Dame Alice Owen’s School shelter (Finsbury) 15th October 1940

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by CL1, Oct 15, 2021.

  1. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Islington Remembrance Project
    Tuesday 15th October 1940. This was a particularly bad day in Finsbury and Islington. During the day some attempts were made by enemy aircraft to penetrate London, but most were foiled over Kent. There was intense bombing, however, throughout the night in London and Birmingham. Flying conditions were good at full moon. Over 300 enemy aircraft were employed, 200 against London. A 24in culvert was shattered at Edmonton, which deprived large areas of north London of water for over 24 hours. Dame Alice Owen’s School shelter (Finsbury) was hit this night with the loss of 109 of the 143 who were taking shelter. Barnsbury Road, Boothby Road, Bredgar Road, Britannia Row near Essex Road, Eden Grove and Eden Grove Shelter, Packington Street, Palmer Place Shelter, Queen Margaret's Grove and Thornhill Square were also hit with the loss of an additional 41 lives. Two-month-old Iris Grinham was one of the youngest to die in Islington in the war. She died this night in the Dame Alice Owen Shelter tragedy. In all 261 were killed in London that day, 149 in Islington, with 1,137 injured. Elsewhere in the country, 36 were killed and 160 injured. 19 enemy aircraft were destroyed, five probable. 10 were damaged. The Luftwaffe lost 13 aircraft this day.

    001 BARRETT M - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    002 BARTON JA - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    003 BARTON MF - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    004 BARTON S - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    005 BELL J - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    006 BENCIVENGA LN - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    007 BENCIVENGA A - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    008 BENCIVENGA M - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    009 BRACKENBURY A - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    010 BRAND JA - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    011 BROWN TB - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    012 BROWN MS - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    013 BROWNING CL - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    014 BYLES A - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    015 CLARKE AE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    016 CORNHILL HJ - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    017 DAVISON SE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    018 EDRUPT MM - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    019 ELLIS JW - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    020 ELLIS EE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    021 FENWICK CE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    022 FIELD AR - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    023 FURBY WJ - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    024 FURBY FA - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    025 FURBY WE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    026 GAMBARDELLA S - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    027 GAMBARDELLA E - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    028 GAMBARDELLA EV - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    029 GAMBARDELLA DM - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    030 GILBERT E - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    031 GRACE J - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    032 GRINHAM GD - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    033 GRINHAM IP - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    034 HAWKER J - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    035 HAWKER EC - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    036 HENSON E - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    037 HENSON MK - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    038 HERSEY M - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    039 HERSEY JW - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    040 HORSEMAN M - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    041 JOHNSON AA - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    042 JONES JC - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    043 JONES CW - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    044 JONES JH - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    045 JONES JH - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    046 JONES JM - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    047 KAY GE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    048 KENNEDY O - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    049 KRELLE JHL - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    050 KRELLE GJ - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    051 LINDERMERE FL - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    052 LYME RM - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    053 MANNING RD - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    054 MANNING MA - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    055 MERRETT EP - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    056 OWEN E - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    057 PHILLIPS TH - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    058 PURTON N - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    059 ROFFEY C - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    060 ROFFEY C - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    061 ROMAGNOLI AB - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    062 ROMAGNOLI M - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    063 ROMAGNOLI R - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    064 ROMAGNOLI RS - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    065 ROMAGNOLI G - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    066 ROMAGNOLI E - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    067 ROWLEY MC - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    068 RUSSELL V - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    069 SAGGS JF - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    070 SAGGS MAR - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    071 SAGGS MA - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    072 SAGGS IR - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    073 SEENEY C - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    074 SEENEY J - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    075 SMITH A - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    076 SPENCER W - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    077 SPENCER A - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    078 SPENCER JC - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    079 STAFFORD A - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    080 TREACY M - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    081 TREACY KE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    082 TRUBY RJE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    083 WILDEN JE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    084 WILSON R - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    085 WINTERBOURN HH - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    086 WINTERBOURN HW - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    087 WORBOYS EJ - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    088 WORBOYS AE - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    089 WORBOYS SR - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    090 WORBOYS GD - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
    091 WORBOYS LM - - 15/10/1940 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD



    War Memorials
    “The night of 15 October 1940 was the night of the heaviest air raids of the autumn. Flying conditions were good with a full moon and 400 bombers attacked London, dropping incendiary bombs and high explosives.

    On this night about 150 people, who mainly lived in the surrounding area, had come to sleep in the public air raid shelter in the basement of Dame Alice Owen’s Girls’ School. The school building stood 50 metres south of the commemorative panels. There were many families with children and elderly people.

    At 20.07 hours, as people were settling in for the night, a large parachute high explosive bomb – a land mine – hit the school directly and most of the building collapsed. The explosion also shattered the major water main (The New River) in front of the building, which ran to the reservoir near Sadler’s Wells. People were crushed or trapped in the basement, which began to fill with water.

    Local people started rescue work immediately. They were later joined by uniform services, who were dealing with incidents all over London. Some people were rescued, including the school caretaker’s wife, Mrs Burley, who was photographed being carried from the ruins 17 hours after the bomb fell. The picture was sent all over the world and became an icon of the London Blitz. This picture is shown on the panels.

    But the majority died in the shelter or afterwards in hospital. The last bodies arrived at the mortuary on 8 November after more than three weeks of recovery work. Seventeen of the bodies were unidentified. The names, which are known of those who died, are recorded on the panels.

    Throughout London, 430 people were killed on the night of 15 October and there was huge damage to water, gas and electricity supplies and to five major railway stations.”
     
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