Bomb damage at Commonside West, Mitcham
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| Area | Mitcham |
|---|---|
| Copyright 1 | Mitcham Public Library |
| Picture Reference | Mit_War_2-15 |
| Original Format | Photo |
| Notes / History | A bomb fell on the railings outside this house, called Ranmore, on Commonside West in Mitcham causing damage to the building and burning out the car. The date of this photograph is not recorded. However, Mitcham was generally believed to have been the most heavily bombed of the South London suburbs in the second world war. On the night of 16th/17th April 1941 the German Luftwaffe launched a major attack on London with more than 700 aircraft and there were 15 incidents in Mitcham that night. In one, an aircraft dropped a parachute mine which hit the Tower Creameries on Commonside East. It was later reported that no less than 15 men, 13 of whom were members of the Home Guard, were killed that night (see 'One Night in the Blitz' by David Haughton. Merton Historical Society bulletin No 175) In addition to the parachute mines, incendiaries and normal HE bombs dropped during the Blitz of 1940-41, no fewer than 49 ‘V1s’ or flying bombs –‘doodlebugs’ – fell on Mitcham in the closing years of the war. |
