The V2 rocket bomb that fell on New Cross Road

Oggy Red

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but might be of interest:


Link:The V2 rocket bomb that fell on New Cross Road

One old fella said: “I can remember it as if it was yesterday.

“I heard this almighty bang and all the windows blew in.

“At a blink of the eye it could have hit my factory, 600 yards was nothing when you realise the rocket was going at 1,200mph. "

168 people were kiIled in an instant. If something like this had instead happened today ........

carly burn

Way of the world now.If todays media had been around during either of the past world wars, when the percentage of atrocities and fatalitys was far far higher than they are today they wouldn't know where to start.

Off_it

I remember my nan telling me about a V1 that fell in Hither Green just over the back of her house. They heard the engine stop as it went over her house. Scary.

wickford

My grandmother lost half her house in Gabriel St, Honor Oak, to a Doodlebug. No injuries sustained, thankfully.

bingaddick

The last V2 of the War fell at Orpington. My mother in law was in the high street at the time, and got blown to the floor. There is a very interesting book by Bob Ogley called "Doodlebugs and Rockets". The South East took the brunt.

SoundAsa£

One of my favourite pubs The Cock Inn at Luddesdown (near Meopham) has a wall map showing where all the V1's and V2's landed in Kent and (I think) SE London....amazing map and very intersting.

stonemuse

V2 rocket map

Here you go SoundAs

ThreadKiller

that's interesting.just reading his notes and says - Hither Green Cemetery,January 23, 1945, 0 Dead, but lots of bodies.

SoundAsa£

That's the V2 map...there were far more V1's than v2's, I think that's where the confusion may lie...... thanks anyway stoney.

se9addick

That map is really interesting. Two fell right by my parents house in Eltham and two fell my house in Leytonstone.

I notice they never got close to the ultimate prize though - The Valley !!

Big William

My Dad got bombed out of New Cross Road earlier in the war, and was going up to Deptford the day that rocket hit Woolworths. He said that afterwards one of the local swimming baths was used as a temporary mortuary.

He says that people got almost blase about the doodlebugs because they had a distinctive engine note and it was if the engine stopped you had to get your head down. The rockets were a much more frightening thing, they went faster the speed of sound which meant you quite literally had no warning whatsoever.

Hex

My Dad's girlfriend worked in Woolworths and she was killed that day.

My Dad is now 88 and is still a season ticket holder.

Lewis Coaches

I am sure a rocket fell just behind The Kentish Times building just off Sidcup High Street but am unable to find any detals of this.Anyone else recall this happening.

Off_it

It says one fell at Sparrows Lane. I wonder where exactly?

Goonerhater

The south london and outer boroughs got hit worse as false info was fed back to the Gremans re the actual locations of where the boms fell, they than altered the range so more fell on outer south london than in the middle of London.

There is a brass disc on the pavement neat the market in Lewisham to all the dead that died in the rocket /bomb there.

Off_it

[cite]Posted By: Goonerhater[/cite]The south london and outer boroughs got hit worse as false info was fed back to the Gremans re the actual locations of where the boms fell, they than altered the range so more fell on outer south london than in the middle of London.

There is a brass disc on the pavement neat the market in Lewisham to all the dead that died in the rocket /bomb there.

That was nice of them GH. Bet nobody told that to the poor buggers living in South London at the time though. After all, not much sense in bombing a cemetary is there!

TEL

My Nan was in the Woolworths queue, but having three very young children with her decided that she couldnt be bothered to wait and went home.....a real stroke of luck and she is still going strong at 90 years old today as is my grandad at 92.

Tom_Hovi

There were many incidents locally - The Brook Hotel in Shooters Hill Road was hit by a V2 on 11th November 1944 - 29 people were killed (14 of whom were on an 89 bus that just happened to be passing outside) and a similar number injured. Invicta Road School was hit by a Parachute Mine on 14th November 1940 when it was being used as an AFS Fire Station - 12 firemen and 3 civilians were killed. The list of local incidents is almost endless - we can only be thankful that the Nazis didn't win as the consequences of a German victory are too awful to contemplate.....

LenGlover

I don't know whether or not a V2 did it but The Eagle Pub in Red Lion Lane was bombed and people died.

My grandmother was a nurse and tried in vain to save them as she lived a few yards away in Constitution Rise as it is now (formerly Hill).

BDL

Knew that one hit the road where I grew up. Don't know how many were killed though.

ken from bexley

My Grandmother who lived in Tallis Grove often talked about the doodlebugs, and mentioned them to me on several occassions saying that one went off at the back of the house ........ for some reason I thought she meant the
'bomb site' near Invicta school where I used to play with my mates circa early 60s when I went to Sherrington school. Having checked the map Victoria way was near Fosdene school....

Tom_Hovi

Len - The Eagle was bombed in 1940 during the first Blitz. Several people were killed but a nurse, Mary Thomas, was awarded the George Medal for crawling through the wreckage and tending to 2 casualties trapped in the rubble who were later saved. I've been researching the Greenwich Incident Logs for a book that is being written but have yet to do those covering Woolwich (which would have covered The Eagle) so don't know the exact casualty details for this incident just yet. An excellent source of a reference is a book called "Red Alert" by Lewis Blake, which is sadly out of print but probably still available on Amazon secondhand and which tells the story of South East London during the Blitz. All together, the total civilian war dead for the old boroughs of Deptford, Greenwich, Lewisham and Woolwich came to 2,921. Lest we forget.......

Buglehorn

My great Aunt and her new born were killed whilst shopping in Woolworths, Sad thing is that someone saw her earlier walking away from Woolworths but she must have forgotten something and went back. Her husband was fighting away in Europe and was severly injured upon his return home on hearing his wife and daughter had been killed literally gave up his fight for survival and passed away also.

LenGlover

[cite]Posted By: Tom Hovi[/cite]Len - The Eagle was bombed in 1940 during the first Blitz. Several people were killed but a nurse, Mary Thomas, was awarded the George Medal for crawling through the wreckage and tending to 2 casualties trapped in the rubble who were later saved. I've been researching the Greenwich Incident Logs for a book that is being written but have yet to do those covering Woolwich (which would have covered The Eagle) so don't know the exact casualty details for this incident just yet. An excellent source of a reference is a book called "Red Alert" by Lewis Blake, which is sadly out of print but probably still available on Amazon secondhand and which tells the story of South East London during the Blitz. All together, the total civilian war dead for the old boroughs of Deptford, Greenwich, Lewisham and Woolwich came to 2,921. Lest we forget.......

Thanks Tom that's very interesting.

Where can the incident logs you refer to be found? I'd be interested in reading them.

Tom_Hovi

They are held at the Greenwich Heritage Centre down at the old Woolwich Arsenal. The Greenwich ones are quite easy to follow as they are basically in 5 A4 sized bound books but the Woolwich ones are loose leaf and an absolute nightmare to follow - which is why I've done Greenwich first and not started on Woolwich yet. They've also got a World War 2 "Ephemera" box which contains loads of stuff regarding A.R.P., Home Guard and the like within the borough. If you wanted info on a specific incident in the old Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich, let me know as I've listed everything out in date order, although onviously the actual Incident Logs will go into far more detail.

SparrowsLane

Has anyone got any info on the one that fell in Sparrows Lane as it is shown on the map only a hundred yards from my house. Fascinating stuff !

Tom_Hovi

Sparrows Lane was in the old Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich. I haven't started on these yet but when I do, I will look out for it. In the meantime, if you have a specific date (or even can narrow it down to a year) why not take a trip down the Heritage Centre, ask to see the "WW2 Woolwich Incident Logs" for the specific date/year and try and find it? As you say, its fascinating stuff and really good fun to research something yourself. Having said that, the staff down there are really helpful and will assist you in any way that they can.

SparrowsLane

Thanks Tom H for that I may well do that. Cheers

Tom_Hovi

By the way - from the Greenwich Incident Logs - the only two incidents that directly mention CAFC - "16th October 1940 - reported at 5.50 a.m., Unexploded HE Bomb in Floyd Road by Charlton Football Ground - Bomb later exploded, water pipes damaged, no casualties." The second one was "19th March 1941 - reported at 22.00 - Charlton Football Ground, Incendiary Bomb exploded - Fire Dealt with by Wardens."