Bomb damage to houses in High Path, South Wimbledon
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| Partial / Incomplete Date | c.1940 |
|---|---|
| Area | Merton |
| Picture Reference | MerMor_World_War_2-3 |
| Original Format | Photo |
| Notes / History | This house in High Path, South Wimbledon – just off the Merton Road – suffered a direct hit during the Blitz in 1940. The houses on either side needed shoring up with timber to prevent them also falling down. The Blitz, which lasted from September 1940 to May 1941, was a nine month bombing campaign of London by the German Luftwaffe following its failure to defeat the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain. Wimbledon suffered heavy casualties in a series of raids in the early months of the Blitz. The raids, which occurred almost nightly in September and October, claimed many lives and injured many more in the area. The Wimbledon attacks began the month before the official start of the Blitz, with a number of night raids on 16th/17th August 1940 that left 14 dead and 35 seriously injured (Borough of Wimbledon Record of Air Raid Attacks). A total of 692 high explosive bombs and 6 parachute mines fell on the London Borough of Merton during the Blitz. The railway line adjacent to High Path was also hit towards the end of the war when a V1 Flying Bomb fell on it in the early hours of 29th June 1944. |
