This bridge is typical of many railway bridges in London, or the rest of the country for that matter. However, this bridge has a special place in London history and to find out more we must travel back to 1944.
On Tuesday June 13, 1944, at around 04:30, the first V-1 flying bomb, also known as 'buzz bomb' or 'doodlebug', to hit London, detonated on this railway bridge, which carries the London North Eastern Railway from Liverpool Street.
The blast severely damaged the bridge and demolished twelve houses and over fifty others were damaged, with much of the damage occurring on Antill Road, Belhaven Street and Burnside Street.
Six people lost their lives, while another forty-two were injured.
The bridge, being a vital transport route, was repaired and operational by 19:45 on June 14. This repaired bridge would stay in place until the entire bridge was replaced in 1948.
The V-1 flying bomb was an unmanned, jet-powered bombs and were launched either from aircraft or from the ground in France and Holland. Londoners learned to watch the bomb and only run for cover when the jet cut out.
By the end of summer, 1944, over 2,000 V-1s had hit London, resulting in 6,184 people being killed and 17,981 people sustaining serious injuries. Over 1,000 homes were destroyed in Croydon alone.
Joseph V Waters, one of whose brothers had been injured by the bomb, proposed for the blue plaque to be installed. He was successful and the Greater London Council unveiled the enamelled steel plaque on June 13, 1985, 41 years after the bomb detonated.
Unfortunately, the plaque was stolen two years later, so English Heritage affixed this plaque in 1988.
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