Bomb damage on St Helier Estate
Area | Morden |
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Copyright 1 | N.2452 |
Picture Reference | MerMor_World_War_2-2 |
Original Format | Photo |
Notes / History | St Helier estate, built over an area of 825 acres in the 1930s, was hit by 20 high explosive bombs in the 8 months of the Blitz from October 1940 to June 1941. Some houses, like these, were completely flattened. Residents of the estate recalled frequent air raids when they were obliged to spend the night in Anderson shelters in their gardens. One resident called Mary Harris recalled that ‘I can remember sleeping in the Anderson shelter in the garden. I can remember the dog and cat being on the top bunk. We used to use the bunks but then a lot of people got killed by the blast. I never understood what the blast was, but there were people on the top bunk in the shelters that were killed by the blast. So we all used to sleep the four of us on the bottom’ (Reminiscenses of St. Helier Estate 1999) |