The Old Palace School Bombing on 20 April 1941 caused the largest single loss of life of

firefighters A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

in the history of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The Old Palace School in the Poplar area of the

Metropolitan Borough of Poplar Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a District (Metropolis), district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in ...

being used as an

Auxiliary Fire Service The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded ...

sub-station during

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 34 firefighters, 21 of whom had been sent from

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

in southeast London to assist their colleagues in

east London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

, were present in the station when it was hit by a

parachute mine A parachute mine is a naval mine dropped from an aircraft by parachute. They were mostly used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. ...

. All 34 men and women were killed and the school was destroyed. Lansbury Lawrence Primary School was built on the site of the Old Palace School. The bombing is commemorated by a plaque on the school grounds inscribed with the following words.

In memory of the 13 London firemen and women and 21 Beckenham firemen killed on the night of 19th April 1941 when a bomb destroyed the old school being used as a sub-fire station. This is the largest single loss of Fire Brigade personnel in English history. Details of this tragic incident were recorded in the wartime diaries of Mr W. Somerville, an off duty member of the Homerton crew. It is to him and the many thousands of men and women that made up the A.F.S. and N.F.S. 1939-1945 that this plaque is also dedicated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Palace School bombing, 1941 1941 in London Poplar, London The Blitz 1941 murders in the United Kingdom Mass murder in London 20th century in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets History of firefighting London in World War II April 1941 in the United Kingdom Building bombings in London School bombings in the United Kingdom 20th-century mass murder in England 1940s murders in London Attacks on schools in the 1940s Nazi war crimes Mass murder in 1941 School killings in the United Kingdom Fire and rescue in England Attacks on buildings and structures in 1941

See also

References