STRATFORD TUBE - 1953

Image: Accident Report

Photo: Newham Recorder

On April 8, 1953, rescuers freed commuters trapped in a London Underground tunnel after two trains collided during the evening rush hour. Nine people died and many others were injured.

Nurses from Queen Mary's Hospital and Whipps Cross Hospital responded, caring for the injured and assisting surgeons as the London Fire Brigade and others burrowed through the Central Line wreckage between Statford and Leyton.  

"It's just a shamble down there," said a London fireman quoted by the press. "We have to cut our way through every inch."

A news report from the scene said: "Heavy jacking equipment was taken into the tunnel to raise shattered coaches. A ceaseless procession of nurses carried surgical instruments, bandages, splints and other medical supplies."

St. John Ambulance also responded.

Investigators determined a signal failure led to the tube mishap.

RUDI M - 1980

Photo: London Fire Brigade

(Editor's Note: Thank you to Station Manager Robin Whittington of London's Poplar Fire Station for providing this post.)

By Steve Dudeney

The Motor Vessel Rudi M was an 800-ton Panamanian registered liquid gastanker, and in the winter of 1979/80 it came into Regents Canal Dock off of the River Thames in East London to undergo a re-fit.

On Jan. 17, 1980, fire crews from the Green Watch at Poplar Fire Station, whose ground covered the Regents Canal Dock, had been called to a fire on the ship caused by workers using hot cutting equipment. The fire was quickly tacked by the crews and work on the boat continued throughout January until the fateful morning of the 25th.

The Red watch at F22 Poplar reported for Duty at 1800 on Thursday, Jan. 24. Stn O Tony Westbrook was in charge with Sub O DennisHurley, Lfm John Bailey and Leading Fireman Steve Maynard as the officers that night.

The rest of the watch on duty that night were Fm Dave Andrew, Fm Mick Brophy, Fm John Burgess Fm Carl Chughtai, Fm Steve Debenham, Fm Bill Downey, Fm Keith Herbert, Fm Barry Holmes, Fm Brian Jeffries, Fm Keith Leggett, Fm Keith Stimpson and Fm Paul Wickenden.

Typically for Poplar at that time they had a very busy night with a number of calls in and around Poplar and the pump, with Stn O Westbrook in charge, had spent a large part of the night fighting a 25-pump fire at Chelsea Flour Mills in West London.

Friday dawned a clear day, at around 8.30am a number of the oncoming Green Watch had started to appear, having had a long night a few of the Watch had decided to take an exchange duty so a few members of the Green Watch were now riding for Red Watch personnel.

At 08:55 that morning a call was received at Stratford Fire Control from workers on the ship. There was a fire in the hold; once again contractors had accidentally set alight to insulating material in the tank.

The bells went down at Poplar ordering the pump escape and pump along with the pump from F25 Shadwell to the fire. Upon the arrival of the crews, a fire was seen to be in progress in the hold of the ship and a 4-man BA crew consisting of Lfm Steve Maynard and Fm Steve Debenham from the Red Watch with Sub O George Thomas & Fm Gary Jones from the Green Watch were committed to the hold in BA with a firefighting jet.

The hold was very hot and smoky with visibility at zero. Steve Debenham withdrew to the jetty to get a pair of gloves but was ordered by Stn O Westbrook to go back down and get the crew to withdraw. Steve returned to the hold and passed on Stn O Westbrook's' order, Sub O Thomas and Fm Jones left first followed by Steve Debenham and Steve Maynard.

Upon reaching the top of the ladder Steve Debenham noticed Steve Maynard was not behind him.

He went back down the ladder and all of a sudden the hold of the ship erupted into flame and smoke. Steve Debenham was badly burned and Steve Maynard did not manage to escape, he tragically lost his life.

[Terry Dietman, a worker at the dock, told the East London Advertiser newspaper that day: “There was a sudden gush of smoke from the hold. It was awful. Everyone was so helpless.”]

The LFB lost a good officer and his family and colleagues mourned his untimely death at the age of 26.

Thirty years on from that day, Limehouse Basin is now almost unrecognisable. Members of Steve's family, retired members who attended the fire, local senior officers and principal LFB officers lined up at the side of the dock as a new plaque to commemorate the anniversary of Steve's death was unveiled by London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson.

---

'NICE AND DECENT BLOKE'

Recalling the fire 30 years later, Steve Debenham said in an interview with The Docklands 24 web site:

"It's so important to remember people like Stephen and to let his family know we've never forgotten about him

"He was the one who told me to go up the ladder on that morning and then there was the explosion. That shows the courage of the man. He was a thoroughly nice and decent bloke and had a great sense of humour.

"It was devastating for everyone and I still think about it all the time - it's very distressing to lose a friend and colleague."

GOSWELL ROAD - 1969

Photo: Collection of Kevin McDermott, retired London firefighter

The collapse of an old air raid shelter at Goswell Road, Islington, in 1969, killed London firefighter Michael Lee of the Shoreditch Fire Station and seriously injured another firefighter.

CONSULATE FIRE - 1980

Photo: Ottawa Citizen
On March 24, 1980, flames destroyed the Italian Consulate in London's fashionable Knightsbridge district. More than 50 firefighters answered the alarm.

EMBASSY SIEGE - 1980

Photos: BBC

On May 5, 1980, a six-day siege at the Iranian embassy ended after a dramatic raid by Special Air Service commandos that freed 19 hostages.

Members of the London Fire Brigade entered the building to extinguish flames ignited by military explosives while police evacuated the hostages.

Five gunmen and one hostage died in the shootout.

The attackers belonged to a group opposed to Ayatollah Khomeini, the religious leader who came to power in Iran in 1979, according to the BBC.

DREAM CITY - 1994

On Feb. 28, 1994, a homeless man surrendered to police for setting a blaze claimed 11 lives at an adult theater in Clerkenwell, London.

The fire on Feb. 26 at Dream City, near Smithfield Market, injured 13 others.

Witnesses reported seeing a man with a red gasoline can before the flames erupted at the unlicensed theater.

"It was a horrific incident - the worst I have experienced in 30 years," said Ken Emsley, commander of the Euston fire station, who was quoted by The Independent. "It was absolutely chaotic. We were working under extreme conditions, with so many people trying to get out of the building."

According to the newspaper:

"Dream City showed straight and gay sex films and occupied the second and third floors. Witnesses said flames engulfed all floors within minutes of the building 'exploding'. The injured suffered severe burns, broken bones and the effects of smoke inhalation. Some jumped from third-floor windows. The pavement outside became strewn with dead and injured as police and ambulancemen battled to revive badly burned victims."

The fire was set by a "deaf, homeless man called David Lauwers" who had a disgreement with the doorman, according to Wikipedia. Lauwers surrendered at the Walthamstowe police station, and a court sentenced him to life in prison.

TURNING OUT

"There's always this hurry. Now you'll have to tell me if my helmet's on straight."

London Evening News - July 24, 1936

British Cartoon Archive

MADAME TUSSAUD'S

Flames and aerial bombardment visited Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London during the 20th Century, gutting the popular exhibition hall.

According to the BBC:

"In 1925 an electrical fault caused a raging fire; by the time the fire brigade arrived many of the sculptures had already melted, but many of the head moulds were saved. This meant that, despite the fire destroying the death masks of, among others, Robespierre, the masks could be remade.

"In 1939, with the beginning of the Second World War, London endured the first of many bombing raids. On 8 September, 1940, the first night of the London Blitz, Madame Tussaud's was hit by a bomb which inflicted heavy damage."

COLNEY HATCH - 1903

UPDATED JULY 2021

Images:  Illustrated London News; Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle Telegram, Jan. 27, 1903;  post card

On Jan. 27, 1903, a fire at the sprawling Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum - a psychiatric hospital serving London - killed 52 women.

The facility was considered a fire trap with temporary wards made of lumber.

A contemporary account (printed in the British Journal of Psychiatry) said:

"A few minutes after half-past 5 yesterday morning the steam siren at the asylum sounded the fire alarm, and the inhabitants of New Southgate, Barnet, and Edmonton, the parishes surrounding the asylum, who swarmed into the streets, saw a startling glare showing from the asylum grounds. It was evident that a disastrous fire, which had already obtained a strong hold, was in progress.

"A number of local residents climbed the wall of the asylum at the rear with a view of rendering assistance, but their aid was refused. The fire which had broken out so suddenly and was destined to end so tragically began at the bottom block of the temporary wards.

"It burnt from the outset with great fury, and in a few seconds the whole of the southern block, known as X ward 5, was involved. The buildings, being erected on timber frames and lined with matchboarding, of course fed the flames, and there being a high wind blowing at the time, every element necessary to assist the blaze was present.

"The asylum house fire brigade at once resolutely attacked the fire, but apparently they were in difficulties owing to the lack of water, and they were also short-handed for a task of such magnitude as that which confronted them, there being less than a dozen of the asylum staff drilled as firemen resident inside the walls.

"The heat and smoke created by the fire were also bad elements to contend with, it being im- possible to approach the burning block. In these circumstances it was not surprising to the spectators to observe after a very few minutes that X Ward 4 had burst into flames, which had swept along the commu nicating corridor, meeting with no opposition, while by this time the iron sides and roof of X 5 were almost at a white heat.

"The Hornsey Fire Brigade had been the first to get their steamer to work, but they were unable to do any effective duty until they had dammed a brook at the bottom of the slope, about 400 yards from the fire. When they began to play upon the flames it was too late to prevent the total destruction of the temporary wards, which, in little more than an hour after the outbreak was discovered, had been burned out from end to end and had crumpled down.

"One after another the doomed huts burst into flames. For a while each burned with a brilliant glare, the flames shooting high into the air through the slightly-constructed roof. Then the roof and walls collapsed amid a shower of sparks, and the fire swept on to claim its neighbours. One by one in this rapid way all five of the wards tumbled down, a heap of smouldering ruins."

ALHAMBRA THEATRE - 1882

Photos: Illustrated London News

Theater fires plagued London in the 19th Century and Chief Fire Officer Massey Shaw embarked on an ambitious program to improve safety.

According to the London Fire Brigade:

"Theatre fires were very common in Victorian times because of the gas lamps used to light the stage. In 1881/82 Shaw was requested to conduct an inspection of theatres and make recommendations for their protection.

"Shaw’s article Fires in Theatres recommended that all walls in theatres should be of strong construction, that there should be enough exits for people to escape and that theatres should have a good water supply.

"He also devised the theatre fire curtain (still in use today) which would be made of metal and if a fire started it could divide the theatre from the auditorium."

A major fire at the Alhambra tested London's fire service.

In a dispatch dated Dec. 7, 1882, The New York Times reported: "At 7 o'clock this morning 25 steam fire-engines were playing on the ruins of the Royal Alhambra Theatre. Owing to the great height of the minarets it was impossible for the water to reach time."

The blaze claims the lives of two brigade members, First Class Fireman Thomas George Ashford and Fourth Class Fireman Henry Berg, according to London Fire Brigade archives.

It is said the Price of Wales - later King Edward VII - a friend of Shaw's who would attend major fires in full kit - escaped serious injury.

'ALLY PALLY'

Photos: Illustrated London News, Alexandra Palace

Fire struck London's Alexandra Palace - known as "Ally Pally" - in 1873 and more than a century later in July 1980.

NEW KENT ROAD - 2009

Photos: London SE1 website team

On March 22, 2009, fire swept Hargreen House on New Kent Road SE1. The building sat vacant for several years before the fire, according to the London SE1 community website.

HARROW - 1952

Photos: Red Cross

On Oct. 8, 1952 a London-bound express train missed a yellow signal and careened into the rear of a stationary local train in northwest London. Then, a third train - outbound from from Euston - crashed into the wreckage, according to the BBC.

The disaster at the Harrow and Wealdstone rail station killed 112 people and injured hundreds more.

The London-bound express was running at between 50 and 60 mph.

"It was horrible and a big mess," retired London firefighter David Glennie recalled in an interview published in the Harrow Observer on Aug. 21, 2008.

John Bannister, a passenger on the local, told The Times:

"It all happened in a second. There was a terrible crash and glass and debris showered on me. I blacked out for a moment and when I came round I found I was lying on the line with debris on top of me. I managed to free myself and drag myself on to the platform."

According to Wikipedia:

• The local from Tring to Euston was made up of nine coaches.
• The express from Perth to Euston consisted of 11 cars, which included four sleepers.
• The train from Euston to Liverpool and Manchester consisted of 15 cars.

Of the fatalities "it was believed that 64 fatalities occurred in the local train, 23 in the Perth express and 7 in the Liverpool train. Another 14 could not be ascertained, but probably occurred among passengers on the station platforms or footbridge," according to Wikipedia.

DUDGEON'S WHARF - 1969

Photos: http://www.fireservice.co.uk/ and East End Life
The London Fire Brigade dedicates a plaque marking the 40th anniversary of an explosion that killed five firefighters on July 17, 1969 at the derelict Dudgeon's Wharf tank farm.

The names of the fallen:

• Temporary sub-officer Michael Gamble, Millwall station
• Firefighter John Appleby, Brunswick Road station
• Firefighter Terrance Breen, Brunswick Road station
• Firefighter Paul Carvosso, Cannon Street station
• Firefighter Alfred Smee, Millwall station

Excerpt from East London Advertiser:

Dec. 24, 2009

By Mike Brooke

FIREFIGHTERS remembered their five comrades this Christmas who perished more than 40 years ago at the Dudgeon’s Warf disaster on the Isle of Dogs in East London when a commemorative plaque was unveiled.

London’s fire commissioner Ron Dobson unveiled the plaque at the service on the site of the former Millwall oil storage plant at Compass Point, off Manchester Road.

The service marked that fateful Thursday afternoon in July, 1969, when five firemen and a demolition worker were killed. Five more firemen were serious injured.

A fire had broken out in one of the huge oil storage tanks on the Thames waterfront, big enough to hold a-million gallons, which demolition workers had actually put out. Fire crews arrived to make sure—but miscalculation led to the horrifying explosion that sent six men to their deaths.

They believed the 60ft storage tank was empty and were standing by ready to cool the inside with hoses while demolition worker Richard Adamas cut open an inspection cover through the thick steel hull.

But air rushing in through the open cover may have mixed with vapour from the residual oil at the bottom of the tank. A spark from Richard’s oxyacetylene torch ignited the lethal cocktail of oxygen and oil chemical and exploded, sending the crew on the tank roof hurtling 40ft to their deaths.

Police and nearby dockers raced to the scene searching the rubble for the bodies, while the injured were ferried in a fleet of ambulances to Poplar Hospital.

A neighbour living close by in Manchester Road called the East London Advertiser office at 12.25pm and said: “The explosion rocked our flats—it was just like the blitz all over again.”

Mothers ran to the nearby Cubitt Town Primary school to make sure their children were safe.

The man who raised the alarm was the plant office manager Alf Moon, who later gave a dramatic account of the tragic events to the paper.

“A fire broke out in tank number 97 in the morning during the demolition work and I called the Fire Brigade,” he said. “But before I had even put the telephone down, the men signalled that they themselves had extinguished the fire.“The Brigade arrived to make sure the tank was safe. That’s when it exploded into a sheet of flames. It was just like a rocket taking off.

“The men who had been on the top were sailing through the air with their arms and legs outstretched and twisted metal flying around them.”

Wreckage from the blast landed 150ft away. One of the demolition workers who helped find the bodies was metal-cutter Roy Measom, whose friend Richard Adamas, known as Reg, was the workman who was killed.

He said: “We had the fire under control, but the firemen arrived and wanted to get inside the tank.

“They told me to cut off bolts holding an inspection cover at the bottom of the tank.

“Reg lit the gun and handed it to Mick Hagarty who gave it to me.

“As soon as I started cutting, there was an explosion and the gun was torn from my hand. Reg landed face down on the jetty. I think he was killed instantly.”

Roy Measom was nearly killed himself, as he later recalled: “I saw the top of the tank flying towards me and dived between two other tanks. It’s a miracle I survived.

“When I looked up, the firemen were flying around like paper dolls. The air was full of helmets and debris.”

SOHO CLUB - 1980

Photos: Soho Fire Station, London Fire Brigade

EDITOR'S NOTE: In early 2012, a reader of the London Fire Journal requested assistance in locating the wife and child of a relative who was killed in this tragedy. The reader, from Panama, had lost touch with the relative's wife three decades ago. On April 14, 2012, the Fire Journal received information that helped bring the case to a close. We are pleased to report it appears to be a very happy ending!

By Vinny Del Giudice
London Fire Journal 

On Aug. 15, 1980, a patron ejected from a Soho club returned with a can of gasoline, lit a match and killed 37 people attending a farewell party - London's deadliest fire since the Blitz at that time.

"There was very little showing at the front; at the rear, the building was an inferno," according to the website of the Soho fire station. "The entire building and staircases were engulfed in seconds. No one inside stood a chance."

The initial call came into the London Fire Brigade at about 3:30 a.m., and proved to be a "bad address" - a location off the Soho station's fireground.

Firefighters were then directed to the club on Denmark Place, which was frequented by South Americans and Spaniards, many of whom were illegal immigrants.

Euston station leading fireman David Pare recalled: "You could hear people screaming but we couldn't see any flames."


Firefighters assigned to the Green Watch extinguished the fire; Red Watch crews were responsible for recovery of the bodies. The club wasn't licensed.

"We only realized what really happened when we got the fire out and managed to get inside," said a fire brigade spokesman quoted by United Press International.

Initially, London police suspected the fire may have been tied to a dispute between drug gangs or, in a strange twist, feuding hot dog vendors as hot dog carts were stored in a room in the club.

Instead they charged John Thompson, 42, described as a petty thief and drug addict.

After arguing with a barman, Thompson purchased a gallon of gasoline at service station, poured the fuel through a letter slot at the club and set it alight.

He was sentenced to life in prison in May 1981 and died of lung cancer on the 27th anniversary of the blaze.

Colombian Elizabeth Mercado, 30, the guest of honor, jumped from a second story window along with Eduardo Trujillo, 28, also from Colombia.

"Everywhere there was the smell of petrol and very black smoke - plastic dripping from the ceiling of the club," said Trujillo, quoted by the Associated Press.

Many of the dead were found still seated at tables; other tried to flee.

"The fire spread too fast for them," said Ray Baldwin, a divisional fire officer.

Locked doors blocked escape routes from the venue, which went by the names "Rodos" and "Victor Gonzales."

Leading firefighter Pare recalled:

"We came up against a music shop where there was a man in a desperate state. He was trying to break the security grills on the shop window to get out."

"The man was hysterical. He kept screaming 'there are hundreds dead up there'."

"In front of us was the fire escape to the club and we could immediately see every window had been blown out."

"There was one body on the staircase, one on the landing and one as you went into the building."

"On the first floor there was a kitchenette area and that is where the man, who we had helped out of the music room window, had escaped.

"He had had to climb over bodies three deep to escape."

Alan Freeman, a brigade photographer, said:

 "As you walked up the stairs, you went into one of the rooms and it was as if the bodies were dominoes that had been pushed over.

"It was like they had been frozen in the same position they were in before the fire started."

LIST OF DEAD - From the Independent in 2015

AGUIRE Sylvia
BARRIOS Alvaro
BOUGH Pamela
BULATI Beiddredin
CAMPBELL Archibald
CARROLL Leonard
COWARD Diana
DCEDARAN Clancy
DICK Maria
DOLAN Peter Alan
FIORILO Paul
FRANCO Jose
GOREY Carol
GUMIEL Maria
GUMIEL Theresa
HENAGHAN Denise
ISHERWOOD Christina
LONDONO Luz Mary
McDERMOT Avril
McILVANEY Diana
MUNOZ Gloria
MURRAY Anita
NAVARO Antonio
NORTON Bridget
ORTEGON-GARCES Julian
PUTAHU Segg
RAMSEY William
REID Alexander
SAGASTA-JULDAIN Juan Antonio
SMITH Edgar
SOTO Carlos Alberto
STIRTON Robert
TAYLOR-HARDING Eustace Ralph
VARGAS Alejandro
VARGAS Hernan
VARGAS-CORRALES Beatrice
YULE Frederick

PECKHAM - 2009

Photo: Sky News

On Nov. 26, 2009, flames swept a construction site, jumped a street and ignited an apartment block and a pub at Caribrooke Gardens, Peckham.

"At the height of the blaze there were 30 fire engines and over 150 firefighters tackling the fire," according to a London Fire Brigade press release. "Around 310 people were evacuated from their homes and moved to emergency accommodation."

No serious injuries were reported at the fire at Sumner Road and Rosemary Road.

"The ferocity of the fire was a challenge when we first arrived," said Steve Turek, assistant fire commissioner, quoted by the Associated Press. "All the buildings were simultaneously burning."

Paul McKenzie, owner of the gutted Golden Lion pub, told the BBC: "I opened the fire door into the club room and it was just hot. The glass in the windows were cracked and I thought, 'You know what, this not somewhere you want to be.'"

DOCKS - 1864

Image: Illustrated London News
"In December 1864, a fire destroyed several buildings in the St Saviour's Dock at Dockhead, Bermondsey. The engraving is notable for its depiction of the London Fire Engine Establishment's floating fire engine in action," according to Port Cities London web site.

MATCHBOX

Photo: The Matchbox Club
Model of London Fire Brigade horse drawn engine

DUNKIRK - 1940

Fireboat Massey Shaw at sea

At the start of World War II, the London fireboat Massey Shaw performed heroically as a member of the fleet of "Little Ships" that evacuated British soliders from Dunkirk in France.

Navy sailors and London firemen worked side by side to rescue members of the British Expeditionary Force defeated by the German Army.

According to the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships:

"The fires of Dunkirk gave them enough light to work by and the thick blanket of smoke provided some cover from air attack. But the shelling from German guns was relentless. The two Naval officers set a splendid example of calm and the beach party rowed ashore, fixing a line to maintain contact with the fire-float. After four or five journeys, the Massey Shaw was full once more with troops pressed together in the cabin and standing shoulder-to-shoulder on deck. Her load of nearly l00 men was transferred to a troopship at anchor in the channel and she returned to be re-loaded.

"After some engine trouble that the naval stokers who were unused to the Massey Shaw's machinery, eventually managed to overcome, stretcher cases began to arrive and these were hard to handle and transfer to the troopship. They made about five journeys from the beach to a paddle steamer and it was estimated that they embarked 500 men in this way. As dawn broke, the troopship was full and left for England. Massey Shaw returned to the beach and started loading again. At this point, on a falling tide, they began to bump on the sands and were in danger of damaging their propellers but, with their engines throbbing at full power, they just managed to get back into deep water. At 0330 they were the last boat to leave that part of the beach. Halfway across the channel, the Naval skipper began to have doubts about the compass, but then, to his relief, came across a drifter towing two small boats packed with troops. They followed them into Ramsgate where they arrived at 0800 on Sunday 2nd June, landing 30 or 40 more soldiers.

"The Massey Shaw returned to Dunkirk again the next evening with a Fire Service crew. This time they went to the jetty of Dunkirk harbour. It was difficult for soldiers to board her from the towering jetty and she came away empty. After returning to Ramsgate, she was ordered back to London. Off Margate, the Emile Deschamps, a French ship which had sailed to England from Dunkirk laden with troops the previous night, was passing her at a distance of 200 yards when it struck a mine and sank almost immediately. The Massey Shaw picked up 40 men, all severely injured and took them back to Ramsgate. Early on Wednesday 5th, she finally returned to London and as she came up the river she was cheered as she passed each fire station."

HOLLAND PARK TUBE - 1958

Photo: London Transport

1958 fire damage

On July 28, 1958, a fire broke out aboard a Central line underground train carriage between Shepherd's Bush and Holland Park station in west London, claiming the life of one person and injuring many others.

Electrical arcing produced a torch-like flame, which blistered and melted the paint.

"A great volume of dense smoke and acrid fumes was produced which filled the train and the tunnel," according to the official inquiry.

"The train stopped 23 yards short of Holland Park station,"  the inquiry said. "The driver promptly operated the tunnel telephone wires which cut off the traction current and stopped the arcing."

 "Nearly all the passengers suffered from the effects of the smoke and fumes, and 48 of them and three railway servants were sent to hospital for treatment," the inquiry said.

A BBC report said the train carriages were about 20 years old.

A similar incident occurred Aug. 12, 1960 on a train between Redbridge and Gants Hill, without fatalities.

BLITZ DUTY

Photo: Historical Footsteps Tours of London

Script of BBC Broadcast from Sept. 7, 1940

The German air force has unleashed a wave of heavy bombing raids on London, killing hundreds of civilians and injuring many more.

The Ministry of Home Security said the scale of the attacks was the largest the Germans had yet attempted.

"Our defences have actively engaged the enemy at all points," said a communiqué issued this evening.

"The civil defence services are responding admirably to all calls that are being made upon them."

The first raids came towards the end of the afternoon, and were concentrated on the densely populated East End, along the river by London's docks.

About 300 bombers attacked the city for over an hour and a half. The entire docklands area seemed to be ablaze as hundreds of fires lit up the sky.

Once darkness fell, the fires could be seen more than 10 miles away, and it is believed that the light guided a second wave of German bombers which began coming over at about 2030 BST (1930 GMT).

The night bombing lasted over eight hours, shaking the city with the deafening noise of hundreds of bombs falling so close together there was hardly a pause between them.

One bomb exploded on a crowded air raid shelter in an East London district.

In what was described as "a million to one chance", the bomb fell directly on the 3ft (90cm) by 1ft (30cm) ventilation shaft - the only vulnerable place in a strongly-protected underground shelter which could accommodate over 1,000 people.

About 14 people are believed to have been killed and 40 injured, including children.

Civil defence workers worked through the night, often in the face of heavy bombing, to take people out of the range of fire and find them temporary shelter and food.

An official paid tribute to staff at one London hospital which was hit, saying, "They showed marvellous bravery, keeping on until bomb detonations and gunfire made it absolutely impossible."

In the air, a series of ferocious dogfights developed as the German aircraft flew up the Thames Estuary.

The Air Ministry says at least 15 enemy aircraft crashed into the estuary, and in all, the Ministry said, 88 German aircraft were shot down, against 22 RAF planes lost.

TELEPRINTER

Photos: delta23lfb via Flickr
Images of a London fire station teleprinter and a message calling additional fire crews - with "BA" or breathing appartus - to a major incident at King George V Dock in East London on Dec. 29, 1974. The "royal dock" was built in 1912 and closed in the 1980s. Today, it's part of "The Docklands."

OXFORD STREET

Photo: Soho Fire Station web site

Aerial ladders in operation at 10-pump fire on Oxford Street, London.

WHAT A NIGHT

Members of Auxiliary Fire Service catch a nap on a "heavy" pump during the Blitz.

LONDON HOSPITAL - 1940

The German air raids of 1940 damaged London Hospital, Whitechapel.

BOAC 712 - 1968

Barbara Jane Harrison, GC

Photos:  UK accident investigation, Wikipedia

On April 8, 1968, the No. 2 jet engine of BOAC Flight 712 snapped from the wing after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport and the crippled Boeing 707 returned to the airfield in a fiery and tragic emergency landing.

Flames and fumes killed five people, including flight attendant Jane Harrison, who was trying to rescue a disabled passenger. Harrison, 22, was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her heroism.

Wikipedia said: "The cabin crew started the evacuation, even before the aircraft had come to a halt ... Harrison was last seen preparing to jump, but she turned back and disappeared into the passenger cabin, in an attempt to save the remaining four passengers."

The blazing four-engine 707 had been bound for Australia and was laden with fuel.

"The first two fire engines to arrive were unable to do much, as they stopped too far from the aircraft and their design prevented their moving once they began making foam," according to Wikipedia.

"Paint on the coupling threads of nearby fire hydrants prevented hoses from being attached," Wikipedia said. "A backup foam water tender drove in closer and discharged its foam effectively, but the fire had already gained hold by then."

CAMBERWELL - 2009

Photos: Paul Wood (top), on Daily Mirror web site. BBC web site (lower)

On July 3, 2009, fire killed six people in a high-rise apartment building in Camberwell, South London.

Firefighters rescued 40 others as flames engulfed the upper levels of the 12-story Lakanal House. The dead had taken refuge in a bathroom on the 11th floor.

``We worked as fast as we could and rescued many people from the block,'' London Fire Commissioner Rob Dobson said. ``Sadly, and to the huge regret of the crews involved we simply could not reach everyone in time.''

The worst of the disaster was above the reach of the fire brigade's tallest ladders, which extend for roughly 100 feet.

Dobson said the fire brigade arrived ``within minutes of being called'' and that ``crews worked under very difficult and hazardous circumstances to reach people trapped in the building as soon as they were able to.''

About 100 firefighters - staffing 18 pumps, as well as six rescue units and two aerial ladder platforms - were assigned to the fire. Members of the London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police were also on the scene assisting. The incident occurred on the territory of the Peckham Fire Station, E37.

Assistant Commissioner Nick Collins, quoted by the Evening Standard, said: ``Some of the firefighters went back in three or four times. They were working at their very limits. We are extremely proud of them.''

WORSLEY HOTEL - 1974

Photo: London Fire Brigade, Gordon Honeycombe web site

Photo of London firefighter Petit bottom left

On Dec. 13, 1974, an arson fire swept the Worsley Hotel in the Maida Vale section of London, killing seven people - including a probationary firefighter named Hamish ``Harry'' Petit.

Three other firefighters were injured.

The story of the Worsley Hotel fire was recounted by journalist Gordon Honeycombe in the book ``Red Watch'' and by former London officer Neil Wallington in the book "Fireman! A personal account."

The hotel's kitchen porter, Edward Mansfield, was convicted of setting the fire.

Here's Wikipedia's account of the blaze:

The first of several 999 calls were made to the London Fire Brigade at 03:32 and received by the local fire station, A21, Paddington who were ordered to the scene along with neighbouring A22, Manchester Square and G26 Belsize, bringing the first attendance of 4 pumping appliances – 2 carrying the heavy but stable 50 foot (15m) wheeled escape ladders, a 100 ft (30m) turntable ladder (aerial) and an emergency tender (for the breathing apparatus (BA) sets carried, the wearing of which was then still a specialist skill).

On arrival, a chaotic scene greeted the senior officer, a serious fire in progress and numerous persons requiring rescue.

A priority message was made to control and a “Make pumps 8” message was sent (requesting a further 4 pumping appliances in addition to the original 4) within minutes of first arriving, whilst rescues (the priority) were being affected from both the front and rear of the building.

Further reinforcements were requested, first to 15 pumps, and then 20, and finally 30 with a further 2 turntable ladders requested.

During the next hour, the building structure began to deteriorate as floors and roof structures became affected by fire.

This was particularly apparent in house numbers 13, 15, and 17, the worst affected.

Many of the internal stairways were stone and when heated by the fire and then suddenly cooled by water collapsed making internal movement through the building awkward and potentially hazardous.

As further crews arrived along with increasingly senior officers to direct operations and persons were accounted for, the operation moved from rescue to the fighting of the fire.

Crews took hoses through the doors from the street and off ladders through the windows.

One of these fire fighting crews made up of 3 men and a Station Officer, entered a second floor room to search out the seat of the fire.

Whilst in the room, several floors above weakened by the extra load of the partially collapsed roof came down on the crew, the devastation seemingly concentrated on that one room.

The release of the trapped men became the priority, with what proved to be a difficult and protracted rescue operation.

One by one, 3 men were released (2 with serious burns and 1 with a serious back injury) before the body of the 4th man was found, who was declared dead at the scene.