
Thursday 15th June 1944 – Germany started sending over pilot-less planes. Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm. Practice for Competition.
This is how Vera Richardson records the first notice of V1 Flying Bombs in her Wimbledon 1944 diary https://ww2homefrontdiaries.wordpress.com/category/vera-richardson/
Vera Richardson (b. 1907/8) lived with her mother and father at “New Holme”, 218 Coombe Road, Wimbledon throughout the war.
‘Pilotless Planes’ was how V1 Flying Bombs were first described in the news.
The Oberon Pavilion on the Oberon Playing Fields (the pavilion is still there 75 years leter) is where Vera’s Civil Defence First Aid Mobile Unit (MU) is based.
V1 bombings in Wimbledon 1944
Jim Slade who remembers this incident notes that, whilst the first V1 dropped on London at Bow on 13th June, the real assault began on the night of the 15th / 16th June. They continued across Britain until May 1945. Jim Slade wrote the online article Civilian Air Raid Casualties in Battersea and Wandsworth in the Second World War (2006). http://hawkley1939.emc.org.uk/History/civilian_air_raid_casualties.htm.
Wimbledon Museum notes the first V1 to drop on Wimbledon on the 16th June 1944, the last on 28th August 1944, very similar to the dates in this diary. 50% of all houses in the borough were damaged by the 1 tonne of explosive on each of these bombs. There were 648 casualties. http://www.wimbledonmuseum.org.uk/index.php/on-view/living-memory/the-war-years
Norman Plastow in Safe As Houses: Wimbledon 1939-1945 gives further detail of the pilotless planes or V1 Vergultung ‘Revenge weapon’ No. 1. 1000 kilos of high explosives.
The first V1 in Wimbledon at Cliveden Road on the 16th June 1944 caused extensive damage to houses and killed 20 people, injuring 53 more. Another landed on waste ground on the 17th, damaging nearby houses.
Three more fell on the 19th June 1944 (see her entry for the 18th ‘All Night Raid’).
The first V1 of the night fell at 3.40 in the morning on Wimbledon Park Golf Course, damaging houses but no casualties. A second fell at 6.30 am on Wimbledon Hill killed three people (including two police inspectors) and injured 16 others. The third bomb fell at 8.35 am on Dennis Park Crescent, injuring 24. As they exploded on impact on the surface, V1 bombs could damage 300 to 400 houses across a wide blast area.
These three V1s on the 19th June 1944 caused so much damage that teams of wardens had to be called in from as far afield as Salisbury, Market Harborough and Newark. A new evacuation was organised on a massive scale to escape this new Blitz.
The gaps in the diary could relate to the writer’s busy period dealing with the flying bomb disruption.
A further flying bomb fell on 20th June 1944 at Holland Avenue – 15 were injured damage was caused to all houses between Lindisfarne Road [where Vera’s Oberon First Aid Post was sited] and Coombe Lane. No surprise the First Aid competition was cancelled, since the teams were getting enough practice again for real.
On the 21st June 1944 , two more V1s fell, one at Church Road, the other on Rushmere Pond, Wimbledon Common. A third damaged by AA fire demolished the Wimbledon park golf course club house. A fourth fell on the Wandle Valley Sewage works. All damaged property.
In the early hours of the 23rd June 1944, a V1 dropped on Faraday Road, demolishing and damaging houses already repaired after bomb and incendiary bomb attacks. 1 person was killed, 7 taken to hospital and 25 treated for minor injuries. Another V1 was shot down by fighters over Wimbledon Common.
No further V1s fell on Wimbledon between 23rd June and 28th June, though many flew overhead to cut out (run out of fuel) and crash elsewhere along ‘Doodlebug Alley’.
Vera Richardson’s Diary June 1944
Saturday 17th June 1944 – Did not go out because of cough.
Sunday 18th June 1944 – Went to Oberon 5 – 11 pm. All night raid,
Monday 19th June 1944 – Went to Oberon for practice 8.30 to 9.30 pm.
Tuesday 20th June 1944 – First Aid (F. A.) Competition cancelled.
Wednesday 21st –
Thursday 22nd June 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm.
Friday 23rd –
Saturday 24th –
Sunday 25th June 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 11 pm.
Monday 26th –
Tuesday 27th June 1944 – Went to Clapham & Brixton.
Wednesday 28th –
Thursday 29th June 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 8.30 pm. Bomb fell on St Matthews Church. We had 2 ceilings down.
Friday 30th June 1944 – (B) Bomb fell in Cambridge Rd . & blasted our house. At night another on Melbury Gardens.
At 8.30pm on 29 June 1944 St Matthews church was totally destroyed by a flying bomb.
In spite of this, the people of St Matthew’s continued to worship together. The Priest-in-Charge of Christ Church offered hospitality, and for a time the two congregations worshipped in the same building at different times. The damage to St Matthews Church on 29 June 1944 is shown in pictures here:
http://www.stmatthewswimbledon.org/StMch_history.html
Copse Hill, Cottenham Park, Wimbledon and the flying bombs
29th and 30th June saw extensive damage in Vera Richardson the diary writer’s area. This is recorded in detail from Civil Defence records in Norman Plastow’s book.
29th June 1944
10.35 am V1 lands on an empty railway train at Gap Road Bridge, killing the driver. A second fell on Nelson Gardens, Merton killing one and injuring eighteen.
Vera the writer notes: Thursday 29th – Went to Oberon 4 – 8.30 pm. Bomb fell on St Matthews Church. We had 2 ceilings down.
At the end of Vera the writer’s shift, at 8.55 p.m. 29th June 1944 St Matthew’s Church in Spencer Road was destroyed by a V1 , along with houses 2 to 18 Spencer Road destroyed by blast or fire damage. Plastow notes that “Many houses in Spencer Road, Durham road, Richmond Road and Amity Grove also suffered damage”, giving clues to where the writer lived as two of her ceilings were down. 40 were injured in this Spencer Road incident. Many were homeless, sheltering at local halls whilst the WVS set up Blitz Information Bureaux in Kenilworth Avenue and Durham Close.
30th June 1944
The writer noted: Friday 30th – (B) Bomb fell in Cambridge Rd . & blasted our house. At night another on Melbury Gardens.
On the 30th June 1944 at 10.35 a.m., 133-143 and 98-102 Cambridge Road were destroyed by a flying bomb, with further houses damaged along Cambridge Road, Richmond Road, Oakwood Road, Laurel Road and Coombe Lane. 3 were killed and 25 injured, other homeless people went to rescue centres. Another flying bomb fell on the golf course again, damaging Warren Farm. Further blast damage to the Queensmere Road and Parkside areas came from a flying bomb landing that evening in nearby Wandsworth.
At 2.50 a.m. a flying bomb fell demolishing No. 3-19 and 10 to 14 Melbury Gardens, cratering the road and fracturing gas mains which caught alight, damaging army lorries and injuring three people. Again the blast damaged houses near the writer’s area across Durham Road, Cottenham Park Road, Panmuir Road and Cambridge Road.
V1 bombs continued throughout July 1944. Whilst the writer notes her tiles being repaired from previous raids, other parts of Wimbledon were being damaged and people rendered homeless.
Norman Plastow notes:
4th July 1944 – railway line hit at Durnsford Road Bridge. 6 injured.
5th July 1944 – two more bombs fell, one at noon near Kings College where thankfully exams were taking place in the shelters. Others students and staff sheltered from flying glass under desks. Six casualties were caused in surrounding houses. The second bomb hit Wimbledon Common and Calonne Road.
7th July 1944 – whilst Vera the diary writer notes a ‘thunderstorm’ at midnight, early morning houses in Herbert Road, St. Andrews Church and its hall were destroyed along with damage over a very wide area. 12 went to hospital, sixteen to minor injuries and 115 homeless people were dealt with by the WVS.
Plastow noted:
10th July 1944 – 9.07 a.m. a flying bomb landed near Pelham Road School – no children were injured, but in nearby houses 1 died, 92 were injured (with 53 of these sent to hospital). 34 houses were destroyed, 85 houses seriously damaged and like many flying bombs up to 390 more houses suffered minor damage.
Vera the diary writer noted: Sunday 9th July 1944– Went to Oberon at 4 pm & stayed all night. Sat up on watch 2-30 to 4 am.
This continued to be a difficult time for Civil Defence workers and civilians. The V1 bombs continued to fall, on 12th July at Merton Board mills, on 14th July at Plough Lane.
Just after midnight on Sunday the 16th July two flying bombs landed. The first near Wimbledon Station, killed one and injured 46 in a nearby bus queue. A dance had just finished at Wimbledon Town Hall and the glass roof was blown in, thankfully with no casualties. The other flying bomb landed on Wimbledon Common, a third near the Southern Railway in Merton.
Again on the 19th, the 20th, the 27th, 29th, 31st July 1944 and 3rd, 14th, 20th, 22nd and 24th August 1944, more V1 flying bombs fell. These caused extensive property damage often to houses that had been repaired before and sometimes dozens of casualties and the occasional death.
Finally on the 28th August 1944 the last Wimbledon V1 fell.
Vera the diary writer was lucky to get speedy repairs to her roof by local builders. Plastow notes that despite there being 60,000 men involved in emergency repairs, there was still a severe shortage of building workers such as tilers to deal with such extensive damage. Builders were no longer called up into the forces, some were released early to help, some were recalled from retirement or brought in from Ireland or across Britain to help repair the V1 damage in London and the South East.
Vera Richardson’s Diary July 1944
Saturday 1st July 1944 –
Sunday 2nd July 1944 – Went to Oberon 5 – 11 pm.
Monday 3rd July 1944 – Rained all day.
Tuesday 4th July 1944 – Wood & Son of 71, The Ridgeway (builders) came to put our tiles back.
Wednesday 5th July 1944 – Went to Clapham & Brixton & to see Aunts F & D. Went to Oberon in evening. Builders finished on Wednesday.
Thursday 6th July 1944 – (F) Went to Oberon 4 – 10 pm. Thunderstorm at midnight.
Friday 7th –
Saturday 8th –
Sunday 9th July 1944 – Went to Oberon at 4 pm & stayed all night. Sat up on watch 2-30 to 4 am.
Monday 10th –
Tuesday 11th July 1944 – Went to Clapham & Brixton and to Oberon in evening.
Added note: * D’s illness started [D her father was to die later in 1944)
Wednesday 12th July 1944 – D took to his bed ill – * Mrs Vasanx (correct spelling?) left Oberon.
Thursday 13th July 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 9pm.
Friday 14th –
Saturday 15th July 1944 – Planted 64 cabbages in the garden.
Sunday 16th July 1944 – D still in bed. Went to Oberon 6 – 9pm.
Monday 17th –
Tuesday 18th July 1944 – Went to Clapham & Brixton on to see Aunts F & D.
Wednesday 19th July 1944 – Planted Leek & Radish seeds in the Garden.
Thursday 20th July 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 10pm. D sat up for 25mins. Planted black radish seeds.
Friday 21st July 1944 – Colder day.
Saturday 22nd –
Sunday 23rd July 1944 – (B) Went to 4 – 9pm.
Monday 24th –
Tuesday 25th –
Wednesday 26th –
Thursday 27th – July 1944 Went to Oberon 4 – 9pm.
Friday 28th –
Saturday 29th –
Sunday 30th July 1944 – (F) Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm.
Monday 31st –
Vera Richardson’s Diary August 1944
Tuesday 1st –
Wednesday 2nd –
Thursday 3rd August 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm.
Friday 4th –
Saturday 5th –
Sunday 6th August 1944– Went to Oberon 4 – 11 pm.
Monday 7th August 1944 – Lavatory & landing ceilings down this morning.
Tuesday 8th August 1944 – Went to Clapham & Brixton. No meat. Went to Oberon 8 – 11 pm.
Wednesday 9th –
Thursday 10th August 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm.
Friday 11th –
Saturday 12th –
Sunday 13th August 1944 – D [father] still in bed. Went to Oberon 5 – 11 pm.
Monday 14th August 1944 – Cut dead wood off plum tree & chopped it up.
Tuesday 15th August 1944 – Went to Clapham & Brixton. To tea with Aunts F & D. To Oberon 8 – 11 pm.
Wednesday 16th –
Thursday 17th August 1944 – Went to Oberon 4.30 – 10 pm. Had supper there.
Friday 18th August 1944 – Helped Iris to pick greengages & damsels. Had tea with I & L.
Saturday 19th August 1944 – Rained today Sir Henry Wood died .
Sunday 20th –
Monday 21st –
Tuesday 22nd –
Wednesday 23rd August 1944 – (B) Paris retaken by Maquis.
Thursday 24th August 1944 –Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm.
Friday 25th –
Saturday 26th-
Sunday 27th August 1944 – D still in bed. Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm.
Monday 28th August 1944 – Dr. Pritchard’s house bombed in Lambton Rd 3 – 3.30 pm.
Tuesday 29th August 1944 – Went to Clapham & Brixton. & on to tea with Aunts F & D. Went to Oberon 8 – 11 pm.
Wednesday 30th – (F)
Thursday 31st August 1944 – Went to Oberon 4 – 9 pm.
“Last day of Flying Bombs” noted by the writer on this week’s page. Presumably the 28th August 1944.
Blog posted using material from my WW2 Home Front Diaries Collection by Mark Norris, 15 June 2019.
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