Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East V1 doodlebug disaster

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 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. My research would indicate 67 US and 2 Canadian servicemen killed. All have been profiled with developing biographies below. You will also see a photograph taken by the US Army Signal Corps of the aftermath and devastation in Sloane Court East.

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.

Jo Oakman recorded in her diary for 3rd July 1944: ‘7.45 Nasty bump at Sloane Court Turk’s Row. PAC [Pilotless Air Craft] roared across sky SE [South East] – stopped its engine and dropped dead on the road between the two blocks. This block was a hostel for American soldiers and the casualties were heavy.’

Earlier on the 19th June Jo had observed: ‘PACs do not often come singly – sometimes in 2s or 3s or singly with a few minutes followed by another … the Derby on Saturday and the Allied Advance in Normandy seem to have faded from the memory of the General Public with the arrival of this new terror – the PAC – Pilotless Air Craft – with its low-flying fast speed, loud droning throb and awful moment when the engine stops and somebody is “for it”. Everybody talks about it. I heard it called “The German Bugger”.

Jo is a powerful and resonant witness to how people were feeling in Chelsea at this time. My father, Lieutenant John Hermon Crook, was now in Normandy with the 146th Infantry Brigade and the Allied invasion commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery seeking to drive the German Wehrmacht inland and put these ghastly weapons out of range.

Just before midnight Jo saw a doodlebug roaring over Chelsea travelling North West. It was ‘caught in three searchlights. It looked like a silver insect with a yellow light on its tail.’

Undoubtedly they must have been equally or more frightening at night.

The day after the Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East disaster, Jo observed that during these very nasty days and nights ‘Most casualties are from flying glass. This trouble has caused a great demand for shelters and bunks as this is now a nightly performance. This PAC attracts an enormous number of skygazers who are in their element TILL “The engine stops” – then there is a wild rush elsewhere in all directions. The ordinary man in the street is quite unmoved. A lunch time interval between “12-2” seems to be coming a daily trick to send PACs over. The prayer of the fly bomb: – ‘Praise the Lord and keep its engine running. Local searchlights pick out the PACs as they fly over to help the roof-spotters.’

The flying bomb blitz in the summer of 1944 precipitated another evacuation of London children to the countryside and a major increase in the number of Londoners queuing up to use air raid shelters. Images from Volume 8 of War Illustrated 1944.

Everyone in Chelsea would have been able to hear the V1 Flying bomb crossing the Thames, buzzing over Ranelagh Gardens and arriving over Turk’s Row 13 minutes before eight that Monday morning and the roar of the explosion which followed.

One eye witness, US soldier Samuel Edward Hatch, recalled that by the time the flying bomb reached Turk’s Row it was no longer buzzing as its engine had cut out and it was gliding to its destination silently on that morning.

Roof-spotters would have been tracking its course and the civil defence system was now so sophisticated, National Fire Service units and heavy and light ARP rescue squads were directed to the scene immediately. Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East was reached by one of these new ‘flying columns’ within three minutes.

Two Heavy Rescue lorries, two Light Rescue vehicles, four ambulances and a Mobile First Aid Post followed the fire service engines.

The tall mushroming plume of smoke and debris would have been visible throughout Chelsea and Westminster.

-o-

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.

-o-

Private Willis N. Cook of the US Army owes his life to the fact that the National Fire Service ‘were there before the debris had finished falling’ according to the Mayor of Chelsea. Yes, around 69 US and Canadian servicemen did die in this appalling incident. But many other lives were saved because Hospital staff treating the wounded said digging out and extracting people in the minutes following the blast significantly improved their chances of recovery.

Fireman Harvey Rothwell found Private Cook in the wreckage of his billet: ‘I was playing a jet on a small fire when I found him. At first I thought he was dead, but I did what I could for him and saw he got to hospital. I shall not forget that day in a hurry. My daughter was born a few hours later, so my wife and I had a bit of news for each other.’

The V1 incident was a classic Blitz example of how a lot of people congregating in the wrong place at the wrong time ‘caught it’ to use the vernacular of the 1940s. It was the local Chelsea and Westminster rush-hour and the beginning of the working week. 

The US servicemen of the 130 Chemical Processing Company were trooping out of their biletted flats in Sloane Court East to get onto a lorry parked in Turk’s Row. They had only been in the UK for two months having crossed the Atlantic after training by Atlantic convoy escorted by two destroyers to the Scottish port of Greenock and then by train to London and their base at Turk’s Row.

The immediate building in Turk’s Row facing Sloane Court East had been St Jude’s School adjoining the Duke of York’s Military School. When the school moved out in 1909, the Duke of York’s building and complex became an army barracks and the headquarters of Britain’s Territorial Army.

The US 130 Chemical Processing Company was specialised and equipped for any future outbreak of chemical warfare in occupied Europe. They were expert in maintaining and distributing protective clothing and combatting the array of poison gases and chemicals developed as weapons during the first half of the 20th century.

The Allies feared that the more the Axis Powers, and in particular Germany, suffered defeats on the battlefield, the more likely they would be tempted to breach the Hague and Geneva Conventions and use the terrible gases deployed during the First World War.

18 year-old Bill Figg was on his way home to Chelsea at the time. He had been arranging a transfer from the RAF into the army. He rushed towards the rising cloud of dust and smoke.

He would never forget the wrecked houses spilling out their contents into the street, the mangled vehicles and growing number of fatal casualties already triaged as dead and covered with blankets on the surrounding pavements.

In 1998 in an interview with the Evening Standard he described in graphic detail the carnage he had encountered. He said there were more bodies down Sloane Court East ‘than you could shake a stick at’ and recalled turning so many of them over to find there was no pulse and being confronted with glass-eyed faces. He even recalled being additionally horrified to see a head in the road. When he realised there was nothing he could do to help, he said ‘I just got on my way.’

The original caption released with this photograph of the aftermath of the V1 attack on 3rd July at Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East reads: ‘Flying Bomb Damage, crater in street, these buildings approx. 75′ from center of Impact. U.S. Army Billets, Sloane CT. S.W. Between Turks Row and Royal Hospital Road, London. Photographer: HIMES 2 July 44.’

The photographer’s position is looking south from high up on the east side of Sloane Court East about one third to half way down from Turk’s Row. This explains why so much of this side of the street needed rebuilding. Although all the windows and some masonry has been blown out of the Victorian style mansions on the west side of Sloane Court East it is possible to appreciate that from 14 onwards this side of the street survived.

The original caption released with this photograph of the aftermath of the V1 attack on 3rd July at Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East reads: ‘This photo, which was taken one block away from the flying bomb crater, shows the damage done thru the thickness of buildings. Sloane Ct. S.W. between Turks Row and Royal Hospital Road, London. England. 3 July 1944.’

The velocity of force and damage generated by the one ton explosive charge smashed through strongly constructed Victorian buildings which in some places were two brick layers thick. Residents, furniture and precious belongings would have been blown out into the piles of debris. 

The writing on the side of the lorry is: ‘War debris survey Architects Dept L.C.C. [London County Council].’ It seems the picture may well have captured members of the survey group examining the wreckage. Two US servicemen with helmets are still carrying out salvage work.

The original caption released with this photograph of the aftermath of the V1 attack on 3rd July at Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East reads: ‘American soldiers on this truck were among casualties when a pilotless plane struck somewhere in southern England. The truck was about 50 feet from its mounting. Photographer: Himes 3 July.’

There is something quite viscerally shocking about what this photograph represents in terms of the fate of the desperately unlucky US soldiers crammed into the truck. It certainly explains the large number of casualties and frightening force of the V1’s explosion. One US serviceman’s body was actually recovered in Burton’s Court; some 150 to 200 yards from where the flying bomb struck.

Bill Figg would make a lifelong pledge to make sure the scores of Americans killed on that day would be properly commemorated.

The plaque and ceremony held Sunday on 4th October 1998 with prayers and blessings conducted by one of my mentors and local Chelsea Old Church vicar, the Reverend Prebendary Leighton Tomson, made sure their sacrifice was affectionately and meaningfully remembered.

The almost immediate attendance of flying squads of doctors, nurses, firefighters trained in First Aid and the heavy and light heavy units undoubtedly meant many American soldiers critically injured from burns, falling masonry and bomb blast survived after being taken by London County Council ambulances to the nexus of hospitals in Westminster, Chelsea and Fulham.

Various contemporary views of Turk’s Row from the junction of Lower Sloane Street and Sloane Court East- the site of the V1 explosion and metal pavement plaque and stone stone wall plaque memorials to those killed as well as Turk’s Row at the junction of Franklin’s Row. Photographed in 2022 and 2023

What happened in Sloane Court East and Turk’s Row was very much a powerful memory from my childhood. After surviving the terrible Normandy campaign of 1944 Captain John H. Crook of the Hallamshires would marry my mother and in the early 1960s we lived in a service mansion flat in Sloane Court West.

Everyone knew and talked about what had happened. One of the caretakers, a former sniper in the Welsh Guards in WW2, would often walk over to the window (we were on the 4th floor) overlooking the garden between Sloane Court West and Sloane Court East and talk about the modern three story blocks toward’s Turk’s Row which the Cadogan Estate had rebuilt on the buildings destroyed.

He said somewhat fantastically that he wished he had been there on the morning of July 3rd and used his rifle to shoot the doodlebug out of the sky and save those he described as ‘brave doughboys.’ 

Various contemporary views of Sloane Court West (2022 and 2023) the Cadogan Estate mansion block mirroring the original Sloane Court East on the other side of the gardens. The west side of Sloane Court West has gardens adjoining a block of similar late Victorian service mansion flats in Franklin’s Row which is also shown. There are also two views of Sloane Court East from the Royal Hospital Road looking toward’s Turk’s Row.

The building we lived in would have been a duplicate of those destroyed in 1944. The mansion service flats still had ‘dumb waiter’ lifts harking back to a time the Victorian and Edwardian residents would have had their meals prepared by servants and delivered directly to their rooms.

I distinctly remember a spectacular firework display in the private gardens for the residents between Sloane Court East and Sloane Court West on November 5th Guy Fawkes night. It was a delight for the children, including those from US diplomat families leasing the replacement block nearer Turk’s Row.

But I also remember hearing that for some of the older residents the bangs and iridescent explosions were an unwelcome reminder of the 57 consecutive nights of the Blitz between 1940 and 1941 and the carnage of July 3rd 1944.

A myth has developed that there was much resentment in Britain towards US servicemen because they ‘were over here, overpaid and oversexed.’ In London there is an argument that the exact contrary may have been the truth with many people.

The doughboys, as they were affectionately nicknamed, were respected, welcomed and loved much more platonically than is realised. The origin of the nickname is unclear. It was used in Britain to refer to US servicemen during World War One. My mother jokingly told me when I was a child it was because the Americans saved the British people from starvation by bringing over millions of doughnuts. Since then I can’t rid myself of the subconscious association with any American person I meet with the prospect of eating delicious jam doughnuts.

Men of the 130 Chemical Processing Company had been heroically volunteering in the desperate civil defence rescue efforts through late June and July 1944 when the flying bombs began to wreak their terror and destruction.

The proof of the high esteem held for them by Londoners is evident in the Daily Herald column by the celebrated columnist Hannen Swaffer, known as the ‘Pope of Fleet Street’, which was published in the paper’s edition the day after the V1 Turk’s Row disaster:

‘I must pay a tribute to the behaviour, among the tragic scenes, of the American troops still among us. They told me of one case in which when a bomb demolished a house a warden who had run to the scene, a distance that took him only about five minutes, found that half a dozen Doughboys had already dug out all the eight people who had been buried in the ruins. Then, whatever the Army regulations may be, they rush up in jeeps and lorries to carry bombed people to rest centres, and with a cheeriness that makes them unforgettable friends.’

The Daily Herald carried a dramatic front and back page despatch by its reporter W.A.E. Jones on 4th July capturing what it was like to be in London during the flying bomb Blitz of the Summer of 1944:

‘Over the rooftops a black pall of smoke rears up against the skyline. It spreads out like a mushroom. A flying bomb has just dropped- on open ground.

But the ground under our feet shivers. A splinter of glass topples from a window.

We watched the bomb flaming across the sky. We have watched this same sort of thing for 18 days and 19 nights now.

Over in Germany the propaganda trumpets are blaring: “Life in Southern England is at a stand-still.”

So I have chosen this spot here today to test this Nazi claim. It just doesn’t hold water.

It just doesn’t hold water because:

With danger overhead, Ernie Pym, the telegraph boy, cycles by with five telegrams in his pouch, tin hat cocked, whistling.

Mac McAndrew, the milkman, shrugs his shoulders to the noise above us and shouts, “Mind my bottles,” and trundles his load along the street.

Gladys Oswald, blonde bus conductress, leans from her platform, looks at a dump, looks up at the latest arrival from France, slams her bell push, says: “Get cracking driver, or we’ll be late for Berlin.”

“Ma”- they call an old, grey-haired woman of 67 this down here- shuffles along the glass-strewn streets on her way to a hospital where for 16 years she has scrubbed the floors.

“Ma’s” home crashed around her an hour or two ago.

But she has found her satchel of cleaning materials, slung her shawl over her head, brushed the dust and debris from them, and is on her way to her job.

We go into the “local.” Plaster is still falling from the ceiling. Laths hang down in a crazy pattern work.

“Close the door”, shouts the landlord. But there isn’t any door. Nor windows. Nor window frames. But the pumps are still working.

Willie Wiley, the local street cleaner, goes by. He goes by along the gutter, pushing his brush through the layers of splintered wood and broken tiles.

We call him in. “Come and have a pint,” we say. But Willie Wiley goes by doing his work.

These folk aren’t being melodramtic. They never think in terms of being heroic.

They are just going on with their work in the wake of the bombs. They don’t mark time with death and danger. They seem physically incapable of fear. This is the answer to Nazi propaganda. This is the living picture of how life still goes on when a bomb has landed, when another bomb is racing over us.

Volume 8 of War Illustrated in 1944 presented images showing 1- mechanics of a flying bomb; 2- Germans launching a V1 flying bomb in Northern France; 3- blowing up a V1 by interception with searchlights and flak on the South coast; 4- examining the wreck of a V1 vengeance weapon which has not detonated and fallen in a field in Southern England.

Nobody pretends to like the fly-bombs. They are causing suffering and misery. But they are not causing a hold-up.

“We just can’t afford to slow-pedal now,” was how a carpenter patching up a battered porch summed it up for me.

This man has three sons in Normandy. He wants the war over. He says it will SOON be over. He says nothing must delay the inevitable.

And he spluttered out a mouthful of tin tacks as he said “Hitler’s buggered. This won’t help him at all.”

In the bombed areas you will find this feeling that we have won the war if: “we keep going” and that no cost is too high to pay now for victory.

Even Ellen Norwood, 36 year-old domestic worker, and a woman with a load of worries on her shoulders, is not despondent.

She was bombed in 1942. Her mother was killed. Ellen took on the job of caring for her brothers and sisters- three of them, the eldest aged 12, the youngest three.

She mothered them. She worked at her job in the day time. This morning her home crashed about her.

She was lying in bed in the parlour with Patricia, aged three, alongside her.

When the bomb fell she rolled over Pat, shielding her with her body.

Wreckage heaped itself up over the bed. When the last spar of wood had dropped on Ellen, she crawled out with Pat clutched in her arms.

“It was a miracle,” she told me as we stood in her home- now a wrecked shell of a house. “I had sent the other two children to the shelter. We are all safe. I’m going back to my job as soon as we can get refitted for everything. We want money, clothes, new ration books, a fresh place to live- I suppose you could call it a fresh start in life.”

She could still grin, this girl, whose cracked, blackened lips hurt her as she talked.’

The Turk’s Row V1 flying bomb was reported in Britain’s national newspapers though its horror would have to compete with the accounts of similar tragedies in papers with limited space due to paper rationing.

The New Chronicle reported: ‘U.S. Soldiers killed. American soldiers were among the victims when a P-plane fell on a building and also damaged other buildings. A number of bodies were removed from the debris, but it was feared that several more were still buried. Other U.S. soldiers helped in the rescue work.’

The Westminster and Pimlico News went to press on Friday 7th July 1944 and carried detailed descriptions of V1 incidents happening in the area during the previous week.

It credited American servicemen going out of their way to help local civil defence workers.

It is more than conceivable that many of those helping in the nearby Westminster incidents could have been among the casualties themselves on the 3rd of July.

The front page coverage is a compendium of reports from flying bomb attacks in and around the Pimlico area and likely includes the Turk’s Row attack. Wartime censorship meant the paper could not identify the individual streets and locations.

The victims quoted appear to be linked to other incidents such as at Peabody Avenue, Tufton Street and Westmorland Terrace, but the interview with Leading Fireman Walker may well relate to Turk’s Row:

‘Flying bombs still come to Southern England. The stories that are told … are typical of the quiet heroism displayed by the people. Scenes enacted when a robot plane crashed in one area brought tears to the eyes of onlookers. Aged but brave women, who had lost all their treasured possessions, were taken to a rest centre, there to forget, amid the kindness and generosity of wardens and women voluntary workers … A graphic description of how he heard, sighted and watched the ultimate descent to earth of a flying bomb was given to a reporter by an A.R.P. warden. He was one of the first men to arrive at the point where the bomb fell. “Accompanied by my mate, I was strolling along a street and everything seemed to be normal. As we both looked upwards a buzzing sound moved, or appeared to move through the sky. Realising at once that it was a robot plane, we decided to get going fast. With a loud bang it crashed on a building, uprooting an apple-blossom tree and damaging some houses. My pal and I were soon there, followed shortly afterwards by an American Service van, and we were at work immediately.”‘

‘Fireman’s Good Work. When Leading-Fireman George Walker was called to a house in Southern England that had been wrecked by a flying bomb, he found a man with both legs broken trapped in the ruins of the upper floor. While a warden supported the wreckage Leading-Fireman Walker used handkerchiefs, rags and the remains of the garden fence to make improvised splints, and inch by inch lifted the victim out to safety. “The job was beautifully done,” said the doctor who attended him. “Both legs were perfectly immobilised until the patient reached hospital.” A plumber in peace time, Leading-Fireman Walker learnt first aid since he joined the Fire Service. “I always thought those lectures might come in handy one day,” he says. Firemen are soon on the scene of every flying-bomb incident and their skill is invaluable.’

Various contemporary views of Sloane Court East showing the new buildings replacing those destroyed in the V1 flying bomb explosion and those original mansion terraces which survived, including a view of the gardens between Sloane Court East and Sloane Court West. The largest number of victims who died were living in and billeted between 1 and 10 Sloane Court East– even numbers on the West side and odd numbers on the East side.

The editor of the Westminster and Pimlico News was outraged by the tragedy and cruelty of the flying bomb campaign and the weekly’s 14th July edition contained the angriest editorial you are ever likely to read:

‘Humanity! So dastardly a method of warfare is the flying bomb that Londoners and Southern Englanders are pertinently inquiring how the Allies propose to deal with a race capable of such hideous brutality. The “old school tie” complex which pleads that we should not kick a man when he is down will find little support among those whose homes have been wrecked and their loved ones killed or injured. None of us, however much we have suffered, would want to kick any man once he had been floored, but the Germans are not men. They are brute beasts in human flesh. For many years a doctrine of bestiality has been preached, the Bible has been rewritten, the Fuehrer has been deified and the young German has been taught that all those things which we regard as good are inherently evil and that all those things which we consider evil are inherently good.’

The editorial called for revenge in ways which are difficult to understand now. He argued that as the Germans ‘intended to sterilise 35,000,000 Britishers if they invaded these islands and to treat the remainder as serfs, procreating further generations of serfs: ‘We should be more forthright. We should sterilise the German nation discriminately, so that no more little Nazis could bawl vengeance from the cradle.’

The writer William Sansom was serving in the Auxiliary and National Fire Service at this time and in The Blitz: Westminster At War he evocatively described what it was like to arrive at the scene of a doodlebug bombing when in one of the emergency response columns:

‘Drove swiftly through the quiet Sunday streets. Sometimes at odd corners or through a breach in the skyline of tall buildings the huge buff plume showed itself, calm and clean as sand against a pale bluish sky. Then, gradually, the immaculate polish showed a ruffling, stray scraps of paper suggest the passing of a crowd, a weed of splintered glass sprang up here and there on the pavements, another and invisible weed seemed to be thrusting the window frames from their sockets and ahead, as the tangle grew denser, the street hung fogged with yellow dust.

Our destination lay within the dust. Once inside it was easy to see, only the outer air had painted it opaque. But it was like driving from the streets of a town into sudden country; nothing metropolitan remained to these torn pavements, to the earthen mortar dust and the shattered brick returning to the clay. The fire-bomb had blasted a pause within the pause of Sunday morning. Ambulances already. Two or three people stood about, handkerchiefs to their red-splashed faces.’

Images from Volume Eight of War Illustrated illustrating the menace, fear and destruction caused by V1 flying bombs on London. 1- Buzz bomb descends after its engine has cut out; 2- Passengers alight from bus in Fleet Street as the mushroom of blast rises behind them after a deadly V1 has fallen on the Aldwych 30th June 1944; 3- Salvage and rescue work after a V1 has blasted a London block of flats; 4- the devastation caused at the Guard’s Chapel, Wellington Barracks when a V1 blast killed 121. A resident of Chelsea died at the Brompton Hospital from her injuries received in this incident.

The idea of large numbers of anonymous victims never being identified in London WW2 bombing incidents may be something of another myth which needs to be scrutinised.

By implication the myth somewhat unfairly traduces the professionalism of London’s ARP and civil defence services along with the forensic pathologists and mortuary teams working for London Councils.

In this case it was Chelsea Borough Council and the St Stephen’s Hospital mortuary at 236 Fulham Road SW10 which was tasked with identifying the victims of this incident. England’s very long established Coroner’s system of inquests and investigation into sudden deaths also sought to account for people who died in violent events; even in war-time.

The RAF overflew this site on 18th June 1941 showing the Barrage balloon over Burton’s Court and the widescale damage of the Cheyne Place bomb-site is also evident in the Royal Hospital Road as well as the destruction caused by the bombing of Shawfield Street.

Source Historic England Archive (RAF photography)    Historic England Photograph: raf_241_ac2_v_0173 flown  18/06/1941

It is therefore possible to zoom in on the buildings around Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East three years before they would be devastated by the V1 flying bomb at 13 minutes to eight on the morning of 3rd July 1944.

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 and connection in the fate of the US Army 130 Chemical Processing Company which suffered so many casualties. 

His grandfather Samuel Edward Hatch served in this very unit and had a miraculous escape on the day of the bombing. He had switched places with his ‘buddy’ Private ‘Teddy’ Booras at the last minute. Teddy was killed. Samuel survived. This is set out in A Memorial: To Those Who Served, London July 3rd 1944.

This resource includes remarkable US Army Signal Corps black and white images of the aftermath of the V1 attack- the most detailed collection I have seen of any V1 flying bomb attack on London.

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.

The records of those who died are divided between London civilian war dead who were living mainly in flats destroyed in the blast and the many United States servicemen stationed and present at Turk’s Row.

There is currently a discrepency in the figures for casualties reported by the monuments compared with official records. The pavement metal plate memorial is somewhat vague in stating nearly 100 men and women. 

Although no US servicewomen were killed in this incident, the reference to women well may be based upon the fact that many US servicewomen based with SHAEF in London and also billetted in the Sloane Court East flat had been injured.

The wall plaque heroically campaigned for by Chelsea resident and photographer Bill Figg refers to 74 American military personnel and 3 civilians. Chelsea mortuary records from 1944 identified 48 US and Canadian servicemen, and the remains of possibly 17 further US personnel. 

All of the ‘unknowns’ were male. It is likely many of them were eventually identified by the US Army because they had specific numbers attached to their clothing and webbing when identity discs were missing from their bodies.

There were nine Chelsea Borough Council civilian residents identified. William L Sclater was identified by the Westminster Council system of recording civilian deaths having been taken to St George’s Hospital at Hyde Park Corner before dying from his injuries; thus making a total of ten civilians.

66 US military servicemen have been identified by Alex Schneider and Pete Wood. With the two Canadians, and the US paratrooper Elmer F. Schein I would put forward a final figure of 69 North American servicemen.

Any discrepency between this figure and the Chelsea mortuary records is by a factor of one. This means the research by Alex and Pete has been impressively accurate and most likely represents the true figure of service casualties from the United States.

Civilian Casualties

34 year old Doris (known as Dorothy) Eileen Reid of No 4 Gwynn House, Lower Sloane Street. Daughter of Caroline Hall (formerly Reid), of 6 Walsingham Mansions, Fulham Road, and of the late John Reid. Died at 4 Gwynn House. Alex Schneider has been in contact with the descendants of Doris ‘Dorothy’ Eileen Reed who have provided a portrait of her and their family history of the event.

Dorothy Reid’s grave is tended for and maintained by her family in the Brompton Cemetery. The cemetery’s entry states: ‘Sadly Doris perished as a result of an enemy V1 bomb attack at Gwynn House. Her 3 year old son survived and was dug out of the rubble.’ Her gravestone bears the inscription: ‘In loving memory of Doris Eileen Reid (our Dorothy) Died July 3rd 1944 by enemy action.’

Gwynn House had its entrance on Lower Sloane Street close to the junction with the Royal Hospital, Pimlico and Chelsea Bridge Roads. But Dorothy’s ground floor flat backed onto the Sloane Court East terraced houses which took the force of the one ton explosive blast from the flying bomb.

The Chelsea Borough records state that Dorothy’s father John had been a detective inspector in the Metropolitan Police. Her son Andrew John Reid, who miraculously survived the blast while still in his pram, was brought up by his grandmother and surviving family. Born in Chelsea, public records indicate he married Margaret Cowie in Westminster in 1975 at the age of 34.

54 year old May Elisabeth Dodd of No 66 Lower Sloane Street was the daughter of the late Alfred Warner Dodd. She died at Lower Sloane Street. May Dodd was a well known and popular figure in Chelsea and she was the only civilian casualty whose funeral was reported in the local Chelsea News and West London Press and Westminster and Pimlico News weekly papers.

66 Lower Sloane Street is actually situated in Turk’s Row and overlooks the entrance to Sloane Court East. It is currently the neighbour of the “exclusive private members'” Sloane Club. For many years it had been the ‘Chelsea Cake Shop’ and is now at the time of writing ‘Sloane Gems.’

In July 1944 it was ‘Dress Age’ where May was the manageress and living in one of the flats above. She was dressed for work in her satin shoes and found thirteen minutes after the V1 crashed down into Turk’s Row.

It might be a sobering thought that the Germans had only been one hundred to two hundred yards away from potentially killing one of the war-time government’s most important civil servants- Sir Alexander Cadogan. He was the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office. The Secret Intelligence Service MI6 answered to him. That morning Sir Alex and Lady Theodora Cadogan would have been having breakfast at number 18 Lower Sloane Street. Sir Alex’s manservant Gordon Fuller would have been laying out his employer’s clothes for the long day ahead of appointments in Whitehall.

It seems Sir Alexander Cadogan was not the only famous person to have been fortunate not to have been struck by the V1 buzz bomb which fell in this part of Chelsea on July 3rd 1944. Alex Schneider for the London Memorial site reports how a PBS documentary on band leader Glenn Miller reveals that he and his band had been staying at 25 Sloane Court East in early July and left for Bedfordshire the day before because of the apprehension caused by the flying bomb campaign. This coincidence is explored from 30 minutes 46 seconds of the PBS documentary.

This part of Chelsea during the 1920s and 30s was developing a reputation for shops and businesses catering for haute couture and modern fashion. They were the precursor to the 1960s boutiques which would characterise the King’s Road and make Chelsea the centerpoint for the ‘Swinging Sixties.’

May Elisabeth Dodd was born 15th November 1889 at 29 Montefiore Street, Battersea. Her father Alfred Warner Dodd, originally from Bethnal Green, had been a carpenter and cabinet maker.

He worked for the well known local builder and decorater Arthur John Moffrey whose business premises were at 14a Caroline Street Pimlico (now Caroline Terrace) and was a longstanding resident of 29 Bramerton Street in Chelsea. May’s mother Caroline née Donovan was from Deptford and passed away in 1897 when May was only 7 years old.

By 1901, her father had remarried Emily Ellen (Kate) Marshall in 1898 and they were living at 27 Elliott Road Chiswick. In 1911 May was 21 years old and working as a shop assistant with her father’s sister, dressmaker Sarah Matilda Elizabeth Graves, at 66 Lower Sloane Street. They were all living at 11 Ranelagh Grove in Pimlico.

By the time of the 1921 census May was 31 years old and sill working with her aunt Sarah Graves at the shop ‘Dress Age’ on the ground floor of 66 Lower Sloane Street. May, her aunt Sarah, her father Alfred and stepmother Emily had moved to 17 Brackley Road Chiswick. May’s father Alfred died in 1929 at the age of 74.

When Sarah Graves passed away at the age of 67 on 21st November 1931, she left her estate of £518 and one shilling to her sister-in-law Emily. This had the current purchasing power (as of 14th January 2024) of £44,221.48. Emily Ellen passed away in Chelsea in 1944 at the age of 82 only a few weeks before her stepdaughter would be killed by the V1.

The Chelsea News said May Dodd had ‘resided in Chelsea for many years and was well known in the Sloane Square neighbourhood.’ The paper’s obituary added a ‘large circle of friends will be grieved to learn’ of her ‘death by enemy action.’ The funeral service at St. Barnabus’s Church in the Pimlico Road was conducted by the Rev. Father Worledge who accompanied the cortége to Chiswick where only five weeks before May Dodd’s stepmother had been laid to rest.

May is commemorated in a monument in the cemetery of St Nicholas Church in Chiswick along with her father Alfred Warner Dodd, stepmother Emily Ellen Dodd and her aunt Sarah Elizabeth Graves. 

May Dodd was the only local artisan and shopkeeper killed by the V1. The bizarre fatefulness and serendipity of how an explosive blast of this kind impacts on some people in the vicinity or not and on some buildings or not means that May, like all the others was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Rose and Crown pub on the corner of Lower Sloane Street and Turk’s Row had been there for more than 200 years. The original 18th century inn was pulled down and rebuilt in 1933 as a five-storeyed block called Gwynn House, with flats above the tavern.

It was the cherished and popular local for people in this part of Chelsea including the US service people for whom Sloane Court East was a temporary home in World War. The new pub building lost its doors and windows, but remained largely intact and would survive to be business as usual within the year.

80 year old William Lutley Sclater of 10 Sloane Court East received injuries in the V1 explosion, but succumbed to them on 4th July 1944 at St George’s Hospital in Hyde Park Corner. This was the nearest emergency casualty hospital to the scene of the disaster. The CWG gives his middle name as ‘Luttey’, though it was in fact ‘Lutley’.

This matches the identity of a William L Sclater who was born in the Belgravia area of Chelsea, Pimlico and Westminster in September 1863. At the age of 7 he was living with his father Barrister at Law Philip Sclater and Scottish mother Mrs Jane Anne Sclater at 15 Lower Belgrave Street with his two brothers Bertram and Guy at the time of the 1871 census. They appeared to be a properous Victorian professional middle-class family with a cadre of servants living in the family home including a footman, two housemaids, a cook and a nurse.

William Lutley Sclater had a distinguished life as a traveller, scientist, writer and museum director. He was educated at Winchester College and Oxford University. On 7th July his passing would be marked with short obituaries in national and regional newspapers. He was described as an authority on ornithology having published several works on the subject.

He was honorary secretary to the Royal Geographical Society and from 1909 onwards until his death had worked on the supernumerary staff of the Natural History Museum. He had been a university professsor in Colorado USA, and director of museums in India and South Africa, as well as a lecturer in science at Cambridge University and Eton College.

When he was teaching science at Eton College from 1891, Sclater met his future wife, Charlotte Mellen Seymour Stephenson, an American divorcée whose two sons attended the school. They married at St George’s Church in Hanover Square London in 1896. Sclater’s stepsons would be killed in action during the Great War. Charlotte would pass away in January 1942 at the age of 82.

On the 15th May 1903 the London Evening Standard had reported:

‘The Fellows of the Zoological Society have decided to present a testimonial to Mr. William Lutley Sclater, in appreciation of his merits and of his conduct in the recent contest for the Secretaryship of the Society. Mr Sclater was summoned from Cape Town in January last to undertake the duties of Secretry, and although he had warning that opposition might be expected, it is stated that he could not have foreseen that, in addition to his arduous official duties, he would have to face a campaign of an unusual kind. The testimonial adds that throughout trying circumstances he “acted with a dignity and reserve which may in some measure have sacrificed his own interests, but which place him all the higher in our estimation.” The signatories- who already number 550, and include many members of the scientific section- further express the opinion that Mr. Sclater’s scientific attainments, high character, and proved ability would have fully satisfied the claims of the position.’

William Lutley Sclater authored many leading publications on scientific zoology and ornithology during the early decades of the 20th century and these are now being republished.

William Lutley Sclater and his wife Charlotte moved to 10 Sloane Court East during the First World War and became longstanding residents of this part of Chelsea which is on the border with Westminster and could also be described as Belgravia. In the 1921 census they were entertaining two of Charlotte’s relatives from Augusta Maine, USA and they were looked after by five live-in servants. By 1939 and the beginning of WW2 the household was being attended by three live-in servants and a state registered nurse because of Charlotte’s ill-health.

When Charlotte Seymour Sclater died on 7th January 1942 at Tilecotes, Great Marlow in Buckinghamshire she left probate of £489 which has a purchasing power in 2024 of £29,264.80. William Lutley Sclater’s probate in 1944 was £9,173 which has a purchasing power at the time of writing of £516,677.07.

71 year old Kathleen Alice Canepa. was the wife of Luigi Canepa and she died at 1 Sloane Court East along with their adult daughter Luigia. It took rescuers many days before they were able to recover their bodies. Kathleen was found at 11.17 on the morning of Satuday 8th July 1944- five days after the V1 strike. Her daughter was not found until 2.17 p.m. on Sunday 9th July. They may have been having breakfast when they were killed.

28 year old Luigia Alessandra Veronica Maria Vittoria Canepa had been an Air Raid Warden. Kathleen and her daughter, known as Victoria, were staying with retired Colonel James Colvin and his wife Katherine at the early 15th century house Catchbells, 296 London Road, Stanley near Colchester at the beginning of the Second World War. This country household was attended to by four live-in servants; two cooks and two house parlour maids and there was an adjoining fruit farm. The property is now Grade II listed.

Kathleen and Victoria would return to London during the phoney war and the service flats built by the Cadogan Estate at Sloane Court East were ideal for staying in London.

Kathleen’s marriage to Luigi Canepa had been her second. She had been born in Melcombe Regis, Dorset in 1873. Her father George Joseph Purcell had been a Commander in the Royal Navy and he died when she was a child. By the time of the 1881 census, she was eight years old being brought up by her widowed mother at Florence Villas in Fowey, St Austell in Cornwall. Kathleen had a sister Emily Frances who was a year older than her. Her mother, also called Emily, was able to live off the pension and annuity of her late husband. Three servants, a cook, ladiesmaid and housemaid looked after them in an all woman household.

Kathleen was 34 when she married Aubrey Frederick Willoughby at St Peter’s Church in Eaton Square on 11th July 1907. Aubrey was the third son of the Honourable and Reverend Percival George Willoughby. This was the beginning of the Chelsea connection because Aubrey, 50, was living at 6 Egerton Gardens in Chelsea’s Knightsbridge area when they married.

Aubrey died 7th January 1911 and left her a large amount of shares in the Great Western Railway Company and the probate reported was £3,599 3s. 1d which has the purchasing power today of around £531,278.48 (16th January 2024). They were residing at 30 Milnthorpe Road, Eastbourne at the time of Aubrey’s death. On 22nd June 1912 Kathleen married Giovanni Luigi Canepa, the only son of Signore Canepa of Sestri, Levante Italy at St James’s Roman Catholic Church, Spanish Place, George Street in London.

Kathleen was 42 when she gave birth to their daughter in 1916 who was christened with no less than five forenames- Luigia Alessandra Veronica Maria Vittoria. Great Britain and Italy were allies during the Great War. But the beginning of the Second World War was awkward for Italians living in Britain with Benito Mussolini’s regime declaring war on Britain in 1940. Many British Italians were interned and some died on their way to Canada when the SS Arandora Star which was carrying Italian and German internees, detained under Defence Regulation 18B, was sunk by a U-Boat near Ireland.

By 1943 Mussolini had been deposed, Italy had reached an armistice with the Allies, and Kathleen’s daughter Victoria was working in civil defence as an ARP Warden. They were the paying tenants of one of the service flats at number 1 Sloane Court East which took the full force of the Flying Bomb’s explosive charge.

1 Sloane Court East had become a microcosm of the seismic social changes brought about by WW2. As Ifor Evans said in his 1946 novel The Shop On The King’s Road ‘In retrospect, I see that the thirties were the Indian Summer of the Middle Classes. The war forced the Middle Classes to adopt the social ways of life of the working classes.’

The wealthy, previously looked after by the servant class, were now largely ‘all in it together’ with everyone else, and seeking refuge in the same air raid shelters. Yes, privilege still had its advantages, but all members of the class system were fighting and dying together.

Two of the residents ‘of private means’ at 1 Sloane Court East were in the ARP and another was working for W.V.S. serving in a rest centre for the homeless who had been bombed out of their houses. The V1 doodlebugs did not discriminate between aristocracy, bourgeoisie or working class. Falling masonry from high explosive killed you whether you were avec ou sans culottes.

If Luigia Alessandra Veronica Maria Vittoria Canepa had survived the Second World War she would have been a wealthy young woman. Her father Luigi Giovanni Giuseppe Bartolomeo Canepa of Villa Canepa, Sestri, Levante, Italy died on 11th March 1950 at the Hospital San Martino in Genoa, no doubt with a grieving and broken heart. He left an estate in England of £32,794 11s 9d which in 2024 (as of 16th January) has a purchasing power of £1,408,289.91.

74 year old Mary Elisabeth Howell-Evans of the Women’s Voluntary Service (W.V.S.) was also killed at 1 Sloane Court East. She was the daughter of the late Canon and Mrs. W. Howell-Evans, of Edderton Hall, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire. Her younger sister Annie Mabel died with her in the V1 blast. The destruction of this building had been so extensive salvage teams did not recover Mary’s body until 11 a.m. on the morning of the following Saturday 8th July 1944. Annie Mabel’s body had been found the day after the bombing. They were identified by the help of their friend the Reverend Hugh Worledge who was the vicar of St Barnabus in the Pimlico Road.

72 year old Annie Mabel Howell-Evans. had been an A.R.P. telephonist and lived with her sister in the same service flat at 1 Sloane Court East. Annie Mabel had been a Red Cross volunteer at the start of the Great War in 1914. Annie and her sister Mary are commemorateded by memorial inscription in the buriel ground of St Leonard’s Church, Pitcombe in Somerset ‘both killed by enemy action in London whilst on war work.’ They were among the oldest civilian defence workers serving in Chelsea and Westminster during WW2.

48 year old Lilian Sarah Seymour died at 1 Sloane Court East in a building where she had lived most of her life. For her father George Wheatley was from the Bloomsbury area of central London and had moved there with his wife Bessie to be the porter and housekeeper for the block of flats after its completion at the end of the 19th century. It was the London equivalent of the concierge system in Paris. Lilian was born there on 15th July 1895 as was her younger sister Amy in 1898, older sister Annie in 1892, and brother Frederick in 1894. Another sister Dorothy arrived in 1903, and two more brothers followed: Charles in 1906 and Sidney in 1910.

Historical views of Sloane Court East and Sloane Court West from early 20th century postcards, Ordnance Survey and street maps published 1900, 1913, 1937, 1948, 1958 and 1963. In 1900 they were called Revelstoke Gardens. The blocks were designed for and built by the Cadogan Estate at the end of the 19th century.

Lilian Sarah was baptised in St Matthew’s Church, Great Peter Street and millinery was her trade from the age of 13. By the time she was 25 in 1921 she was working for the famous woman’s hat designer Mr Sanley at 264 Regent Street. Her sister Dorothy was a shorthand typist for an electrical engineer at 129 Sloane Street and her favourite 15 year old brother Charles was staying on at school. He would join the GPO as a telephone engineer.

Lilian was 33 when she married Kensington born Ernest William Seymour at St Barnabus Chruch in Pimlico in 1929. Ernest worked as a general labourer for his father William who was the estate manager for the local firm of Deards in Southam Street North Kensington. 

In 1931 they were living at 167 Park Road in Hendon. But by the time of her death, it seems they were no longer living together and she had moved back into her family home at number 1 Sloane Court East with her mother Bessie who was still the housekeeper for the block, and brother Charles now working for the Post Office in telecommunications.

Her body was not recovered from the debris of smashed masonry until 9.10 on the morning of Saturday 8th July 1944. She left her modest estate of £256 18s 11d, with a purchasing power at the time of writing of £9,393.57 to her brother Charles. Her husband Ernest passed away in 1949.

69 year old Margaret Ramsey Hallowes of IB Sloane Court East was the daughter of the late Major General George Skene Hallowes. After Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced there was War with Germany on BBC Radio, Sunday 3rd September 1939, Margaret left London to lodge at Home Farm House, 33 Street, Chipstead near Sevenoaks. She was staying with stockbroker’s clerk James Baiss and his wife Beryl. 

Clearly what happened on 3rd of July meant she should have stayed in the country. But although there were times during WW2 when Chelsea’s original population of 59,000 dropped to around 30,000, Margaret was like many other Chelseans. The lure of the charming Borough and London life was too appealing.

Margaret was the eldest daughter of infantry General George Hallowes and was born in Milton, Hampshire in 1875. She had three sisters and four brothers- three of whom would also follow their father into the armed services- one to the Navy, two into the Army. In 1891 the family were living at 88 Earls Court Road and typical of their status, four servants were living in including a cook, maid domestic, housemaid domestic and domestic nurse to look after the two younger children who were two and three years old. The house is no longer standing and the site of the Abingdon Area Health Clinic.

By 1911 Margaret was still living with her family now at 27 Hogarth Road Earls Court. She never married and died a spinster. During the First World War her brother Lieutenant Alex Bayle Hallowes of the Royal Army Service Corps died on 31st May 1917 and is buried in Kensal Green cemetery. 

Margaret’s body was recovered from the wreckage of her flat at 1B Sloane Court East literally ten minutes after the V1 dropped from the sky on 3rd July 1944.

One of her brothers, the retired lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy, George Skene Hallowes, was working as an A.R.P. Warden in Westminster at the beginning of the Second World War while staying at Royal Park Hotel in Knightsbridge and passed away at the age of 60 from natural causes on 23rd June 1940.

He had a colourful and adventuous life including being awarded the Queen’s South Africa medal for service on HMS Pearl during the Boer War. During WW1 he worked for HM Territorial Forces, received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 2nd King Edward’s Horse and worked at the Ministry of Munitions. He was awarded the 1914-15 Star and First World War Victory medals.

2nd Lieut G.S. Hallowes was sent with his cavalry regiment to France to serve with XIV Corps and saw action during Winter operations in 1914–1915, the First Battle of Ypres in the autumn of 1914, the Second Battle of Ypres in the spring of 1915 and in the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916. The 2nd King Edward’s Horse had been raised by John (later Sir John) Norton-Griffiths, at his own expense and initially convened and trained at the Duke of York’s Barracks in Chelsea. It prided itself in being formed of men ‘from the shires of England and all the dominions and colonies overseas.’

George Skene Hallowes even enlisted for the ill-fated Russian Relief Expedition in 1919 and later in that year travelled to take up a civil appointment in Monrovia, Liberia. On the African Steamship passenger liner Egba taking him to Africa he was listed as a retired Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy and gave his occupation as ‘Big Game Hunter.’ The 1921 census places him as a boarder at number 2 Portobello Road, Kensington.

Margaret Ramsey Hallowes left her estate of £15,166 1s 8d., worth £554,330.47 at the time of writing, to her eldest brother John Hope Hallowes who was a retired lieutenant-colonel in the British Indian Army. He would pass away at Knockbrack Grange, Oldcastle in County Meath in Ireland in 1959 leaving an estate of £12,307 13s 6d which at the time of writing had a purchasing power of £236,086.23.

US [and Canadian] Service casualties

Alex Schneider has researched the names and identities extensively with the help of London researcher Pete Wood. The record I have set out here is independently based on the details recorded in the Chelsea Borough Council mortuary records which were very much contemporaneous to the event. These have been calibrated with the records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, US enlistment documents and the archives of US cemeteries. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has not as yet produced a database of the US service casualties in this civilian bombing incident, though it does list the two Canadian soldiers William Stratton and William James Park. This is most probably due to the issue of sovereign jurisdiction of military records and deaths which would have been the remit of the US military authorities. However, the US servicemen casualties are now listed in the index of Second World War Civilian Casualties In Britain 1940-1945.

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. Buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery (52. C.9.). His gravestone bears the inscription ‘Gone from sight but not forgotten. Mother and Thelma.’ His body was recovered from No. 3 Sloane Court East at 12 minutes past four p.m. on Monday 10th July 1944. It is an indication of the extent of the destruction that it took a whole week to find him in the shattered timber, plaster, mortar and masonry of what had been the building he was biletted in.

William A Pranzitelli was a 33 year old Technician Fifth Class, with U.S. Army Service number 32814160 serving in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company. His body was recovered from the site of 4 Sloane Court East at 13.43 on 8th July 1944. He was born in New York State in 1911 and in civilian life worked as an insurance clerk and lived in Brooklyn. He enlisted in the US Army on 23rd February 1943 in New York City. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military cemetery and then reinterred and commemorated at Plot D, Row 3, Grave 87 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Richard Neal Ratliff Sr. A private in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34715034. His body was recovered from 8 Sloane Court East at 18.40 on 7th July 1944. He was 39 years old at the time of his death. After being buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England Private Ratliff’s body was repatriated to the United States and reinterred in the Henderson City Cemetery Henderson, Chester County, Tennessee in December 1948. Richard Ratliff was university educated and working as a school teacher before enlisting in the US Army at Camp Forrest, Tennessee on 12th May 1943 and going overseas. He was survived by his widow China Ratliff, also a school teacher, and son Richard Neal Jr.

Frank T. Badick, a 33 year old private in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33457153. His body was recovered from 8 Sloane Court East at 22.25 on 7th July 1944. 4-8 Sloane Court East was rented as an United States Army Billet. Frank enlisted at Wilked Barre Pennsylvania on 4th December 1942. His occupation in civilian life was as a foundry worker. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in 1944 and reinterred in the United States at Saint Mary’s Greek Catholic Cemetery Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania on 18th December 1948.

Thomas Daniels Rylands was a married corporal in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company and 26 years old when killed by the V1 flying bomb on 3rd July 1944. His body was recovered from the masonry debris of Sloane Court East at 11.32 on the morning of 7th July 1944. In civilian life he worked as a cashier and bookeeper, lived in Rhode Island and enlisted in Providence on 12th October 1943. He was the son of Thomas C & Ethel M Rylands of Kenyon Avenue Pawtucket, and after being initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England was repatriated for burial in his home town of Pawtucket in 1948. He was reinterred in Oak Grove Cemetery Pawtucket, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA.

Philip Joseph Conley Sr. was a 24 year old Staff Sergeant with the service number 31219085 in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company. He lived in Cumberland County, Maine before enlisting in the Army on 6th January 1943 at Portland, Maine. He had been employed working with building transportation equipment. After joining up he married Helen Conley and they had a son christened Philip Joseph Jr. Philip Conley’s body was recovered from the wreckage of Sloane Court East 12.30 p.m. on 7th July 1944, more than three days after the flying bomb descended on the site. Like a number of the US servicemen killed in the V1 bombing, he was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England in 1944 and his body later repatriated for reinternment in the USA closer to his home and family. S/Sgt Conley was finally laid to rest in the Calvary Cemetery, South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, USA in 1948. He was awarded the Purple Heart medal because he had been killed by enemy action.

John C. Gray was a six foot two inch tall 39 year-old married Master Sergeant with the service number 39830825 in the US Army 130th Chemical Processing Company. He enlisted at a recruiting station in Boise, Idaho on 18th July 1942 where in civilian life he had been working as a sales clerk. His body was recovered from number 6 Sloane Court East at 6.30 p.m. on 7th July 1944, three days after he was killed in the V1 blast. John was initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in 1944, but later reinterred and commemorated at Plot D, Row 4, and Grave 11 in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. As he was killed in enemy action he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart medal.

Carl I. Vance was a 35 year-old six foot one inch private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company. He enlisted from Camp Shelby, Mississippi on 28th October 1942 with the service number 34475060. In civilian life Carl worked in sawmills and lived and worked in the county of Cottle. His body was recovered from 8 Sloane Court East at 22.50 on 7th July 1944. After initial buriel at the Brookwood Military Cemetery he was reinterred and commemorated in Plot F, Row 3, and Grave 68 at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge, United Kingdom. As with the other victims of the VI attack in his Company, he received the Purple Heart medal for being killed by the enemy while in war service.

Thomas J. Cooper was a 27 year old sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 20816547. He was born in the state of Mississippi in 1917 and worked as a stock clerk living in the county of Harris in Texas. He enlisted in the National Guard on 25th November 1940 in Houston Texas. The soldier’s body was recovered from 3 Sloane Court East at 10.12 on the morning of 7th July 1944. Initially buried at the Brookwood Cemetery in that year he was later repatriated to the States with reinternment at the Kosciusko City Cemetery Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi, USA

O’Neill L Michaud was a 22 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31283078. In civilian life he worked as a farm hand, lived in the state of Maine and enlisted on 6th January 1943 at Bangor in Maine. He was unmarried and had no dependents. His body was recovered two days after the V1 strike from the debris in Sloane Court East at 5.20 in the late afternoon of Wednesday 5th July. After initial burial at the Brookwood Military Cemetery he was moved to the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge where he is now commemorated at Plot E, Row 5, Grave 66. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Elmer F. Schein Senior was a 21 year-old private in the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regt, 101st Airborne Division with the service number 13039070. He was single without dependents and born in Pennsylvania. His body was recovered from the wreckage of 8 Sloane Court East at 2.30 p.m. Thursday 6th July. Initially buried at Brookwood Cemetery he was moved to the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge where he is now commemorated at Plot G, Row 2, Grave 4. He enlisted at a recruiting station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 9th December 1941 and was awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, which means he had been previously wounded while on active service before being killed in the enemy action of the V1 bombing.

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. His body was recovered from Sloane Court East at 5.20 p.m. on Wednesday 5th July 1944. In civilian life Harold was a chauffeur and driver who lived in the state of Pennsylvania where he was married but separated and with dependents. He enlisted on 11th March 1943 at Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania. After initial burial in Brookwood Military Cemetery he was moved to the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge where he is now commemorated at Plot D, Row 4, Grave 4. He enlisted from the state of Pennsylvania and was awarded the Purple Heart.

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. He was critically wounded in the V1 bombing on 3rd July and taken by ambulance to the Brompton Hospital where he died the following day. Born 3rd July 1921 in civilian life he had worked as an office machine operator and was unmarried without any dependents. He enlisted in Cleveland Ohio on 28th October 1942. After initial burial at Brookwood Cemetery in England his body was repatriated to the United States and he is now buried and commemorated in the Lutheran Cemetery Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA at Plot Section O and Lot 8.

Vincenzo James Zanfagna was an Italian-American private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31423251. He was dug out of the devastation and taken to the 16th Station Hospital and then to St George’s Hospital on Hyde Park Corner where he died from his injuries. He was born in Londonderry USA on 17th December 1916 and was 27 years old when killed by the V1 blast at Turk’s Row. He was married and worked in Massachusetts as a chauffeur and driver. He enlisted on 6th October 1943 at a recruiting station in Boston, Massachusetts. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation and reinternment at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery Methuen, Essex, Massachusetts, in the United States.

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. He was taken to the Brompton Hospital on the Fulham Road but succumbed to his injuries. He was born in Travis, Richmond County, in New York State, initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated and reinterred at the Long Island National Cemetery East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York at Plot J, 15302.

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. He had been in his first year in College when he enlisted at New Haven Connecticut on 11th October 1943. He was recovered from 6 Sloane Court East on Tuesday 4th July at 12.45. He was single and without dependents. After initial burial at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England he was repatriated and reinterred and commemorated at the Long Hill Burial Ground in Trumbull, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA.

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 at 9.30 p.m. on 3rd July 1944. He was identified by the disc all US soldiers wore around their neck with his service number 31423880. He had only finished High School when he enlisted on 14th October 1943 at a recruiting station in Boston Massachusetts and was single without any dependents. He was initially buried at Brookwood Cemetery in England, but was then repatriated and reinterred for commemoration at the Elmwood Cemetery North Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. in 1948.

Joseph T Antonellis was a Technician Fifth Grade in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31424688. Born 15th June 1917, he was 27 years old when killed by the V1 buzz bomb. He had been living and working in Newton Massachusetts at the time of his enlistment in Boston on 22nd October 1943. He was a painter and decorater in civilian life and single with dependents. He was recovered from the wreckage of Sloane Court East at 10 a.m. on the morning of 4th July 1944 and initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation, reinternment and commemoration at the Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum Waltham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA.

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. His body was recovered fairly early in the rescue operation at 11.30 in the morning of 3rd July at Turk’s Row. He was originally buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated for reinternment in the Valley Cemetery Greene, Androscoggin County, Maine, USA in 1948. He was known as “Buddy” and born 9th September 1913 in Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, USA. His parents were Arthur Weston and Lola Strout. They died in 1972 and 1982 respectively; thus surviving him by 28 and 38 years. Weston Strout lived in Androscoggin County, Maine before enlisting in the US Army on 15th October 1943 in Portland, Maine. He’d been working as a Structural and ornamental metal worker in civilian life and married Myrtle Alice in 1940 who passed away 1992. They had a son Wendell Arthur who died in 2011. Weston Strout was awarded the Purple Heart. His untimely death, like all the others on July 3rd 1944, is a poignant reminder of those left behind.

Robert H. Cooke was a 22 year-old Staff Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31218049. He was recovered from the wreckage at 10 a.m. on the morning of the V1 flying bomb explosion 3rd July 1944 and like all the fatalities initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England. His body would be repatriated for reinternmnt in 1948 at th Forest City Cemetery in South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, USA. Robert was born in Maine on 3rd April 1922 and the son of Roscoe and Myrtle Cooke. In civilian life he had been an accountant and enlisted in the Army on 19th December 1942 in Portland, Maine. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

Americans in London during WW2: Bing Crosby, stage, screen and radio star, sings to Allied troops at the opening of the London stage door canteen in Piccadilly, London, England., August 31, 1944 NAID: 531210 Local ID: 111-SC-193249; Photograph Taken on Christmas Eve in an American hospital in London, December 24, 1944. …was reward enough. The occasion was an Christmas week party given by the staff of an American hospital in London.” Photo by: Schillinger (16th Station Hospital, London) NAID: 148727506 Local ID: 111-SC-356037; “Building occupied by the United States Embassy, No.1, Grosvenor Square, London, England.” Original Signal Corps Photo Number: ETO-HQ-43-1962. Photographer: Hylton NAID: 175738969 Local ID: 111-SC-185628.

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 and was recovered from the wreckage of the V1 bombing on 3rd July 1944 in Turk’s Row. He lived in New York State before enlisting at Utica, New York on 23rd April 1943. After initial burial in the Brookwood Military Cemetery, he was reinterred and commemorated in Plot F, Row 6, Grave 69 of the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge, England. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. He was recovered from 4 Sloane Court East at 11.40 a.m. on Monday 3rd July 1944. He was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery before being repatriated and reinterred in 1948 at the Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA. James was born 11th September 1913 in Hungary and worked as a plumber in civilian life. He lived and worked in Maryland before enlisting in New York City on 24th April 1943. He was awarded the posthumous Purple Heart for being killed while in service.

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. He was recovered from Turk’s Row only sixty three minutes after the V1 doodlbug exploded. He enlisted at Fort Devens Massachusetts on 13th October 1943. He was born in San Marino, Italy in 1914, and in civilian life worked as a skilled mechanic and repairman. He was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot B Row 5 Grave 39 in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge, England. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Stephen Chunco Jr. was a 21 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32676280. He was recovered from the debris of 6 Sloane Court East at noon on 3rd July 1944 and identified by the papers in his wallet. He was born in 1923, worked in civilian life as lens grinder and polisher for opticians, lived in Monroe County before enlisting in Rochester New York on 25th January 1943. After initial burial at Brookwood Military Cemetery he was reinterred and commemorated at Plot E Row 0 Grave 5 in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge, England. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

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. He was recovered from Turk’s Row 58 minutes after the V1 explosion and initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England. He was born in New Jersey in 1919, worked in civilian life as shipping and receiving clerks and lived in Union County before enlisting in Trenton New Jersey on 24th July 1941. At present I have not been able to confirm the destination and location of Edward Jonas’ repatriation, reinternment and commemoration in the USA. Please get in touch with confirmation and detail if you are able to do so.

William James Park was a 46 year old private and caterer in the Royal Canadian Army with the service number K52772. He was killed in the bomb blast and his body recovered from number 3 Sloane Court East at 4 p.m. on 3rd July 1944. William enlisted in the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and at the time of his death was attached to the Canadian Military H.Q. in London. His commanding officer Captain Baldwin formally identified him. William was the husband of Eleanor Gladys Park, of Limpsfield. He had also served in the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment during 1914-1918 War and had been the recipient of Distinguished Conduct Medal. He was buried and commemorated at section B, Row E and Grave 6. in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Limpsfield, Oxted at the foot of the North Downs in Surrey.

Adrien I Vallieres was a 30 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31375446. He lived in New Hampshire and in civilian life worked in the manufacture of boots and shoes. He enlisted in Manchester, New Hampshire on 16th October 1943. His body was recovered from the devastation in Turk’s Row on 3rd July 1944 and he had been killed by falling masonry. After initial burial at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England, he was reinterred at the Cambridge American Cemetery Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge with a memorial headstone at Plot F, Row 2 and grave 25. He was awarded the Purple Heart for dying while on active service.

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. His body was recovered from Turk’s Row on 3rd July 1944. In civilian life he lived in Augusta and worked as an office clerk before enlisting at Portland, Maine 16th October 1943. He was born in the state of Maine on 12th January 1916. He trained with the 130th Chemical Processing Company at Camp Sibert which was a U.S. Army chemical weapons training facility in Etowah County, Alabama, and St. Clair County, Alabama, during the World War II era. His wife received his last letter two days before he was killed in the V1 flying bomb attack. After initial burial in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England his body was repatriated, reinterred and commemorated in the Mount Hope Cemetery in his home town of Augusta, Kennebec County, Maine, USA in 1948. His widow Doris would pass away in 1990.

Chester R Peterson was a 41 year-old Technical Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31219165. He was recovered from the wreckage of the V1 bomb blast on 3rd July 1944. He was born in Maine in 1912 and enlisted in Portland, Maine on 7th January 1943. He was married but separated and had no dependents. After initial burial in the Brookwood Military Cemetery, England he was reinterred and commemorated at Plot B, Row 5, Grave 19 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart for dying while on active service.

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. He died from bomb blast in Turk’s Row and his body was recovered at 9 a.m. on the morning of the V1 attack. In civilian life he was a farm hand having been born on 27th February 1915 in Hortonia, Outagamie County, and living and working in Wisconsin. He was single without dependents and enlisted at Fort Sheridan Illinois on 10th November 1941. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Cemetery in England, but was repatriated, reinterred and commemorated in the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery, Hortonville, Wisconsin in 1948. His mother Lucy had passed away in 1940, but his father Frank Joseph Seif outlived him by 10 years and passed away in 1954. He was also survived by his younger brother Harold who lived until 1979.

Donat E. Patry was a 38 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399495. In civilian life he worked in paper manufacturing and enlisted in Portland, Maine on 15th October 1943. He was recovered from the devastation of the V1 blast in Turk’s Row within 48 minutes of the flying bomb strike on 3rd July 1944. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before reinterment and commemoration at Plot A, Row 6, Grave 18 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

Philip L. Fielding was a 20 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31296653. In civilian life he worked in the manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories in Massachusetts and was single with no dependents. He enlisted at a recruiting station in Boston on 10th February 1943. He was recovered from the debris of the V1 flying bomb explosion just over an hour after it dropped on Turk’s Row on 3rd July 1944. He was initially buried in th Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before reinterment and commemoration at Plot E, Row 3, Grave 116 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. Romeo was married, but separated and without dependents. He lived in Rhode Island where he worked in the manufacture of textiles and he enlisted at a recruiting station in Providence on 14th October 1943. After being recovered from the scene of the V1 flying bomb explosion at 1.30 p.m. on 3rd July 1944 and he was initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot F, Row 3, Grave 15 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. Born in Vermont in 1907, Raymond worked in manufacturing in the state of New Hampshire where he enlisted at a recuirting station in Manchester on 13th October 1943. After his body was recovered from the site of the V1 explosion in Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East at 1.35 p.m. on 3rd July 1944 and he was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot D, Row 2, Grave 97 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. He was born 10th August 1925, single without dependents and lived at 42 Wyman St., Lynn, Mass. He had completed his fourth year in High School before enlisting at Boston Massachusetts on 13th October 1943. Mortuary records indicate his body was recovered from Burton’s Court so unless this was a clerical error, it is not inconceivable that the V1 blast propelled him from Turk’s Row and a distance of one hundred to two hundred yards as far as the gardens of Burton’s Court. However, his friend and fellow soldier Samuel Edward Hatch believes he was buried in the basement of the Turk’s Row building which collapsed on top of him where the 130 Chemical Processing Company was based. The kinetics of the one-ton explosive blast from the V1 warhead did blow the large truck filling up with members of the company some 50 feet so again it is not beyond the possibility that the explosion had the power to disperse people and objects long distances.

Theodore was originally buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery and was later repatriated, reinterred and commemorated in the Pine Grove Cemetery Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA at Plot W.W.2, Section-G,Grave-15. As he was killed on active service he was awarded the Purple Heart.

His friend Samuel Edward Hatch (1925-2018), who billeted with him, provided a full eye-witness account of his service in World War II and personal experience of the July 3rd V1 bombing in Turk’s Row for the Lynn local newspaper and the London Memorial website. He was also recorded on video in 2004 providing a powerful and moving account of what happened, and this has been made available to YouTube by http://londonmemorial.org. Samuel describes his experiences in Britain from 27 minutes 21 seconds, and the V1 flying bomb explosion he was caught up and injured in from 33 minutes 30 seconds.

Leonard F. Kittelberger was a 25 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31219055. He was born in Maine, worked in the manufacturing of textiles in his civilian life and enlisted at a recruiting station in Portland on 6th January 1943. In his army record he was described as single with dependents. His body was recovered from Turk’s Row on the day of the V1 flying bomb explosion and after being initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England was reinterred and commemorated at Plot F, Row 6, Grave 56 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. Born in Brechin, Angus, Scotland on 10th June 1924, Edwin lived in New Hampshire and in civilian life worked as a tinsmith. He enlisted in Manchester, New Hampshire on 13th October 1943. Edwin’s body was recovered from the devastaton of Turk’s Row on 3rd of July, initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated, reinterred and commemorated in the Mountain View Cemetery Claremont, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, USA at Plot Section AA, Lot 69. His father Arthur James Hutcheon outlived him by 37 years when he passed away in 1981 and his mother Jean died in 1961, thereby surviving her son by 17 years. As he was killed while on active service he was awarded The Purple Heart.

Thomas D Elder was a 34 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34009004. Thomas was born 23rd February 1909 in North Carolina, worked as a farm hand, and enlisted at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 23rd January 1941. He was single with no dependents. He had died from bomb blast and his body was recovered from 6 Sloane Court East at 12 noon on 3rd July. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation, reinternment and commemoration at the Carsons Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery Taylorsville, Alexander County, North Carolina, USA. Thomas was awarded the Purple Heart for being killed while on active service.

Charles H. Haeffner was a 19 year old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33799387. Charles was born in Pennsylvania, lived and worked as a machinist apprentice in civilian life in Cottle before enlisting at a recruiting station in Philadelphia on 18th Septmber 1943. Charles’ body was recovered from the devastation at Sloane Court East only ten minutes after the descent and detonation of the V1 Flying bomb. He was originally buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot F, Row 5 and Grave 15 of the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. His body was recovered from the wreckage of 4 Sloane Court East at 12.30 p.m. on 3rd July 1944. Joseph was born on the 22nd November 1910 and in civilian life resided and worked in Cottle County where he worked as an attendant in hospitality and service. He enlisted at a recruiting station in Philadelphia on 13th January 1944. He had died from bomb blast and was initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation and reinternment in the Long Island National Cemetery East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA.

Boyce V. Stone was a 28 year old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34514215. He was born in South Carolina in 1916 and lived and worked there in textile manufacturing. He was single with dependents. He enlisted at Ft Jackson Columbia South Carolina on 18th November 1942. He was killed by falling masonry in the blast while in number 6 Sloane Court East and his body was recovered at 12.40 p.m. on the day of the Flying bomb strike 3rd July 1944. After being initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England he was reinterred and commemorated at Plot D, Row 3, Grave 77 of Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. He had been killed instantly in the V1 flying bomb blast and his body recovered within 13 minutes from the wreckage in Sloane Court. Born in New York in civilian life he worked as a painter and decorator. He was single without dependents and enlisted on 26th January 1943 at a recruiting station in Buffalo New York State. His mother Rachel had died in 1936 and his father Cincinatti outlived him by 23 years and passed away in 1967. He was originally buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated, reinterred and commemorated in the Saint Mary of the Assumption Cemetery Lancaster, Erie County, New York, USA. As with all the US servicemen either killed or injured on 3rd July in the V1 bombing he was awarded the Purple Heart.

Roland Ashman Burke was a 31 year old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399447. He was born 26th May 1913 in the state of Maine where in civilian life he worked as a driver and chauffeur. He married Rose A. Nickerson on 28th August 1931 in Portsmouth New Hampshire and he enlisted at a recruiting station in Portlnd, Maine on the 14th October 1943. He was killed by the bomb blast and his body recovered at 9 a.m. on 3rd July 1944 from Turk’s Row. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation, reinternment and commemoration at the Oceanview Cemetery Boothbay, Lincoln County, Maine, USA. His widow Rose passed away in 1983 and his father Orville in 1957 and mother Harrit in 1958. His son John died in infancy in 1935 and his daughter Barbara Ann passed away in 2007. He was awarded the Purple Heart for being killed in enemy action.

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. He was born in New York state where he lived and worked as a clerk. He enlisted at a recruiting station in Utica on 20th April 1943. He died from bomb blast in Turk’s Row and after his body was recovered 3rd July 1944 he was initially buried at the Brookwood Militry Cemetery in England before internment and commemoration at Plot D, Row 2, Grave 4 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. He was born in Vermont 23rd January 1924, was single with dependents and worked in the manufacture of boots and shoes. He enlisted at Rutland, Vermont on 11th February 1943. He was killed by bomb blast on 3rd July 1944 and his body recovered from Turk’s Row. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation, internment and commemoration to the Saint Michael Cemetery Brattleboro, Windham County, Vermont, USA. His headstone inscription reads: ‘Hail Mary, Full of grace, The Lord is with thee.’ He was awarded the Purple Heart for being killed by the enemy while on active service.

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. Franklyn was born Connecticut where he lived and worked in civilian life as an apprentice machinist. He enlisted at a recruiting station in Hartford on 30th January 1943. He died from bomb blast in Turk’s Row on 3rd July 1944, was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England, but then reinterred and commemorated at Plot F, Row 3, Grave 69 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

Oliver J. Simoneau was a 32 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31375457. He was killed by bomb blast in the V1 bombing and his body was recovered from Turk’s Row at 8.30 a.m. on 3rd July 1944. He lived and worked in the manufacture of shoes and boots in New Hampshire and enlisted in Manchester, New Hampshire on 16th October 1943. He was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before reinternment and commemoration at Plot C, Row 5, Grave 20 of the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

Ralph Di Giovine was a 21 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32606022. He lived at 14th Avenue Newark, New Jersey, was single without dependents, before enlisting at the recruiting station in the same town on 8th January 1943. He was survived by his parents, two brothers and a sister. He died from bomb blast in the V1 strike at Turk’s Row and his body was recovered at 8.50 a.m. on the morning of 3rd July 1944. After initial burial in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England, he was repatriated and commemorated in the Fairmount Cemetery Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, USA. As he had been killed by the enemy while on active service he was awarded The Purple Heart.

Harry Gordon Bennett Jr. was a married 33 year old Staff Sergeant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company. He was born 11th January 1910 in Brooklyn, King’s County, New York and in civilian life worked for the Treasurers & Ticket Sellers Union and lived in Richmond Hill, Queens. He married Dorothea V Thomas in 1937. His father Harry Gordon Sr. passed away in 1973 and is mother Hilda in 1978. Harry’s body was recovered from the wreckage of the V1 bomb blast on 3rd July 1944, initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated and commemorated on 18th December 1948 in the Maple Grove Cemetery Kew Gardens, Queens County, New York, USA at the Memorial Park: Section – J, Plot 169, Unit C, Grave 2. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. He was born 11th December 1923 in Rhode Island where he enlisted the US Army at the recruiting office at Providence on 11th February 1943. He was single without dependents. He died from falling masonry and his body was recovered from the United States Army Billet situated between 4 to 8 Sloane Court East. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated, reinterred and commemorated on 12th December 1948 in the Precious Blood Cemetery Woonsocket, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. His father Adelard died in 1978, his mother Aldea in 1982. He had three brothers and a sister who all outlived him.

Joseph Canciglia was a 22 year old Corporal in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company. He had been residing at the US Army Billet between 4 and 8 Sloane Court East and he was recovered from the wreckage of the V1 bombing on 3rd July 1944. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England and it appears he was repatriated, reinterred and commemorated at a cemetery in the United States and his identity matches that of Joseph Canciglia Jr lying in the Saint John Cemetery and Mausoleum Middle Village, Queens County, New York, USA in the Plot Section: 28, Row: H, Plot: 19, Grave: 5. The burial records state he was killed in action on 11th July 1944 and this contradicts other records that he was killed on 3rd of July by the V1. It is possible he may have died in hospital eight days later.

Derk Derkson was a 37 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 36272654. Derk was born in the Netherlands on 8th January 1907. In civilian life he was a mechanic and repairman living in Wisconsin. He was single and without dependents and enlisted at a recruiting station in Milwaukee on 7th October 1942. After his body was recovered from the scene of the V1 bomb blast on 3rd July 1944 he was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated, reinterred and commemorated at the Forest Mound Cemetery Waupun, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, USA. He father Cornelius died in 1917, his mother Gerritje in 1953, and he was survived by three sisters and three brothers. He was awarded the Purple Heart for being killed by enemy action while on active service.

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. He was born in Pennsylvania 11th December 1917, educated and graduated from Duquesne University prep School and later attended Duquesne University. In civilian life he worked in the manufacture of paper goods and was single without dependents. He enlisted on 11th February 1942 at a recruiting station in New Cumberland. He was recovered from the scene of the V1 bombing on 3rd July 1944, initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England and then repatriated, reinterred and commemorated at Calvary Cemetery Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. His father Salvatore died in 1947, his mother Josephine in 1954 and he was survived by his older brothers Anthony who died in 1960 and Vincent who died in 1975. Joseph was awarded the Purple Heart as he had been killed by enemy action while on active service.

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. He was born in New York State, single without dependents and enlisted in Albany on 23rd January 1941. He was living in the United States Army Billet, between 4 to 8 Sloane Court East on 3rd July 1944 when he was killed in the V1 flying bomb strike which detonated at 7.47 a.m. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated, reinterred and commemorated in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, USA where his headstone reads: ‘He gave his life for his country.’ His father James B. Grant Sr died one year later and his mother Lydia passed away in 1968. He had a younger brother Charles who died in 1971. James B. Gant Jr was awarded the Purple Heart for being killed by enemy action while on active service.

Edward Leander Harrington was 24 year-old marrid private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 31399505. He was born on 8th December 1919 in Augusta, Maine and lived in Kennebec County where he worked as a welder and flame cutter. He married Dorothy Elizabeth VanOrman on 12th October 1940, in Vassalboro. They had three children, the third born after he was killed in the V1 flying bomb attack at Turk’s Row. Edward had enlisted in the U.S. Army in Portland Maine on 16th October 1943. After being initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England he was repatriated, reinterred and commemorated Mount Hope Cemetery Augusta, Kennebec County, Maine, USA. He father Timothy died the following year, his mother Virginia in 1984. His widow Dorothy outlived him by 67 years when she passed way in 2011. He had five sisters but his two brothers died in childhood. Edward was awarded the Purple Heart as he had been killed by enemy action while on active service.

Claude Max “Claudie” Hastey was a 20 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 34709932. He was born Christmas Day 1923 in Valley, Chambers County, Alabama, USA. He lived in Denton, Alabama and worked in the manufacturing of textiles. He enlisted at Fort Mcclellan, Alabama on 18th March 1943 and was single without dependents. He was recovered from the wreckage and debris of the V1 strike at Turk’s Row and Sloane Court East on 3rd July 1944, and taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries three days later. He was initially buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated, reinterred and commemorated after the end of the Second World War to Fairview Cemetery Valley, Chambers County, Alabama, USA. He was awarded the Purple Heart for being killed by enemy action while on active service. 

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. Born and lived in New York City where he worked in manufacturing. He enlisted in New York City on 24th April 1943. He was recovered from the scene of the V1 flying bomb strike on 3rd July 1944 and buried initially in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England. He would be later reinterred and commemorated at Plot F, Row 4, Grave 79 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

John H. Maness was a 29 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 37523991. He was born in the state of Missouri, lived in Hays, Kansas, and in civilian life worked as a farm hand. He enlisted in the US Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on 27th April 1943. After his body was recovered from the site of the V1 bombing in Turk’s Row on 3rd July 1944, he was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery before reinternment and commemoration at Plot C, Row 0, Grave 38 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. He was born in Illinois, worked as horseman and yardman in civilian life and was single without dependents. He enlisted at a recruiting office in Chicago on 27th October 1942. After his body was recovered from the wreckage caused by the V1 flying bomb on 3rd July 1944 he was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before reinternment and commemoration at Plot F, Row 7, Grave 92 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

Floy R. Perryman was a 35 year old Second Lieutenant in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 01038789. He was single, without dependents and resident in Indiana before enlisting at Ft Benjamin Harrison Indiana on 21st April 1941. He was College educated and after his body was recovered from the devastation in Turk’s Row on 3rd July 1944, he was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot C, Row 1, Grave 10 of the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. 

William H. Pickens was a 30 year-old married private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 35721175. He was born, lived and worked as a farmer in Kentucky. He enlisted at a recruiting station in Evansville, Indiana on 30th December 1942. After being recovered from the devastation of the V1 bombing, he was originally buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot A, Row 1, Grave 30 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. 

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. He was born in Massachusetts, and lived in Connecticut before enlisting at Hartford on 13th October 1943. After being recovered from the devastation of Turk’s Row, his body was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot D, Row 2, Grave 81 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. 

John J. Powers was a 23 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32822491. After his body was recovered from the wreckage caused by the V1 flying bomb he was initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot F, Row 6, Grave 92 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. John was born in the state of New York, was single without dependents, and enlisted for the US Army at a recruiting office in New York City. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. 

Frederick G. Welchans was a 21 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 33727685. He was born in New Jersey and in civilian life worked as a clerk. He was single without dependents and enlisted in Baltimore, Maryland on 21st June 1943. After being recovered from the devastation of the V1 bombing he was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery before being reinterred and commemorated at Plot C, Row 1, Grave 20 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. 

Herbert Fisher Wilder was a 46 year old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company with the service number 32576559. Herbert had been a fireman in civilian life and was separated without dependents and enlisted in Albany New York on 10th October 1942. Herbert was born in New York State on 21st March 1898, and had two children, a son called Herbert Jr and a daughter Ruth who died in an accident with scalding watr. His wife Helen May Laraway outlived him by 35 years passing away in 1979. He was initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before being repatriated and reinterred in the Chatham Rural Cemetery Chatham, Columbia County, New York, USA.

Charles E. Young was a 20 year-old private in the US Army’s 130th Chemical Processing Company. He was born 13th October 1923 and initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation and reinternment to Sunset Memorial Park Huntingdon Valley, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. US Army enlistment records indicate Charles was single with no dependents and resident in Cottle at the time of his enlistment at a recruiting station in Philadelphia on 27th October 1943. In civilian life, he worked in the asbestos and insulation industry. He was awarded the Purple Heart as he had been killed while on active service.

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. In civilian life Saul was a shoemakers and shoe repairman who originally enlisted in the National Guard at Terrell, Texas on 25th November 1940. He lived and worked in Kaufman, Texas. Saul was born 3rd October 1913 in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida and was single without any dependents. He was rescued from the devastation of Turk’s Row on 3rd July 1944 and taken to the Brompton Hospital in the Fulham Road but died from his injuries. He was initially buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before repatriation and reinternment to the Ahavath Sholom Cemetery Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, USA in 1949 where his gravestone is also inscribed in Hebrew with the Star of David to reflect his Jewish identity and faith. His father Esther passed away in 1953 and his father Sam died in 1963. His younger sister Anne outlived him by 64 years passing away in 2008.

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. Svend had been born in Denmark. In civilian life he worked as a salesman in New York State. He enlisted 19th May 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York. He was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before reinternment and commemoration at Plot E, Row 4, Grave 106 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

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. Born in South Dakota he enlisted on 7th June 1943 in New York City. He was initially buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England before reinternment and commemoration at Plot B, Row 1, Grave 25 in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Madingley Road, Coton CB23 7PH, Cambridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

V2 Duke Street near Selfridges 7th December 1944

The people of Chelsea would have heard and emotionally felt the next worse vengeance rocket bomb to cause severe casualties to US servicemen in London. This was the next generation of German vengeance rocket weapons- the V2.

This would arrive travelling faster than the speed of sound and fall literally from space without any warning. The explosive charge and damage was just as devastating as any of the V1s.

It was the beginning of intercontinental ballistic missile warfare. When the V2 detonated in Duke Street near Selfridges in Oxford Street the blast at 11 p.m. on 7th December resonated across London- perhaps like no other.

It was like an earthquake in the middle of the West End.

It was heard as far north as Islington and as far south as Chelsea and Streatham. The needle playing back a phonograph record in the studio of American Forces Broadcasting in nearby BBC Broadcasting House jumped a groove during Star Spangled Banner.

Image 1:- “Duke Street, London, site of U.S. Army Headquarters, suffered extensive damage from explosion of V-2 bomb.” Original Field Number: ETO-HQ-44-28438. Photographer: T/5 Murray Poznak (167th Signal Photo Company) NAID: 148727260 Local ID: 111-SC-209004; Image 2:- ”British emergency squad clears wreckage caused by explosion of V-2 bomb in Duke Street, London, site of U.S. Army Headquarters.” Original Field Number: ETO-HQ-44-28430. Photographer: T/5 Murray Poznak (167th Signal Photo Company) NAID: 148727256 Local ID: 111-SC-209002; Image 3:- ”British salvage squad cleans up debris caused by explosion of V-2 bomb on Duke Street, London, site of U.S. Army Headquarters.” Original Field Number: ETO-HQ-44-28433. Photographer: T/5 Murray Poznak (167th Signal Photo Company) NAID: 148727258Local ID: 111-SC-209003

The rocket ended eighteen lives and any hope for Christmas 1944 whose spirit evaporated in the cloud of dust, shattered glass, smashed plaster, broken human bodies, concrete and masonry.

All of the window-dressing in the Oxford Street stores- Bethlehem, Jesus Christ is Born and Santa Clause themed- had been messed up as if a giant beligerent child had kicked in all their front windows in a trantrum.

More Americans died in this incident than in any other London V2 strike because most of the blast had impacted on an annex to Selfridges used as a canteen by US government employees.

According to Norman Longmate in Hitler’s Rockets: The Story of the V2s: ‘…a passing taxi had been blown into one of Selfridges’ windows, and some of its GI passengers were never found. All told, 8 Americans were killed and 32 injured; 10 British civilians also died, with seven badly wounded.’

One of those killed had been a woman strolling with her husband. One moment she was there; the next completely disappeared ‘whisked from his side’ and her body would be recovered afterwards at the back of the Selfridges store.

A poignant and pathetic symbol of this tragedy was a shopping bag full of odds and ends intended as Christmas presents along with three little Union Jacks most probably bought in readiness for the anticipated peace handed in at a W.V.S rest centre. The bag would never be reclaimed, its owner presumed dead.

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The purpose of this posting has been to commemorate and give tribute to all the victims of the V1 attack on 3rd July 1944 in Chelsea and the enormous sacrifice made by servicemen from the United States and Canada who died.

If there are any errors in the text and corrections required, do not hesitate to contact me and these will be made. If you are relatives and descendants of any of the people remembered and would like to provide more information and photographs please contact me so that this can be done.

The databases and many records consulted are inevitably fallible to human error and during the research there were contradictions and some factual information that did not calibrate. For example, the records consulted for Staff Sergeant James B. Grant Jr did not give a specific date of death in 1944 and the army unit he served in so that at this stage I am unable to be certain this is the same James Grant in the 130 Chemical Processing Company who died on July 3rd 1944. The burial record for Joseph Canciglia in the USA provided a date of death while being ‘killed in action’ for 11th July 1944. Is this the same Joseph Canciglia serving in the 130 Chemical Processing Company who died as a result of the V1 Flying bomb strike on 3rd July 1944? I have also been unable to find any link and confirmation of the US burial of Private Edward L Jonas. If anyone is able to clarify the position, I would be very grateful to hear from you.

This online resource is still being constructed and added to so remains a work of progress until sign-posted as completed.

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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 Imperial War Museum and National Archives at Kew and the librarians of the US National Archives and US Army military photographs.

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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