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    City of London at War 1939–45
    City of London at War 1939–45
    City of London at War 1939–45
    Ebook218 pages2 hours

    City of London at War 1939–45

    By Stephen Wynn

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    About this ebook

    A photo-filled history of how London’s historic business district endured the Blitz during World War II, and emerged to thrive once again.

    The City of London was an obvious target for German bombers during the Second World War. What better way for Nazi Germany to spread fear and panic amongst the British people than by attacking their central business district? Although it wasn’t densely populated, there were still enough people working there during the day for attacks on it to take their toll. The city’s ancient and iconic buildings also bore the brunt of the German bombs, including churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire in 1666.

    The book looks at the effects of war on the City of London, including the damage caused by the eight months of the Blitz between September 1940 and May 1941. The most devastating of the raids took place on December 29, 1940, with both incendiary and explosive bombs causing a firestorm so intense it was known as the Second Great Fire of London.

    It also looks at the bravery of the staff at St Bart’s Hospital, which was one of the medical facilities that remained open during the course of the war. Other stories include the sterling work carried out by the City’s civilian population and the voluntary roles that they performed to help keep the city safe, including the Home Guard and the Fire Watchers, who spent their nights on the city’s rooftops looking out for incendiary devices dropped by the Luftwaffe. Ultimately, despite the damage to its buildings and population, by the end of the war the City of London was able to rise, like a phoenix, from the flames of destruction, ready to become the vibrant and flourishing borough that it is today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateMar 30, 2020
    ISBN9781526708328
    City of London at War 1939–45
    Author

    Stephen Wynn

    Stephen is a retired police officer having served with Essex Police as a constable for thirty years between 1983 and 2013. He is married to Tanya and has two sons, Luke and Ross, and a daughter, Aimee. His sons served five tours of Afghanistan between 2008 and 2013 and both were injured. This led to the publication of his first book, Two Sons in a Warzone – Afghanistan: The True Story of a Father’s Conflict, published in October 2010. Both Stephen’s grandfathers served in and survived the First World War, one with the Royal Irish Rifles, the other in the Mercantile Marine, whilst his father was a member of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War.When not writing Stephen can be found walking his three German Shepherd dogs with his wife Tanya, at some unearthly time of the morning, when most normal people are still fast asleep.

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      Book preview

      City of London at War 1939–45 - Stephen Wynn

      Author

      Introduction

      It was just twenty years since the end of the First World War or the Great War, the war to end all wars, and here it was happening all over again. Sadly, the lessons hadn’t been learnt from that bloody and barbaric waste of human life. Germany was on the rise, and once again her aim was to be all powerful and to rule the world. Once again it was down to Britain and her allies to step in and do something about it, to make sure that Germany’s dream didn’t come true. Once again, America wasn’t in from the very beginning.

      City of London crest.

      Military aircraft had improved so much in that comparatively short period of time that it was almost unrecognisable from what had been available during the First World War, in speed, manoeuvrability and firepower. By the end of the war both British and German cities would have experienced air attacks involving hundreds of enemy aircraft. Major cities and their civilian populations were directly targeted as part of strategic bombing operations by both Britain and Germany.

      The City of London experienced numerous air raids throughout the war which resulted in damage to many of its buildings, some of which were extremely old, dating back hundreds of years.

      This book will look at different areas of the City, such as the Guildhall, St Paul’s Cathedral, St Bartholomew’s Hospital. It will also look at the ‘Blitz’ and the devastating effect that eight-month period of time had on the City of London. Although the Blitz lasted between 7 September 1940 and 21 May 1941, the worst raid on the City didn’t take place until 29 December 1941, when the German Luftwaffe dropped hundreds of incendiary devices on the historic buildings and homes of the nation’s capital.

      Maybe because of its importance to the nation and its significance to the people, London was targeted on seventy-one occasions during the course of the Second World War, and at one stage the German Luftwaffe carried out bombing raids over the capital on fifty-seven consecutive nights. Many of these raids resulted in bombs being dropped on the buildings, homes and people of the City of London.

      The book also looks at the London Underground and why initially the government refused to allow these train stations to be used as air raid shelters, and the devastating effect a direct hit had on one of them.

      Despite the Tower of London not technically being part of the City of London, it is actually in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, I have included a bit about it in the book, because most people would actually associate it with the City of London. A brief look at the inside of its walls will include the story of the last person to ever be executed there.

      Bomb damage in the City of London.

      The story also includes a look at the City of London Regiments who fought during the Second World War, and the men who were killed whilst serving in those units, and sadly never made it back home.

      London Underground used as air raid shelter.

      Hopefully, by the end of the book I will have provided the reader with a real sense of what the City of London had to endure during the course of the Second World War, despite the adversity, damage and death that it sustained, and the part it played in keeping the nation’s morale high.

      CHAPTER ONE

      1939

      The war in Europe began on 3 September 1939 when Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany after an ultimatum given to her by the Allies to withdraw her troops from Poland, whom she had invaded on 1 September 1939, went unheeded. The war in Europe raged for a day short of six years before Germany was once again defeated and peace was restored.

      In the early stages of the war which, in part, is often relating to the eight month referred to as the ‘Phoney War’ relating to the eight month period between 3 September 1939 and 10 May 1940, which was the official start of the war with Germany’s invasion of France and the Low Countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland. During that period of time there was only one significant action by the Allies when French troops invaded the Saar region of Germany, but it came to nothing and the French troops soon made a retreat.

      Neville Chamberlain. Declaration of War.

      Back home in Britain there were more pressing matters to attend to, as the public believed there was a strong possibility of an invasion by German forces, but there was uncertainty around what form this would take. Some favoured a seaborne attack, whilst others believed it would come from the skies, but were not sure whether that would involve bomber aircraft or German paratroopers. In readiness for this eventuality there was much talk about the need for air raid shelters.

      Despite the government’s initial refusal to allow the London Underground to be used as air raid shelters, because they wanted to keep the lines free for commuters and troop movements, they eventually changed their minds after two weeks of heavy bombing during the Blitz. In no time at all, an estimated 150,000 people slept in the Underground stations each night. They opened their doors every evening at 4pm, with the all-clear usually being given at 5am the following morning. It wasn’t the most comfortable of places to sleep. Some people made their bed on the platforms whilst others had no choice but to sleep between the actual tracks where, besides someone else’s snoring, they would also have to deal with one or two rats scampering over and around them while they slept, or at least tried to. Conditions would have been unpleasant being quite dusty and not particularly warm, but the stations would have been relatively safe places for people to spend the night in, and certainly much safer than staying in their own homes.

      It was announced on Friday, 25 August 1939, just nine days before the outbreak of the Second World War, that the Air Raid Precautions Service (ARP) in the City of London was ready for operation at a moment’s notice.

      There had been a slight increase in the daily number of people enrolling for all branches of the service with most positions having been expediently filled by willing individuals. One notable exception, for some reason, was the stretcher bearer branch who were more than 300 volunteers short of the required number needed.

      Large businesses in the City of London were reminded of the requirements of Section 23 of the Civil Defence Act, which provides that as employers of more than thirty people they must inform their local authority what arrangements they have made to organise and train their members of staff. Such employers who had not complied with the regulation were encouraged to do so without delay.

      ARP Group.

      The control room for the City of London scheme, along with the wardens’ posts, were ready to be manned and any business in need of help or advice was urged to make contact with their nearest warden’s post. A list of these posts could be acquired by sending a messenger to the Corporation of London ARP Department, 17 Aldermanbury, City of London, EC2, who would provide a typed list.

      Five joint depots were set up that catered for rescue, repair, stretcher bearers, decontamination squads, and first-aid posts had been set up at the Bishopsgate Institute, Bishopsgate; the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey; the Chartered Insurance Institute, 20 Aldermanbury; and Unilever House at Blackfriars.

      The Guildhall had a scheme of its own along the same lines as commercial firms, but the Mansion House staff would be sent to the Guildhall in the case of an emergency.

      Monday, 4 September 1939 saw the sword bearer and the acting City of London town crier, Mr W.T. Boston, reading out aloud the king’s war proclamation from the steps of the Royal Exchange just across from Mansion House.

      Although people would have already known that the country was at war with Germany, hearing such an official announcement right in the very heart of the nation’s capital would have undoubtedly brought home the enormity of the journey that was about to begin.

      Sandbags suddenly appeared all over the City, as if by magic. Prominent buildings were surrounded with them, usually protecting doorways and ground floor windows from explosions caused as a result of bombs being dropped by German air raids.

      The regiment that was guarding the Tower of London at the outbreak of the war was the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry who, having taken over the role in June 1939, had moved in from their barracks at Shorncliffe in Kent. After their brief stay in the capital they were sent out to France as part of the 10th Brigade, 4th Division, with the British Expeditionary Force. Their time in France was just over eight months when they found themselves as part of the rearguard action during the retreat to Dunkirk, especially during the defence of the River Escaut.

      Grenadier Guards on sandbag making detail, May 1940.

      Over the course of the war the role of guarding the Tower of London fell to what was referred to as the Holding Battalion. Certainly at the time of the last ever execution at the Tower, on 15 August 1941, this responsibility was being formed by the Scots Guards.

      Besides a battalion from a regiment of the regular British army being in residence at the Tower, there were also the Tower of London Yeoman.

      On Sunday, 27 August 1939, with the outbreak of war just a week away, a team of eight Yeoman Warders from the Tower of London still found time to play a bowls match against Mill Hill at the Mill Hill Bowling Club. In keeping with the traditions of ‘old soldiers’ the Captain of the Yeoman Warders team, R.B. Brady, commandeered four members of the Mill Hill Club so as to make up a three rink attack. It was an entertaining affair, thoroughly enjoyed by both sides, despite the fact that the Yeoman Warders were well beaten by nineteen shots. Thankfully they were better at defending the Tower of London than they were when it came to playing bowls.

      During the after-match meal, the Mill Hill Captain, Mr E.J. Burch paid some glowing compliments to the Yeoman Warders about their play and sportsmanship, which had been noted and applauded by all of the Mill Hill members present on the auspicious occasion. He added that his club valued the annual fixture and hoped that it would be continued for many years to come.

      Mr Brady from the Warders in response thanked Mill Hill for what he called ‘the privilege’ of playing on their new green and for the hospitality shown to him and his colleagues. He was particularly complimentary of the food that was prepared and provided by three of the Mill Hill ladies’ team, Miss Barsham, Miss Hudson and Miss Medcalfe.

      The eight Yeoman Warders who represented the Tower of London at the match were:

      Robert B. Brady, a Yeoman Warder from 1925 to 1950.

      Alfred Barber, a Yeoman Warder from 1924 to 1954.

      James Brennan, a Yeoman Warder from 1920 to 1951.

      Samuel Lines Doney, a Yeoman Warder from 1932 to 1954.

      Robert Isaac Furman, a Yeoman Warder from 1926 to 1953.

      Samuel Reeves, a Yeoman Warder from 1931 to 1940.

      Henry Sumner, a Yeoman Warder from 1924 to 1944.

      James Wilson, MC, a Yeoman Warder from 1924 to 1947.

      At the outbreak of the Second World War the man who was the Member of Parliament for the City of London was Sir Alan Anderson, who had held the post since 1935. He was born on 9 March 1877 into a rich, powerful and influential family. His father was James George Skelton Anderson, a shipping magnate who in 1878 had merged the family-run shipping business of Anderson, Anderson & Co., with Frederick Green & Co, in to the Orient Steam Navigation Company. As if that wasn’t enough, his mother Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, became the first British woman in England to qualify as a doctor.

      Tower of London.

      Alan Anderson had been educated at both Eton College and Trinity College, Oxford. On leaving University he joined his father in the family’s shipping business, before changing direction slightly and moving into the field of rail transport and becoming a director of the Midland Railway in 1911. He certainly wasn’t the type of man to sit back on his laurels, or even someone who stayed in the same business for too long a period of time. Diversity must have been a key word in Alan Anderson’s vocabulary because during the First World War he became the vice chairman of the Royal Commission responsible for regulating the distribution of wheat supplies, which was an extremely important position to hold. Without a good and continuous wheat supply a country wasn’t going to be able to sustain its civilian population through the war. But his diversity didn’t end there. In 1917 he became the Admiralty Controller, which basically meant that he was in charge of overseeing the construction and repairs of both Royal Navy and Merchant Navy vessels.

      After the end of the First World War he was off once again, this time in a totally different direction in to the world of banking. Between 1918 and 1946

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