Anti-aircraft shell.
Casualties Sunday 17th January 1943
46 year old William Harris N.F.S. (National Fire Service) Husband of Elsie Harris, of 42 Christchurch Street. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
45 year old Chelsea police constable Albert Edward Burns was injured by shrapnel splinter from a falling anti-aircraft shell while standing in the doorway of 156 London Lane, Bromley where he was staying with friends. He died on the same day while being treated at the Bromley and District Hospital.
He was the son of John Henry and Ellen Burns, of 2 Norman Villas, The Avenue, Totland Bay, Isle of Wight, and the husband of Tresse Burns, of 9 Rosehill Road, Wandsworth. He was serving in B Division of the Metropolitan at Chelsea Police Station in Luna Place.
London Transport Military Band, Chelsea, 1943.
Chelsea holidays at home. London Transport Military Band playing on a bombed site, corner of Old Church Street and Embankment, 17th June 1943. (Photo by Staff/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Monday 18th January 1943.
Holy Trinity Infants School, Seeding Street. Anti-aircraft shell.
War Bride images in Chelsea from 1943
WAR BRIDE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN WARTIME LONDON, MARCH 1943 (D 12864) Flying Officer Harold Lackland Bevan buys some daffodils for his bride-to-be from a flower seller in Sloane Square, Chelsea. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205199894 
WAR BRIDE: EVERYDAY LIFE IN WARTIME LONDON, MARCH 1943 (D 12855) Newly-engaged Marcelle Lestrange looks at her permit for Utility furniture which she has just received from Chelsea Borough Council. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205199890
1943 was a quiet year for Chelsea and most of London in terms of air-raids, and most civil defence workers had little to do.
However, the Home Defence authorities looked to the future and through Ministry of Information films and campaigns did their best to prepare for more attacks and indeed, the spectre of missile attack which the intelligence services were certainly anticipating.
Monday 15th February 1943
Not an incident but the film ‘Blitz Pact’ encouraging mutual help and refuge rather than relying on municipal rest centres.
Sunday 9th July 1943
Casualty
60 year old Annie Elizabeth Candish died in the bombing of Whitehall Cinema in East Grinstead, Sussex on 9th July 1943. She was the daughter of the late Henry and Caroline Patrick, of Chelsea and the wife of Charles Frank Candish, of 20 Forest View Road, East Grinstead.
108 people were killed when the Whitehall Cinema was bombed in the London Road, East Grinstead and another 235 people were injured. This was the largest loss of life in any air raid in the county of Sussex. The air raid took place at five minutes past five in the late afternoon when the cinema was showing the movie Hopalong Cassidy.
Tuesday 19th October 1943
Air raid in late evening for 32 minutes.
[Home Office File 19th October (Alert 2220-2252) 1 UP sell and 1 Ux UP shell.]
Walton House, Walton Street. Unexploded phosphorus shell. Damage and casualty
Walton House, Walton Street. U.P. Bad damage.
Walmer House, Walton Street. Unexploded phosphorus shell. Damage- very slight.
Langton Street. Unexploded anti-aircraft shell.
Friday 22nd October 1943
Air raid for one hour and 17 minutes in the evening.
[Home Office File 22nd October (Alert 1912-2029) 1 AA shell and 1 UX AA shell.]
Saturday 22nd January 1944
Air raid in the early hours of the morning.
[Home Office File 22nd January (Alert 0431-0548) 2 Sprengbrand C 50, one of which failed to explode.]
Radnor Walk. Unexploded bomb.
Rationing in Britain in 1944. US film feature archived by the Imperial War Museum
Monday 24th January 1944
Royal Hospital. Unexploded bomb.
Saturday 29th January 1944
Pavilion Road. Unexploded phosphorus shell.
Sunday 20th February 1944
Air raid late evening.
[Home Office File 20th February (Alert 2137-2235) 1 batch of small incendiaries.]
Tuesday 22nd February 1944
Air raid for one hour 26 minutes between late at night until early hours of morning.
[Home Office File 22nd/23rd February (Alert 2355-0121) I UP shell.]
Wednesday night 23rd February and early hours of Thursday morning 24th February 1944
Air raid for one hour and 11 minutes late evening.
[Home Office File 23rd/24th February (Alert 2205-2314) 4 HE.]
The very high casualties was caused by the dropping by a German Luftwaffe bomber of a series of four high explosive bombs. One of them directly fell between two of the blocks of flats in the Guinness Trust estate which were occupied by many of the residents described in the Home Office report as ‘working class.’
The damage was catastrophic and the detonation of four 1,000 kg bombs so close to one another heightened the destructive effect and severity of casualties.
Jo Oakman recorded the time of the four bombs falling at 22.34 (34 minutes past 10 p.m.) and she said the force was so great she ‘Got blown down’- which is really saying something if she had been at Post Don in Glebe Place or patrolling on her bicycle in that vicinity.
It was known as ‘Incident 757’ in the Chelsea Town Hall control room or ‘The Guinness One.’
Frances Faviell would write ‘…the magnitude of which was to make all the preceding ones seem trivial. […] As with all other incidents, the triumph for the wardens, especially Post C [at Lots Road], after eight days, tracing of its seventy-five dead and many more injured who were to succomb later, lay in the last words of the Control file: “Untraced, Nill.:’
It should be noted that the Smith and Dennis families each lost five members in this tragedy and four members of the Horton family also perished. The Davis, Ibbs, Revell and Sims families each lost three members of their families in this single raid.
The detailed narrative of what happened, biographies of all the victims and the investigation into the cause and impact of the bomb blasts is being developed in a separate posting. At one point an estimated 200 people were trapped in the wreckage. ARP rescuers won a George Cross and George Medal that night.
The devastation at Block Three was made so much worse by a burning gas main nearby in the King’s Road. Jo Oakman said ‘It was truly an awful night.’
It is not very widely known that a British Movietone camera team identified as R Harris and J Cotter captured film of the destruction of the Guinness Trust flats and surrounding streets in Chelsea’s World’s End.
The footage is dated 24th of February and captures the devastation of wrecked flats, houses and A.R.P. rescue workers searching for victims buried in the rubble. There is even a sequence of a man having his wrist bandaged.
Chelsea chimney sweep Anthony Smith received the George Cross for his bravery saving the lives of victims during his work with Chelsea’s ‘Heavy Rescue Squad.’ The medal citation published in the British Gazette stated:
‘On 25th February 1944 a stick of bombs fell on the ‘World’s End’ area of Chelsea destroying a four storey building. Only the shell was left standing and gas and water mains had been fractured with the gas ignited and causing rubble and neighbouring buildings to catch fire. Two floors of the building had pan caked.
Smith went into the rubble and started to tunnel reaching a casualty trapped in the front basement. Having released the victim from the debris the building’s condition had become even more precarious with the front of the building now a solid sheet of flame added with the building still crumbling around him his escape route was now blocked.
Smith carried the casualty to the rear through the smoke and fire of the building where he found a small hole to freedom. Smith again frantically burrowed away to make a whole big enough to escape the inferno. After passing the casualty through the hole, one of the main walls of the building collapsed. Smith escaped but most of his hair and eyebrows had been burned from his head.
Almost overcome by the fumes and smoke Smith went to the next building to help a colleague who was attempting to rescue a woman who was trapped in that building’s basement. The building was in a similar condition to the first one Smith had entered and he worked for up to an hour in waist deep water to help effect the rescue of the woman.
Smith carried on working with the rest of his crew throughout the rest of his shift until they were relieved sometime later.’
Pathé news filmed Anthony Smith at Buckingham Palace on 30th May 1944 when he received his medal on the same day that the future Chelsea MP, Major William Sidney of the Grenadier Guards [future 1st Viscount De L’Isle], received the Victoria Cross for his actions at Anzio.
‘Guinness Trust, King’s Road. High explosive bomb. Multiple casualties.‘
One of the 1,000 kg high explosive bombs struck between blocks one and two about six feet from the entrance to the shelters. This left a crater which measured 20 feet by 4 feet and 6 inches, and the severe damage by blast extended within a radius of 300 feet.
85 feet of the wall of Block One facing the bomb collapsed. Floor slabs about the entrance facing the bomb broke up in the blast before collapsing with the spine wall.
65 feet of Block Two facing the bomb suffered complete collapse and fire broke out among the debris. The volume of demolition was 34 feet by 65 feet and 46 feet high. The block was damaged beyond repair.
The first issue of Picture Post for March 1944 covered this incident with the headline on its front page ‘The Blitz Again.’ Two images from an original copy in the author’s possession illustrates the extent of the devastation.
This picture was most likely taken overnight during the early hours of 24th February. Block One of the Guinness Trust estate gives the appearance of being an empty shell with all of the floors having fallen in.
When daylight came it was clear that this entire block needed to be demolished and Iveagh House, Guinness Buildings has replaced it. This image appears to show the pile of rubble and debris following demolition looking across Tadema Road to the terraced houses on the other side with their top floors and roofs collapsed and windows and door-frames blown in.
Residents of Chelsea, London, try to salvage household items and bed linen from their home after a heavy German air raid. (Photo by Paul Popper/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Wednesday 23rd February 1944
King’s Road and Riley Street. Anti-aircraft shell.
Upcerne Road. High explosive bomb.
Lamont Road. High explosive bomb.
Casualties
Killed in Guinness Trust Buildings in the King’s Road.
22 year old WInifred Louisa Pearce of 38 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Thomas and Julia Louisa Crumplin; wife of A. L Pearce. Died at 85 Guinness Buildings.
65 year old Samuel Robert Caple Fire Guard; of 81 Guinness Buildings. Husband of Mabel Anne Caple. Died at 81 Guinness Buildings.
62 year old Mabel Anne Caple Fire Guard; of 81 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Mrs. Sargent, of 45 Langley Avenue, Surbiton, Surrey; wife of Samuel Robert Caple. Died at 81 Guinness Buildings.
51 year old Sarah Haddock of 82 Guinness Buildings. Widow of Thomas Haddock. Died at Guinness Buildings.
45 year old Owen Roscoe Davis Fire Guard; of 83 Guinness Buildings. Husband of F. M. Davis. Died at 83 Guinness Buildings.
17 year old Joyce Evelyn Davis of 83 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of F. M. Davis, and of Owen Roscoe Davis. Died at 83 Guinness Buildings.
10 year old Iris Margaret Davis of 83 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of F. M. Davis, and of Owen Roscoe Davis. Died at 83 Guinness Buildings.
49 year old Thomas Crumplin Fire Guard; of 85 Guinness Buildings. Son of the late Robert and Ada Crumplin; husband of Julia Louisa Crumplin. Died at 85 Guinness Buildings.
52 year old Julia Louisa Crumplin of 85 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Mary Ann Proud, of 8 Peabody Buildings, and of the late James Proud; wife of Thomas Crumplin. Died at 85 Guinness Buildings.
48 year old Albert Horton Fire Guard; of 86 Guinness Buildings. Son of the late M. W. Horton; husband of Florence Annie Horton. Died at Guinness Buildings.
48 year old Florence Annie Horton Fire Guard; of 86 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Albert Horton. Died at Guinness Buildings.
21 year old Marjorie Louise Horton of 86 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Albert and Florence Annie Horton. Died at Guinness Buildings.
10 year old Norma Horton of 86 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Albert and Florence Annie Horton. Died at Guinness Buildings.
83 year old Emily Hibbett of 86C Guinness Buildings. Widow of T. Hibbett. Died at Guinness Buildings.
54 year old Agnes Rogers of 87 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Walter Thomas Rogers. Died at 87 Guinness Buildings.
54 year old Walter Thomas Rogers of 87 Guinness Buildings. Husband of Agnes Rogers. Died at 87 Guinness Buildings.
43 year old Arthur Frederick Revell of 88 Guinness Buildings. Husband of Margaret Jane Revell. Died at 88 Guinness Buildings.
41 year old Margaret Jane Revell of 88 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Arthur Frederick Revell. Died at 88 Guinness Buildings.
13 year old Arthur Frederick Revell Jr. of 88 Guinness Buildings. Son of Arthur Frederick and Margaret Jane Revell. Died at 88 Guinness Buildings.
44 year old Agnes Irene Ibbs of 89 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Wallace James Ibbs. Died at Guinness Buildings.
16 year old Arthur George Ibbs of 89 Guinness Buildings. Son of Wallace James Ibbs, and of Agnes Irene Ibbs. Died at Guinness Buildings.
14 year old John Reginald Ibbs of 89 Guinness Buildings. Son of Wallace James Ibbs, and of Agnes Irene Ibbs. Died at Guinness Buildings.
36 year old Florence Caroline Sims of 93 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Henry John Sims. Died at 93 Guinness Buildings.
16 year old Henry Kenneth Sims of 93 Guinness Buildings. Son of Henry John Sims, and of Florence Caroline Sims. Died at 93 Guinness Buildings.
9 year old John Victor Sims of 93 Guinness Buildings. Son of Henry John Sims, and of Florence Caroline Sims. Died at 93 Guinness Buildings.
42 year old Thomas Alfred Constant Fire Guard; of 94 Guinness Buildings. Husband of Florence Rose Constant. Died at Guinness Buildings.
39 year old Florence Rose Constant of 94 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Thomas Alfred Constant. Died at Guinness Buildings.
17 year old Harold Alfred Constant of 94 Guinness Buildings. Son of Thomas Alfred and Florence Rose Constant. Died at Guinness Buildings.
47 year old Walter Edward Stokes Fire Guard; of 95 Guinness Buildings. Son of Mrs. E. Stokes, of Great Dunmow, Essex; husband of Matilda Stokes. Died at Guinness Buildings.
59 year old Nellie Harrup Fire Guard; of 98 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Benjamin Thomas Harrup. Died at 98 Guinness Buildings.
25 year old Isabella Agnes Dunn Fire Guard; of 99 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Richard Dunn. Died at Guinness Buildings.
47 year old William Smith Fire Guard; of 100 Guinness Buildings. Son of Jessie Crewe (formerly Smith), of 54 Guildford Avenue, Feltham, Middlesex, and of the late William Smith; husband of Florence Sarah Smith. Died at 100 Guinness Buildings.
47 year old Florence Sarah Smith of 100 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of William James and Mary Anne Groom, of 14 Coleherne Mews; wife of William Smith. Died at 100 Guinness Buildings.
18 year old Edward Albert Smith of 100 Guinness Buildings. Son of William and Florence Sarah Smith. Died at 100 Guinness Buildings.
15 year old Henry John Smith of 100 Guinness Buildings. Son of William and Florence Sarah Smith. Died at 100 Guinness Buildings.
13 year old Olive Joan Smith of 100 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of William and Florence Sarah Smith. Died at 100 Guinness Buildings.
9 year old Frederick Michael Bond of 136 Guinness Buildings. Son of Ivan Stanley and Agnes Mary Bond. Died at 136 Guinness Buildings.
50 year old Annie Amelia Barrett of 141 Guinness Buildings. Widow of Albert Henry Barrett. Died at Guinness Buildings.
20 year old Ernest Jams Everard Barrett Home Guard; of 141 Guinness Buildings. Son of Annie Amelia, and of the late Albert Henry Barrett. Died at Guinness Buildings.
55 year old Richard Newman Fire Guard; of 142 Guinness Buildings. Son of George R. and Mary Newman; husband of Alice Newman. Died at Guinness Buildings.
53 year old Alice Newman of 142 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Muncton; wife of Richard Newman. Died at Guinness Buildings.
13 year old Irene Joan Powell of 143 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George F. Powell. Died at Guinness Bildings.
28 year old Florence Mary Joane McCullagh of 146 Guinness Buildings. Wife of Pte. Henry James McCullagh, Pioneer Corps. Died at 146 Guinness Buildings.
46 year old Edward William Bromley Fire Guard; of 153 Guinness Buildings. Husband of Norah Elizabeth Bromley. Died at Guinness Buildings.
19 year old Elsie Bromley Fire Guard; of 153 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Edward William and Norah Elizabeth Bromley. Died at Guinness Buildings.
42 year old Norah Elizabeth Bromley of 153 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Mrs. A Drummond, of 12 East Hill, Ashford, Kent; wife of Edward William Bromley. Died at Guinness Buildings.
16 year old Eileen Bromley of 153 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Edward William and Norah Elizabeth Bromley. Died at Guinness Buildings.
16 year old Sidney Henry William Franklin Home Guard. Son of Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Franklin, of 155 Guinness Buildings. Died at Guinness Buildings.
41 year old William Hollis Fire Guard; of 156 Guinness Buildings. Husband of M. M. Hollis. Died at Guinness Buildings.
49 year old John Alfred Dennis of 157 Guinness Buildings. Husband of Louisa Dennis. Injured 23 February 1944, at 157 Guinness Buildings; died at Royal Cancer Hospital on 24th February 1944.
48 year old Luisa Dennis of 157 Guinness Buildings. Wife of John Alfred Dennis. Died at 157 Guinness Buildings.
15 year old Ronald Dennis of 157 Guinness Buildings. Son of John Afred and Louisa Dennis. Died at 157 Guinness Buildings.
11 year old Albert Dennis of 157 Guinness Buildings. Son of John Alfred and Louisa Dennis. Died at 157 Guinness Buildings.
10 year old Rose Margaret Dennis of 157 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of John Alfred and Louisa Dennis. Died at 157 Guinness Buildings.
47 year old Walter Charles Bowles Fire Guard; of 160 Guinness Buildings. Son of the late Walter Henry and Eliza Ann Bowles; husband of Rose Ann Bowles. Died at Guinness Buildings.
45 year old Rose Ann Bowles Fire Guard; of 160 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Caroline Summersby, of Lewis Buildings, and of the late William Summersby; wife of Walter Charles Bowles. Died at Guinness Buildings.
21 year old Rosina Agnes Bowles Fire Guard; of 160 Guinness Buildings. Daughter of Walter Charles and Rose Ann Bowles. Died at Guinness Buildings.
18 year old Doris Alice Adcock Fire Guard. Daughter of Edward William Adcock, of 23 Dartrey Road. Died at Guinness Buildings.
16 year old Donald Peter Slough. Son of Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Slough, of 23 Dartrey Road. Died at Guinness Buildings.
Killed or fatally injured in 514 to 516 King’s Road
65 year old William Fay Light Rescue Service; of 514 King’s Road. Husband of Christine Fay. Died at 514 King’s Road.
40 year old Christine Fay Fire Guard; of 514 King’s Road. Wife of William Fay. Died at 514 King’s Road.
46 year old Ada Platts of 514 King’s Road. Daughter of the late Walter Platts. Died at 514 King’s Road.
54 year old Catherine Smith of 514 King’s Road. Wife of John Smith. Died at 514 King’s Road.
60 year old Henrietta Kitson Fire Guard; of 516 King’s Road. Widow of Reginald Edward Kitson. Died at 516 King’s Road.
39 year old Montague Donald Meyer of 516 King’s Road. Husband of Emily Meyer. Died at 516 King’s Road.
36 year old Emily Meyer of 516 King’s Road. Wife of Montague Donald Meyer. Died at 516 King’s Road.
54 year old George Frederick Smith of 516 King’s Road. Died at 516 King’s Road.
43 year old Edith Winifred Mitchell of 518 King’s Road. Wife of Cyril Victor Mitchell. Died at 518 King’s Road.
12 year old Edward Charles Mitchell of 518 King’s Road. Son of Cyril Victor Mitchell, and of Edith Winifred Mitchell. Died at 518 King’s Road.
57 year old John Smith of 518 King’s Road. Husband of Catherine Smith. Died at King’s Road.
89 year old Maria Watkin of 528 King’s Road. Injured 22 February 1944, at King’s Road; [Died 25th February in the Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.]
Killed or fatally injured in 15 to 17 Upcerne Road
75 year old George Brodie of 15 Upcerne Road. Died at 15 Upcerne Road.
37 year old Winifred Margaret Douglas Cordwell Fire Guard; of 15 Upcerne Road. Daughter of William Cordwell, and of Harriet Mary Cordwell. Died at 15 Upcerne Road.
52 year old Ada Deane Fire Guard; of 15 Upcerne Road. Daughter of the late Edwin Deane. Died at 15 Upcerne Road.
57 year old Harry Proudley Fire Guard; of 15 Upcerne Road. Died at 15 Upcerne Road.
64 year old Edith Proudley of 15 Upcerne Road, Injured 23 February 1944, at 15 Upcerne Road; died at Royal Cancer Hospital.
47 year old Ada Howes. Wife of William Harry Howes, of 17 Upcerne Road. Died at Upcerne Road.
52 year old Edward Ives Husband of E. Ives, of 38 Elm Park Gardens. Died at Upcerne Road.
Killed at 7, and 12 to 13 Uverdale Road
57 year old Charles James Badrick Fire Guard; of 12 Uverdale Road. Died at 12 Uverdale Road.
54 year old Annie Mary Collins of 12 Uverdale Road. Daughter of the late James Collins. Died at 12 Uverdale Road.
72 year old Frederick Chapman Fire Guard; of 13 Uverdale Road. Husband of Harriet Frances Chapman. Died at 13 Uverdale Road.
65 year old Harriet Frances Chapman of 13 Uverdale Road. Wife of Frederick Chapman. Died at 13 Uverdale Road.
61 year old Annie McDonald of 7 Uverdale Road, who was injured on 23rd February 1944, but died at St. Mary Abbot’s Hospital, Kensington the following day. She was the daughter of the late Roderick Joseph and Annie McDonald.
Killed or fatally injured in Skelwith Road, Fulham
3 day old Ruth Elizabeth Jones of 13 Skelwith Road, Fulham. Daughter of Robert Owen and Lucina May Jones. Injured 23 February 1944, at 13 Skelwith Road; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital. Her parents Lucina May Jones and Robert Owen Jones were killed in this bombing incident in Fulham.
More Casualties for 23rd February 1944
53 year old Edith Jane Pearce of 6 Doria Road, Fulham. Daughter of Margaret Pearce, and of the late George Hobbs Pearce. Injured at Doria Road; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
37 year old Henry George Sidney Lystor died as a result of an enemy air raid at 57 Worfield Street, Battersea on 23rd February 1944. He was a bakelite moulder and the son of Henry John and Beatrice Lystor, of 28 Block L. Sutton Dwellings, Chelsea. His father was an ARP Warden who had been injured in the bombing of the Paultons Square shelter on 20th October 1940.
Henry G. S. Lystor lived with his wife Kathleen Maud Lystor at 20 Block C, Samuel Lewis Trust Buildings in Ixworth Place, Chelsea with their three young children, twins Doreen and Joan, aged 15 at the time of his death and son John Kenneth who was ten.
-o-
There is a possibility that this film report from Pathé News below might be of the rescue and salvage operation at the Guinness Trust buildings. The timing of the footage, early 1944, and architecture of the damaged blocks may match.
The report mentions the rescue of Mr and Mrs Knowles and a Mrs Finch.
The 1939 national Register (a census taken at the beginning of the Second World War) recorded that Publican James and Annie Knowles lived at 383a King’s Road (then called The Globe pub), and Thomas and Susan Knowles, a club steward and stewardess, lived at 2 Embankment Residences, Sands End, which were within a quarter of a mile of the stick of four bombs dropped on the Guinness Trust Estate area of this part of Chelsea.
It may be the case that these facts are mere coincidences and the bomb incident relates to another part of London. But the scene and rescue operation would have been very similar.
-o-
Thursday 24th February 1944
Air raid late evening for one hour and 19 minutes.
[Home Office File 24th February (Alert 2140-2251) 2 phospherous IB and 1 UX phosphorus IB.]
Hans Street. Phosphorus incendiary bomb.
4 Cadogan Place. Unexploded phosphorous incendiary bomb in the garden.
Royal Hospital. Unexploded bomb.
Christchurch Street. Escaped barrage balloon.
Casualties Thursday 24th February 1944
12 year old Doreen Helena Clarke of 4 Doria Road, Fulham. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Clarke. Injured at 4 Doria Road; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
21 year old Sarah Alice French, née Kerr, died in an air raid attack on 53 Old Compton Street, Soho, Westminster on 24th February 1944. She lived at 4 Oakley Gardens in Chelsea with her husband Oliver Leslie French whom she married in Chelsea in 1943.
Sarah was born in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Bengal, British India on 9th August 1923 and then baptised there on 16th September. Her father, Matthew Stanley Harper Kerr, was a sergeant in the 15th Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery of the British Army at that time. At the beginning of the Second World War she was living witn her mother Sarah Hannah Kerr and brothers Stanley and John at 51 Friar’s Road, East Ham, in Newham.
She was appointed as a Civil Servant clerk in the Ministry of Supply on 15th November 1939.
24 year old law student Oliver Leslie French was killed with his wife Sarah in the bombing of 53 Old Compton Street, Westminster on 24th February 1944. He had been educated at Cargilfield and Rugby Schools and was a BA graduate of Cambridge University. He was the son of Sir James and Lady French, of 998 Great Western Road, Glasgow, and lived at 4 Oakley Gardens, Chelsea.
Oliver’s parents placed a notice about the death of their son in a London air raid in the Scotsman newspaper. Sir James Weir French was the Chairman of Barr and Stroud Ltd, Engineers and Instrument Makers and Optical Glass Manufacturers. He was knighted in 1941 and was Chairman of the Board of Governors for the Royal College of Science and Technology in Glasgow between 1946 and 1950.
Casualty Saturday 26th February 1944
43 year old William Thomas Wheaton Heavy Rescue Service. Husband of Jessie Maud Wheaton, of 21 Lindrop Street. Died at Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest.
Casualty Monday 28th February 1944
65 year old Gace Cumming Woodger died at St James’ Hospital on 28th February 1944 as a result of injuries received in the bombing of 17 Watford Villas in Battersea on 23rd February 1944. She was the daughter of Thomas and Jane Nicholson, of Cheyne House, Chelsea, and the wife of John Woodger.
Thursday 2nd March 1944
Unexploded AA shell found in the morning.
[Home Office File 2nd March at 1115 1 UXAA shell discovered (time & date of fall unknown.)]
Tadema Road. Unexploded anti-aircraft shell.
Tuesday 14th March 1944
One air raid late at night lasting an hour and 45 minutes.
[Home Office File 14th March (Alert 2205-2350) 2 HE, 1 phosphorous IB.]
Sloane Avenue. High explosive bomb.
Clivedon Place. High explosive bomb.
Sloane Square. Phosphorus incendiary bomb.
Wednesday 19th April 1944
Short air raid in early hours of the morning.
[Home Office File 19th April (Alert 0052-0148) 1 UX UP shell.]
Brompton Road. (Kensington incident) High explosive bomb.
Pond Place. Unexploded phosphorus shell.
Bomb Damage, England- The area around Tadema Road, Upcerne Road and Uverdale Road, Chelsea, London, where whole streets had disappeared after the heavy German bombing in the “Blitz” (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Thursday 15th June 1944
Air raid beginning twenty minutes before midnight and continuing through the early hours until morning rush-hour time.
[Home Office File 15th/16th June (Alert 2340-0925) UP shell.]
Friday 16th June 1944
Royal Hospital grounds. Unexploded phosphorus shell.
Sunday 18th June 1944
Jo Oakman first became aware of the pilotless V1 doodlebug bombs when she was staying with her parents at Shoreham. She pasted a cutting from the Express newspaper and sketched its deadly form before she would be describing their equally deadly impact on Chelsea in the coming weeks.
Private Papers of Miss J M Oakman (Documents.1071) Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030001007 
Private Papers of Miss J M Oakman (Documents.1071) Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030001007
Sunday 18th June 1944
Casualties
66 year old Lady Evelyn Gordon-Lennox was killed in the V1 strike on the Guards Chapel of Wellington Barracks. She was in the congregation during the Sunday morning service.
She lived in number 631 Nell Gwyn House, Sloane Avenue, Chelsea.
Lady Gordon-Lennox was the daughter of Baron Loch of Drylaw, and Emily Villiers, of 44 Elm Park Gardens, West Brompton, and the widow of Major The Lord Bernard Charles Gordon-Lennox.
65 year old Alice Gabriel Lumley Keane also died in the V1 attack on the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks. She was resident at 8 Cadogan Court, Draycott Avenue, Chelsea.
Alice was the daughter of the late Sir Lumley Smith, K.C., and Lady Jessie Smith, of 25 Cadogan Square, and the widow of Col. R. H. Keane, C.B.E., of Cappogrim, Co. Waterford, the Irish Republic.
Monday 19th June 1944
Casualty
33 year old Evelyn Baildon Hole died at Westminster Hospital in the Horseferry Rod, Westminster on 19th June 1944 from her injuries. She was a resident of 126 Sloane Street, Chelsea and the wife of Major Peter Hole a serving officer in His Majesty’s Forces. She was another Chelsea victim of the V1 attack on the The Guards’ Chapel, Wellington Barracks at 11.20 a.m. on the day before, Sunday 18th June 1944-
Tuesday 27th June 1944
Thurloe Court, Fulham Road. Flying bomb (V1).
Chelsea Embankment, opposite Luna Street. Flying bomb (V1).
Casualty Friday 30th June 1944
54 year old Rose Petrea Nille was a Danish subject who was living at 60 Pont Street Mews, Chelsea. On 30th June 1944 she died in an air raid attack on the Tottenham Court Road.
20 year old Minnie Emily Harris from 6 Gillray Square, Chelsea. She was kllled at 15 Elcho Street, Battersea on 30th June 1944. She was the daughter of Frederick and Minnie Harris.
Casualty Saturday 1st July 1944
75 year old John Ward Houghton of 16 Acfold Road, Fulham. Injured at Avalon Road; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Captain William Sidney, VC (1909 – 1991) of the British Army, the MP for Chelsea, and later the 1st Viscount De L’Isle, leaves his hotel for the House of Commons in London, 29th November 1944. He will be the first VC to move the Address of Thanks from the Commons to the King. (Photo by J. Wilds/Keystone/ Archive/Getty Images)
British Pathé news report ‘V1 Flying Bombs Aka Banned Pictures Of Flying Bomb Killing Grounds’ (1944)
Monday 3rd July 1944
Sloane Court East and Turk’s Row. Flying bomb (V1). Many casualties. This V1 explosion at 7.47 a.m. on Monday morning 03/07/1944 caused the largest number of US servicemen casualties of any one of UK Home Front bombing incidents during WW2.
The slideshow above offers two views of the plaque unveiled in 1998 in memory of the V1 casualties as well as one view of the pavement plate commemorating the victims at what is believed to have been the ‘seat’ or precise location of the V1’s detonation. As with many monuments erected in London to symbolise WW2 events the statistics and facts offered do vary somewhat from the reality. There is certainly no evidence of nearly 100 American service people being killed, or indeed of any US women service personnel dying there on July 3rd 1944. The civilian victims certainly numbered 10.
The comprehensive narrative and detailed account of the Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East V1 disaster has been set out in a separate posting. This also includes biographies of all the civilian and US and Canadian servicemen who died.
Their names are listed below and at the present time the research has been able to identify 67 US servicemen and 2 servicemen from Canada.
Alex Schneider, ‘a resident of the Washington, D.C. metro area, and a graduate of The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., and Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.’ has developed a brilliant and most extensive online historical analysis of this London V1 incident, largely because of his family interest in the fate of the US Army 130 Chemical Processing Company which suffered so many casualties. This is set out in A Memorial: To Those Who Served, London July 3rd 1944.
Below is a contemporary aerial satellite view of the location of the V1 blast at the junction of Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East. The difference in architecture between the original surviving Victorian style Sloane Court blocks and post WW2 new build can be seen.
Civilian Casualties Monday 3rd July 1944
35 year old Doris (known as Dorothy) Eileen Reid of No 4 Gwynn House, Lower Sloane Street.
54 year old May Elizabeth Dodd of No 66 Lower Sloane Street. Daughter of the late Alfred Warner Dodd. Died at Lower Sloane Street.
71 year old Kathleen Alice Canepa. Wife of Luigi Canepa, of 1 Sloane Court. Died at 1 Sloane Court.
28 year old Luigia Alessandra Veronica Maria Vittoria Canepa. Air Raid Warden. Daughter of Luigi Canepa, of 1 Sloane Court, and of Kathleen Alice Canepa. Died at 1 Sloane Court.
74 year old Mary Elisabeth Howell-Evans of the Women’s Voluntary Service (W.V.S.); of 1 Sloane Court. Daughter of the late Canon and Mrs. W. Howell-Evans, of Edderton Hall, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire. Died at 1 Sloane Court.
72 year old Annie Mabel Howell-Evans. A.R.P. Telephonist; of 1 Sloane Court. Daughter of the late Canon and Mrs. W. Howell-Evans, of Edderton Hall, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire. Died at 1 Sloane Court.
48 year old Lilian Sarah Seymour of 1 Sloane Court. Died at 1 Sloane Court.
69 year old Margaret Ramsey Hallowes of IB Sloane Court. Daughter of the late Major General George Skein Hallowes. Died at Sloane Court.
US [and Canadian] Service casualties Monday 3rd July 1944
Private William John Stratton, 36 years old, of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps and Service Number: M/36216. Son of William Albert and Martha Stratton; husband of Thelma May Stratton, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
William A Pranzitelli. Technician Fifth Class, U.S. Army Service number 32814160 with the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company.
Richard Neal Ratliff Sr. A private in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34715034.
Frank T. Badick, a 33 year old private in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33457153.
Thomas Daniels Rylands was a corporal in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company and 26 years old when killed by the V1 flying bomb on 3rd July 1944.
Philip Joseph Conley Sr. was a 24 year old Staff Sergeant with the service number 31219085 in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company.
John C. Gray was a six foot two inch tall Master Sergeant with the service number 39830825 in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company.
Carl I. Vance was a six foot one inch private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company. He enlisted from Mississippi with the service number 34475060.
Thomas J. Cooper was a 27 year old Texas born sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 20816547.
O’Neill L Michaud was a 22 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31283078.
Elmer F. Schein Senior was a 21 year-old private in the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regt, 101st Airborne Division with the service number 13039070.
Harold T Davis was a 36 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33465593.
George P Stark was a 23 year-old Private First Class in the 7 Civil Affairs Unit of the US Army with the service number 35519223.
Vincenzo James Zanfagna was an Italian-American private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31423251.
Andrew Robert Kovalsky was a Technician Fourth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32784606 and 26 years old when caught in the V1 blast.
Robert Greening Beach was a 19 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31406865.
Gordon Rust was another very young Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company. He was only 18 years old when dug out of the rubble of Sloane Court East.
Joseph T Antonellis was a Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31424688.
Weston R. Strout was a 30 year-old married Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399472.
Robert H. Cooke was a 22 year-old Staff Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31218049.
Christian J. Rothmyer was a 29 year-old married Staff Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32857528.
James Schneller was a 30 year-old married Technician Grade 4 in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32896633.
James G. Caruso was a forty year-old married Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31391007.
Stephen Chunco Jr. was a 21 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32676280.
Edward L Jonas was a 25 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32165446.
William James Park was a 46 year old private and caterer in the Royal Canadian Army with the service number K52772.
Adrien I Vallieres was a 30 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31375446.
Frank A Hopkins was a 28 year-old married Technician Grade 5 in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399517.
Chester R Peterson was a 41 year-old Technical Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31219165.
Norman E Seif was a 29 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 36228063.
Donat E. Patry was a 38 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399495.
Philip L. Fielding was a 20 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31296653.
Romeo L Theroux was a 32 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31445916.
Raymond W. Benson was a 37 year old married Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31375319.
Theodore Booras (known as Teddy) was an 18 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31423794.
Leonard F. Kittelberger was a 25 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31219055.
Edwin Wilson Hutcheon was a 20 year-old Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31375311.
Thomas D Elder was a 34 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34009004.
Charles H. Haeffner was a 19 year old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33799387.
Joseph F. Flannery was a 33 year-old married Technician Grade 5 in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32699291 or 06809077.
Boyce V. Stone was a 28 year old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34514215.
Severino L. Salvagni was a 21 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32830101.Roland Ashman Burke was a 31 year old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399447.
Roland Ashman Burke was a 31 year old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399447.
Richard M. Pelton was a 28 year-old married Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32857162.
Raymond A. Renaud was a 20 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31253856.
Franklyn Tyler Morrison was a 21 year-old Technician Fourth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31313192.
Oliver J. Simoneau was a 32 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31375457.
Ralph Di Giovine was a 21 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32606022.
Harry Gordon Bennett Jr. was a married 33 year old Staff Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company.
Lucien E. Cournoyer was a 20 year-old Technician Grade 5 in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31290500.
Joseph Canciglia was a 22 year old Corporal in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company.
Derk Derkson was a 37 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 36272654.
Joseph J. Fazio was a 26 year-old Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33150092.
James B, Grant Jr was a 30 year-old Staff Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32041195.
Edward Leander Harrington was 24 year-old marrid private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399505.
Claude Max “Claudie” Hastey was 20 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34709932.
William A. Jackson was a 37 year-old married Technician Fourth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32896553.
John H. Maness was a 29 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 37523991.
Frank M. Mroczek was a 20 year-old Private First Class in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 16144926.
Floy R. Perryman was a 35 year old Second Lieutenant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 01038789.
William H. Pickens was a 30 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 35721175.
Lawrence H. Power was a 28 year-old married Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31440054.
John J. Powers was a 23 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32822491.
Frederick G. Welchans was a 21 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33727685.
Herbert Fisher Wilder was a 46 year old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32576559.
Charles E. Young was a 20 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company.
Saul Mark was a 30 year-old Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s Civil Affairs Division SHAEF (The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force)with the service number 20810753.
Svend E. Kiar was a 35 year-old married Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s Civil Affairs Division SHAEF (The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force)with the service number 32339418.
Reidar C. G. Ogle was a 35 year old married Private First Class in the US Army’s Second Civil Affairs Regiment stationed at SHAEF (The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force)with the service number 32966327.
Wednesday 5th July 1944
West London Extension railway and bridge. Flying bomb (V1).
Casualty
39 year old Amy Dorothy Flury of 17 Cadogan House, Beaufort Street, Chelsea was the daughter of Albert Joseph Flury. She was Injured in the V1 air raid explosion at Westmoreland Terrace in Westminster on 5th July 1944 and died on the same day at Westminster Hospital in Horseferry Road. Amy had started her working life as a ‘collar turner’ employed by Hodginsons of Pall Mall.
Amy remained a collar turner in the clothing trade until her death. Her younger sister Violet was a milliner and youngest sister Bertha a dressmaker. Her father Albert was ‘a master motor driver.’
Sunday 16th July 1944
Casualty
41 year old George Edward O’Reilly died as a result of a V1 flying bomb attack on his home at 26 Ravenet Steet, Battersea at 28 minutes past seven on Sunday evening 16th July 1944.
He was a ‘baker’s roundsman’ and the son of Edward and Catherine O’Reilly, of 178 E Block, Guinness Buildings, Draycott Avenue, Chelsea. He was married to Emily Mary O’Reilly.
Monday 17th July 1944
Casualty
49 year old Joseph Sydney Alfred Phillips. An Air Raid Warden; of 49 Barclay Road, Fulham. Son of Ellen Phillips, and of the late Alfred George Phillips. Injured 17 July 1944, at 49 Barclay Road; died on 23rd July 1944 at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Tuesday 18th July 1944
Casualty
44 year old Thomas William Sharpe was killed as the result of a V1 ‘doodlebug’ attack on the Elmers End Bus Garage in Beckenham on 18th July 1944. Sixteen staff died and 39 vehicles were destroyed, but the London Passenger and Transport Board (LPTB) succeeded in resuming their bus services from the location the following day.
The London Transport Museum has preserved the war memorial from Elmer’s End LT bus garage following the flying bomb attack of July 1944.’ This was created when the garage was rebuilt and opened in 1954. The bus garage was closed in 1986.
Thomas was a bus conductor and a member of the Home Guard. He was the son of Henry William and Rachel Sharpe, of Chelsea, London. He was also the husband of Eileen Mary Sharpe, living at 63 Chestnut Avenue in Bromley.
Monday 31st July 1944
Casualty
45 year old Robert George Kirkbride of 57 Peterborough Road, Fulham. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Friday 11th August 1944
Casualty
31 year old Leslie Langham, a leading fireman in the London Fire Brigade. Husband of Elsie Lilian Langham, of 24 Shirley Road, Bedford Park, Chiswick, Middlesex. Injured at Brompton Road; died same day at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Tuesday 22nd August 1944.
Casualties
63 year old Katherine Spence Nairn of 39 South Parade, Chelsea was the victim of a V1 strike in South Kensington at 24A Harrington Road on 22nd of August 1944. She was the daughter of the late John Nairn.
52 year old Vivian Irene Stranack. Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bracey, of Durban, Natal, South Africa; wife of Col. Harrington R. Stranack, of Crag House, Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Mrs Stranack was Injured on 22nd August 1944 in the V1 bombing of Harrington Road, South Kensington S.W.7. She died the following day on Wednesdy 23rd August at the Brompton Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest in the Fulham Road, Chelsea.
Tuesday 19th September 1944.
Discovery of unexploded bomb.
[Home Office File 19th September at 1516 1 UXB discovered (time & date of fall uknown.)]
Park Walk, rear of number 2 and 335 Fulham Road. Unexploded bomb.
Tuesday 21st November 1944
Casualty
54 year old James John James. Husband of Beatrice James, of 1 Latchmere Grove, Battersea. Injured 21 November 1944, at 1 Latchmere Grove; died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Sunday 10th December [or Saturday 30th 1944]
Casualty
Captain of Invalids at the Royal Hospital Chelsea William Henry Lockley, 55, who died in the Cottage Hospital in Ross on Wye in Herefordsire as a result of injuries sustained while rescuing victims of the parachute mine attack on the Hospital’s Infirmary April 16th/17th 1941.
He was the husband of Mrs Elsie Helena Plummer Lockley née Saunders of 57 East Street, Bridport, Dorsetshire. They married in 1915.
He joined the Royal Hospital after retiring from the British Army with the rank of Lieutenant. He had given service in the King’s Own Royal Lancashire Regiment and was in receipt of the British Victory and War medals.
There is some contradiction in the public records of whether he passed away on 10th or 30th December 1944. His funeral was held in Ross on Wye on the very day of the V2 rocket attack on the Royal Hospital building, 3rd January 1945, which would have been his home had he not been evacuated to the Hospital’s outstation at Rudhall for convalescence.
Martin Cawthorne wrote in The Royal Hospital Chelsea At War that on 16th April 1941 Lockley ‘tore into the ruins of the infirmary with his bare hands in a desperate search for survivors or any signs of life. His efforts were hampered by fumes and escaping gas, which was made all the worse for Lockley who had been invalided out of the army because of having been gassed in the First World War, and his damaged lungs and weak heart had been a source of constant trouble for him since’ (Cawthorne 2024: 187-8).
William and Elsie Lockley had three children: Gordon born in 1916, Joan in 1918 and Eric Albert in 1922. William Lockley’s youngest son Eric married Rosemary Harris at St Stephen’s Church, West Ealing in the uniform of a Lieutenant in the King’s Own (Commando) Regiment in February 1944.
Eric had lived with his parents in the London Gate House of the Royal Hospital and was educated at Westminster City School, gaining his rowing cap while at the school by beating Emmanuel College. He would pass away in Ealing in 1981.
Wednesday 20th December 1944
Casualty
39 year old Jeremiha Donovan, a fireman in the Auxiliary Fire Service. Son of Jeremiha Donovan, of 22 Everett Street, Nine Elms, Battersea; husband of Catherine Donovan, of 55 Taybridge Road, Battersea. Died at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Life in the Royal Hospital Chelsea during 1945. Images from Imperial War Museum.
ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA: EVERYDAY LIFE WITH THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS, LONDON, ENGLAND, UK, 1945 (D 25590) Two gardening Chelsea Pensioners compare produce in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The Pensioner on the right has an artificial arm with hook. The original caption states that the photograph was taken during the annual garden competition: presumably the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, which has been held at the Hospital since 1913. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205202188 
ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA: EVERYDAY LIFE WITH THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS, LONDON, ENGLAND, UK, 1945 (D 25589) Chelsea Pensioners enjoy a game of bowls in the sunshine, probably in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205202187 
ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA: EVERYDAY LIFE WITH THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS, LONDON, ENGLAND, UK, 1945 (D 25586) A Chelsea Pensioner sits on a chest to read the newspaper outside his ‘berth’ or cubicle on one of the Long Wards at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. According to the original caption ‘each Pensioner is responsible for keeping his own cubicle tidy and clean, except in cases of disability when the Ward Nurse does it!’. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205126262 
ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA: EVERYDAY LIFE WITH THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS, LONDON, ENGLAND, UK, 1945 (D 25588) Three Chelsea Pensioners work on their gardens in the sunshine at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The Pensioner in the foreground has an artificial right arm, with hook. The original caption states that ‘any pensioners who like, may have their own gardens. They can sell the produce and keep whatever money they make’. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205202186 
ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA: EVERYDAY LIFE WITH THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS, LONDON, ENGLAND, UK, 1945 (D 25576) A general view of the South front of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, with cannon from past campaigns lined up in the foreground. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205202184 
ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA: EVERYDAY LIFE WITH THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS, LONDON, ENGLAND, UK, 1945 (D 25582) A general view of part of the interior of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, showing one of the 200 foot long ‘Long Wards’. Along the right hand side of the photograph can be seen the berths or cubicles in which the Pensioners live. When designed by Wren, the berths measured six feet square. In the centre is one of the ranges which are used for cooking. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205202185
Wednesday 3rd January 1945
Royal Hospital Grounds. Direct hit, Doctor’s House, East Wing. Long range rocket (V2).
Casualties Wednesday 3rd January 1945
War artists such as Randolph Schwabe captured war-time destruction in ways photographs could not. This is his drawing of the aftermath of the last V2 attack on Chelsea.
63 year old Geoffrey Bailey, ‘Captain of Invalids’, of The Royal Hospital. son of Col. Christopher Bailey, of Bushe, Timaru, New Zealand; husband of Frances May Bailey, of The Royal Hospital. died at The Royal Hospital.
70 year old Edward Joseph Gummer an ‘In Pensioner’ died at the Royal Hospital.
47 year old Camilla Margery May of the Women’s Voluntary Service (W.V.S). Wife of Capt. Geoffrey Cruden May, The Border Regt. Died at The Royal Hospital.
17 year old Deirdre Napier. Daughter of Major William Napier. Died at The Royal Hospital.
50 year old William Napier. Physician, surgeon and Major in the RAMC. Son of Alexander and Hester Napier; husband of Katherine Margaret Napier. Mentioned in Despatches 1914-18 War. M.B., B.Ch., F.R.C.S., B.A.O.
Rescue workers and dogs search in the ruins of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea after it had been hit by a V2 “Flying Bomb” (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The scene at the Royal Chelsea Hospital, London, home of the Chelsea pensioner, as an old soldier walks past the rubble after a German raid, The building had been hit by a German V-bomb, “Flying Bomb” which caused great loss of life in Southern England and the capital. (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
-o-
The beginning of the newsreel report shows footage of the weckage caused by the V2 strike on the Royal Hospital. The lone figure of a Chelsea Pensioner taking in what has happened is evocative.
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This Pathé newsreel film is the silent footage recorded in the aftermath of the V2 rocket explosion in January 1945 and the damage caused to Chelsea Hospital Buildings. Chelsea pensioners are looking on as ARP Wardens, rescue squads and soldiers work in the wreckage. (The film is wrongly labelled 1941.)
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Gaumont newsreel report in 1945 on German V2 rockets
The end of War in Europe. Jo Oakman writes a joyful goodbye to tin hats and gas masks: ‘Whatever shall we do with them?’
Jo made an iconic colour sketch of the flagpoles, floodlights and loud speaker ready outside Chelsea Town Hall for V.E. Day and she pasted a black and white illustration of it in what would be the last page of her WW2 diaries.
Celebrations, London, England, 6th July 1945, Children at a Chelsea street party on V.E. Day to celebrate the end of the war in Europe (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Victory celebrations in London, England, 6th July 1945, Children in fancy dress at a party, one of many which marked the end of the war, Two female American service personel and a Chelsea Pensioner are also shown at the gathering at Sutton Dwellings, Chelsea (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Secret Home Office File calculating total figures for Luftwaffe bombings of Chelsea during the Second World War
HE (for High Explosive) (UX for unexploded)
HE 226
UXB 54 ( of which 9 subsequently exploded)
Parachute Mines 7.
Type G. Mines 1.
Incendiaries.
Oil 25 (of which 10 failed to ignite).
Phosphorous (of which 1 failed to ignite).
Spengbrand 050 2. (one of which failed to explode).
Small IB 20 batches.
IBEN (explosive incendiaries) 4 batches.
Mixed IB & IBEN 4 batches.
Shells (fired by anti-aircraft batteries)
AA 32 (of which 11 did not explode)
UP 5 (of which 2 did not explode) (UP stands for Unrotated (or Unrotating) Projectile shell)
Damage was caused in Chelsea on 7 occasions by bombs over the boundary or in the river.
Not included in the Home Office File.
V1 rocket vengeance weapon. 3.
V2 rocket vengeance weapon. 1.
Documentary made for ITV in 1968 on ‘Cities at War: Life In War-Torn London During WWII’ Containing many interviews and documentary footage. (Skip through the ads facilities)
The 1974 Thames Television World at War series narrated by Sir Laurence Oliver covered the London Blitz of 1940-41 in episode 4 ‘Alone’- this is available on freeview UK TV at: https://uktvplay.co.uk/shows/the-world-at-war/series-1/episode-4/5817328031001
Episode 15 ‘Home Fires’ concentrated on the Home Front during WW2 and social life across Britain during air-raids: https://uktvplay.co.uk/shows/the-world-at-war/series-1/episode-15/5817323640001
Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley. BBC television documentary first broadcast in 2021 which explores the lives of six real people who lived, worked and volunteered during the Blitz and includes ‘Frances Faviell, a Chelsea artist and socialite who received just a week’s training to become an auxiliary nurse and would end up treating a dying victim in a bomb crater.’
This 90 minute documentary is available via Learning on Screen subscription https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/17EAC863?bcast=133921556
Tales From The Blitz BBC Television 2010. ‘Seventy years ago the capital came under massive attack from Hitler’s bombs. London comedian Roy Hudd hears the extraordinary stories of the people who survived the blitz and reveals how the evidence of it is still on our doorstep today’
This 30 minute documentary is available via Learning on Screen subscription https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/01697F4E?bcast=52337037
War Walks. Blitz 29th December 1940 with Professor Richard Holmes. ‘One night and one image encapsulate the London Blitz – December 29th 1940, the night of the second great fire of London when St Paul’s rose in its glory above the smoke and flames. Richard Holmes traces the night’s events, from the sector control room where the incoming raiders were plotted through to the efforts of the firemen to save St Paul’s.’
This 30 minute documentary is available via Learning on Screen subscription https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0009A3CF?bcast=132807379
Time Team Special Buried by the Blitz. Channel 4 one hour documentary. ‘More archaeological investigations with Tony Robinson and the team. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day, archaeologists from the Museum of London enlisted the help of dozens of volunteers to excavate land under Shoreditch Park, one of the many areas in the capital repeatedly bombed during World War II. As well as coming across some interesting finds the team bring former residents back to relive their experiences during the 1940s.’
This 60 minute documentary is available via Learning on Screen subscription https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/005D3127?bcast=46641429
Words of the Blitz. ITV documentary from 2010. ‘To mark the 70th anniversary of the Blitz, this programme features contemporary first-hand accounts – some written as the bombs fell – telling the story of a defining moment in the nation’s history. Actors Dominic West, Romola Garai, Sheila Hancock, Russell Tovey and Steven Berkoff read the diaries and letters of ordinary men and women including doctors, soldiers and civil servants. Survivors of the Blitz and others with a connection to the subject also tell their own stories. Narrated by James Wilby.’
This 60 minute documentary is available via Learning on Screen subscription (Starts about 5 mins 40 seconds in) https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0169E188?bcast=52709685
This programme includes dramatised presentation from the war-time diary of 18 year old Chelsea art student Joan Wyndham and the letters of 30 year old French-Canadian Yvonne Green who was living in Old Church Street Chelsea, volunteered for the Auxiliary Fire Service, and was killed in the parachute landmine bombing of Chelsea Old Church in April 1941. The extracts from Yvonne Green’s letters and the official mortuary report on her recovered body were presented movingly by her grand daughter.
Sign Zone: The Culture Show: Wars of the Heart. BBC 2 2013. ‘For those who remained in London during the Second World War, the Blitz was a terrifying time of sleeplessness, fear and loss, but some of London’s literary set found inspiration in the danger and intensity. With the threat of death ever present, nerves were tested and affairs began; it was an absolute gift for a writer seeking new material. Presenter James Runcie tells the story of novelists Graham Greene, Henry Green and Elizabeth Bowen, and American poet Hilda Doolittle, who revelled in the creative and personal freedom they discovered even as the bombs rained down. The programme reveals how these writers distilled the surreal and often frightening atmosphere of the time into some of their finest work.’
This 30 minute documentary is available via Learning on Screen subscription https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0627F797?bcast=104723787
Blitz Cities. BBC Two 26th March 2018. 30 minutes. ‘Series marking the 75th anniversary of the Blitz. EastEnders star Shane Richie travels around his home city of London, finding out what it was like to live through possibly the worst attack in Britain’s history. In a moving journey around some of London’s worst-hit areas, he talks to survivors who still remember their horrific experiences vividly. He goes up in a plane to recreate the actual bombing routes taken by the Germans, and he experiences what life was like inside the shelters as the bombs rained down.
Available via Learning on Screen subscription. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0D0B4B9A?bcast=126429602
Swinging into the Blitz: A Culture Show Special. BBC Television Two 19th February 2013. 60 minutes.
‘When a handful of musical immigrants from the Caribbean islands came to Britain in the 1920s and 30s, it was the beginning of both musical and political change. Leslie Thompson, an innovative musician and trumpeter, and Ken ’Snakehips’ Johnson, a brilliant dancer and charismatic band leader, pooled their talents to start the first black British swing band. Clemency Burton-Hill reveals the untold story of the black British swing musicians of the 1930s, whose meteoric rise to fame on London’s high society dance floors was cut short by unexpected tragedy at the height of the Blitz.’
Available via Learning on Screen subscription. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/02F7E5DB?bcast=94011114
Living in the Shadow of World War Two. More 4 series in three parts. Broadcast in 2019.
Daily Bread. 65 minutes. Three-part historical documentary featuring archive material and interviews about everyday life during World War II. As all combatant nations introduce rationing, the commonfolk queue up and scrounge in…
Learning on Screen subscription. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/1413988C?bcast=129757676
Turn That Light Out. 65 minutes. Second of three-part historical documentary featuring archive material and interviews about everyday life during World War II. Civilian casualties start to outnumber military death as a result of bombing…
Learning on Screen subscription. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/141FD5D2?bcast=129804991
Happy Days. 65 minutes. Last of three-part historical documentary featuring archive material and interviews about everyday life during World War II. To maintain the morale of the common folk, radio and cinema came to the fore as…
Learning on Screen subscription. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/142B464C?bcast=129849105
1940: A Reminiscence by J.B. Priestley– two hour television documentary produced by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC Two 12 September 1965. This YouTube version is available (September 7th 2023) and includes a few seconds of footage of British Army Pioneers clearing the debris at Sloane Square Underground Station after the deadly bombing in November 1940. The recording was made from a rebroadcast in 1990.
The Blitz Street Series UK Channel 4 television Series
In this remarkable and expensive series Channel 4 invested in documentary television in 2010 to give viewers the chance to experience life in wartime Britain through reenactments of air raids. It was presented by Tony Robinson. It was later repeated on the Yesterday History Channel in 2018.
A specially built row of terraced houses on a remote military base is subjected to wave after wave of high explosive bombs and incendiaries, similar to those dropped by the Luftwaffe, to illustrate the devastating impact of the bombing campaigns.
Episode One– The first programme focuses on the outbreak of the Blitz in September 1940. The first bombs used against Blitz Street are the SC50 (25kg of TNT) which was the most common bomb dropped on the first day of bombing in London, and the SC500 bombs (250kg of TNT).
Available to subscribers to Learning On Screen
Blitz Street, 01:00 09/06/2018, Yesterday, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0154BFEB?bcast=126862544 (Accessed 09 Sep 2023)
Episode Two– The street is on the receiving end of one of the largest bombs the Luftwaffe ever dropped on Britain: the SC1000. With eye-witness testimonies, the programme also recounts the Luftwaffe’s horrendous bombing of Coventry on 14 November 1940 and the campaign to destroy Britain’s manufacture of munitions.
Blitz Street, 02:00 09/06/2018, Yesterday, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0155C54B?bcast=126862764 (Accessed 09 Sep 2023)
Episode Three– This episode focuses on the summer of 1944, as British hopes for an end to the war were raised by news of the D-Day landings. However, just days later Hitler sent over the first of his new secret Vengeance weapons, the V1, a jet-powered pilotless plane packed with a powerful form of explosive containing RDX. Nicknamed the ‘doodle bug’, the survivors recall the buzzing planes and the terror that came when the engine stopped, because that would mean they were about to fall.
Blitz Street, 19:00 08/05/2010, Channel 4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0156FE5A?bcast=46259911 (Accessed 09 Sep 2023)
Episode Four–
Blitz Street endures the most powerful bomb of World War II, the massive V2 rocket. This episode also sums up why the Nazi blitz bombing campaign failed, the lessons to be learnt from the experiment, and how the people who lived through the real Blitz faced the nightmare of total war – but came out stronger. The V2 travelled at over 3,500 miles an hour and had a range of over 200 miles. Unlike the other bombs that have been detonated on Blitz Street, the V2 bomb is buried three metres below ground; due to its supersonic speed, by the time the V2 detonated it was well beneath the surface.
Blitz Street, 13:00 26/02/2016, Yesterday, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0158505A?bcast=121131559 (Accessed 09 Sep 2023)
Britain’s Home Front Put That Light Out! – WWII Documentary Air Raid Precautions Home Front
‘This documentary combines archive Movietone footage and eyewitness accounts to tell the story of those who lived through the Second World War back home in Britain. Included are tales of air raids, evacuation, gas masks and the Home Guard, alongside contemporary news reports on the London and Coventry bombings.’
Chelsea In The Blitz
This is an excellent nine minute film produced for ‘The Chelsea History Festival’ in 2020 and presented by Dr Emily Mayhew.
Images included in this posting have been sourced by contemporary photographs of scenes in Chelsea taken by the author, public domain sources which include Chelsea Chamber of Commerce Yearbook 1928, Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea Guide Second Edition 1937, Revised Edition 1947, Chelsea Charm by Peter Garell 1931, An Historical Handbook to Chelsea by Reginald Blunt 1900, original printed copies of War Illustrated 1939 to 1946, Front Line 1942, Picture Post 1940 and 1944, historical postcards and archive photographs in the possession of the author and educational licence images by Historic England’s ‘Britain From Above’ project. Some images by permission of The Imperial War Museum and local studies, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Special thanks to Karen White and Chris Pain whose families lived in Chelsea during World War Two, and Malachy John McCauley, also brought up in Chelsea, who have very kindly encouraged and assisted my research. Special thanks to Marja Giejgo for editorial assistance. Research and archive facilities from Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council library services, The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, The American Battle Monuments Commission, US National Archives Washington D.C., The Imperial War Museum and UK National Archives at Kew.
If you would like to protect the history and heritage of Chelsea do consider applying to be a member of The Chelsea Society which ‘was founded in 1927 to protect the interests of all who live and work here, and to preserve and enhance the unique character of Chelsea for the public benefit.‘
I am also a great believer in the importance of local libraries for preserving the memory of community and local history. Royal Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council library services were my refuge and temples of learning when I was brought up in Chelsea. They continue to provide outstanding lending and archive services, have been invaluable in my continuing research and writing about the people of Chelsea. I give tribute to all who work in them, use them and support them.
Congratulations to The Chelsea Citizen, a dynamic new hyper-local newspaper launching in the spring 2025. Founder & Editor Rob McGibbon, Chelsea resident for 30 years and 40 years a respected and campaigning journalist. This is a significant and important development in the history of newspapers and journalism in Chelsea. Whole-hearted support from Chelsea History and Studies. Sign up for the Chelsea Citizen Newsletter.
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Hi,
What a fantastic article! I was wondering if you would give me permission/consent to use the image of “Cranmer Court as it was in the late 1930s and early 1940s”. – I am compiling a booklet for my aunt who was a Major in the ATS during WW2 and she lived in Cranmer Court in the 1960s (family say it looks similar to your image). The booklet isn’t for commercial use and going to be printed 6 times and given to various family members. Many thanks.
Dear Dino, Many thanks for your feedback. It is much appreciated. Yes, it would be fine to use this image. It was a scan of a photograph of Cranmer Court from my oiriginal copy of the 1937 (2nd Edition) Chelsea Borough Council Guide. As it is more than 70 years from publication, there are no copyright issues applyng. If you want the 3 megabyte image email t.crook@gold.ac.uk and I can send it to you if the screengshot from the website is too small a resolution. I have some contemporary views of Cranmer Court I would be happy for you to use for your booklet, if they were needed. Kind regards, Tim Crook.