Bomb damage to houses in Martin Way, Morden
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| Partial / Incomplete Date | c.1940 |
|---|---|
| Area | Morden |
| Copyright 1 | Wimbledon Borough News |
| Picture Reference | MerMor_World_War_2-5 |
| Original Format | Photo |
| Notes / History | The rubble of a house in Martin Way, Morden, flattened by enemy bombing in 1940. Houses would be damaged by incendiary devices but the fires could be extinguished using sand. However few, if any, could withstand a direct hit from a high explosive bomb. Most of these bombs varied in size from 110lbs to 1,100lbs but by 1941 the Herman bomb (weight 2,200lbs) and the ‘Satan’ bomb (4000lbs) had been introduced. It is reported that the latter ‘could produce a crater which would comfortably accommodate several double decker buses (‘Safe as Houses: Wimbledon at War 1939-45’ by Norman Plastow). It is likely that this house was flattened by one of two high explosive bombs that landed on either side of Martin Way at the point where it crossed Cannon Hill Road. The exact dates of these attacks are not known but these two sites are clearly shown on the map of the WW2 bomb census that can be found on the website www.bombsight.org. This map shows that, in addition to these two bombs, the area in the immediate vicinity of Martin Way was bombed more than 20 times during the 9 months of The Blitz from September 1940 to May 1941. The locations of these bombs, and of the flying bombs that fell in the area towards the end of the war, can also be seen on the Merton and Morden Bomb Map 1939-45 (Wimbledon Museum) |
