In our regular series on monuments around the Borough, Julia Omari visits a plaque that remembers those who lost their lives trying to save others from the World War 2 bombings

A memorial plaque — WW2 monument. Photo: Julia Omari

The year 1937 saw the British government pass the Air Raid Precautions Act (ARP). The government wanted Britain to be ready for any possible aerial attacks, even though many thought they would never happen.

The new Act stated that local authorities held the responsibility of being ready. As a result a number of ARP Warden roles were created including; firefighter, demolition, messenger, rescuer, first aider and ambulance driver. In 1938 The Women’s Voluntary Service was set up to involve females in the ARP.

Each warden had duties fit for their title, but collectively some of the squads’ tasks involved informing people on correct air raid precautions, sounding the air raid sirens, enforcing the night time ‘blackout’, issuing gas masks, monitoring and reporting bomb damage, as well as evacuating areas around unexploded bombs and coordinating the response of other civil defence services when needed.

Seventh September 1940 was an unforgettable night for the residents of East London. It was the start of an eight month bombardment, known as the Blitz, which is the German word for lightning.

This was the first time Hitler’s air fleet had focused on London. His aim was to devastate as much of the docklands area as possible. This made West Ham and East Ham a target due to the three Royal Docks.

At 7:15pm, a bomb landed directly on The Air Raid Precautions Cleansing and Ambulance Station, which had been set up to coordinate the West Ham ARP Squad in the Bridge Road Depot. Sadly 13 members of the Air Raid Precautions Squad died as a result.

The heartbreaking moment was remembered on 8 September 2005, when a plaque commemorating and naming those lost was unveiled by the Auxiliary Fire Service and London Fire Brigade. The plaque reads;

In total 146 people in West Ham and East Ham died by the end of the Blitz, on 11 May 1941.

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