Sydenham/Forest Hill bomb damage

[lambchops]

Hi guys,


A new roof was put on the flat earlier this year. One of the roofers who came to give a quote said that the old roof showed signs of bomb damage from the war.

He showed me where there were patches of different kinds of tiles all over the roof. He said that when you got a hole in your roof from flying debris, it was common practice to use bits of the housing that was blown up to fix the damaged houses.

I live on Fransfield Grove, but the buildings here all seem to be older than WW2 and in pretty good nick. Though, they could be newer buildings - I could be/most probably am wrong.

Did Forest Hill and Sydenham cop much bombing? Was there much here worth blowing up?

[Thomas]

You should find this old thread useful:
http://sydenham.org.uk/forum/viewtopic. ... d913fe38ce

Bomb damage is also covered in some of the local history books you can find in Kirkdale bookshop.

I don't think there was much of strategic value round here, but the V2s were intended to demoralise the civilian population rather than attack military targets. It also appears that the Government intended to deceive the Germans into aiming their rockets at south east London in order to avoid the city centre - "Agent Zigzag" tells a very interesting story about this.

[leenewham]

In most areas where you see a row of terrace houses and there are a few 'new ones' aka 1950's brick boxes, normally that was because a bomb, probably a v1 or v1 fell on it.

It's one reason the green dragon building no longer exists.

Fairlawn park is a good example of the damage caused in WW2. It used to be a cul-de-sac but now has a cut through to Winchmore Road (which used to be full of pre-fabs until the council built hi-rise towers there I have been told.

There were some rather elegant shops along the front of Fairlawn too, but these two were destroyed in what was possibly the last v2 to drop in SE London.

I'm sure Sir Steve Grindley can add some more light on this. I would be interesting to have a local history walk along these lines...are there any?

[Thomas]

I'm sure Sir Steve Grindley can add some more light on this. I would be interesting to have a local history walk along these lines...are there any?

Has the knighthood arrived? Well deserved but I hadn't spotted it in the news.

[lambchops]

cheers guys.

great!

[bensonby]

The original St. Phillips Church and the Original St Michael's Church were both detroyed by enemy action, and the cinema was detroyed - It used to be where the Post Office is today.

[leenewham]

Were there two cinemas?

The old cinema was where Somerfield now is and was knocked down to build that stunning piece of modern contemporary architecture we now see proudly sitting in the High street.

Luckily Sydenham is graced with much fine architecture, hopefully one day, what survived the luftwaffe will be brought back to its former glory, despite the attentions of 'developers' and Lewisham Council!

[bensonby]

you have now raised doubt in my mind. I could have sworn I read somewhere that there was a cinema on the site of the PO that was detroyed in the war.

[Steve Grindlay]

To get back to lambchops' original question, this is an extract from the LCC's bomb damage map, showing Fransfield Grove:

Both sides of Fransfield Grove are coloured pale yellow which means, according to the key, "Bomb damage, minor in nature". This is the least serious category of damage so I imagine it means little more than broken windows and roof tiles. If you really want to find out precisely what damage your house suffered, Lewisham Local History Centre has a card index of every claim made for bomb damage to all property in Lewisham. Fransfield Grove, incidentally, was built about 1870.

As for the cinemas, the Queens Hall (on the site of the Naborhood Centre) suffered slight bomb damage, and was demolished in 1953, while the State/Granada (on the site of Somerfield's) scarcely suffered at all, and was demolished in 1971.

[Malcolm]

Steve's map is great and clearly shows the black area (worst damage?) when a rocket fell in Panmure Rd in the latter part of the war. It caused huge damage in Mount Ash Rd (where my family lived) and brought down ceilings and chimneys etc. For years afterwards it was really easy to accidentally crack a pane of glass in the windows there as they had all been replaced by thin picture frame glass instead of proper window glass!

[lambchops]

oh yeah, cool. i thought the roofer might have been talking rubbish...his quote certainly was!

[brian stimson]

I lived at 106 wiverton road during the war. The house suffered bomb damage to windows, doors and the roof. it was about 1948 before the repairs were completed! The houses in Newlands Park opposite Tredown Road were demolished by enemy action, I can remember playing there as a kid before they were rebuilt.

Hi guys,


A new roof was put on the flat earlier this year. One of the roofers who came to give a quote said that the old roof showed signs of bomb damage from the war.

He showed me where there were patches of different kinds of tiles all over the roof. He said that when you got a hole in your roof from flying debris, it was common practice to use bits of the housing that was blown up to fix the damaged houses.

I live on Fransfield Grove, but the buildings here all seem to be older than WW2 and in pretty good nick. Though, they could be newer buildings - I could be/most probably am wrong.

Did Forest Hill and Sydenham cop much bombing? Was there much here worth blowing up?

[brian stimson]

The Neighbourhood Cinema was in Sydenham Road opposite Queensthorpe Road but destroyed by enemy action and the State Cinema was in Sydenham Road on the corner of Girton Road.

Were there two cinemas?

The old cinema was where Somerfield now is and was knocked down to build that stunning piece of modern contemporary architecture we now see proudly sitting in the High street.

Luckily Sydenham is graced with much fine architecture, hopefully one day, what survived the luftwaffe will be brought back to its former glory, despite the attentions of 'developers' and Lewisham Council!

[lambchops]

Someone said there was a rocket engine along the railway tracks when they were a kid.

Is it still there?

[marymck]

I know about the V2 in Panmure Road (& Steve Grindley's map is great) but I've been told that a V1 hit at the junction between Kirkdale and Thorpewood Avenue.

Can anyone varify that? Steve: does your map cover that area?

[Steve Grindlay]

marymck, a V1 landed on the bend in Thorpewood Avenue, by Eliot Bank school, on 29 July 1944. The occupants of no.22, Leslie Evans and his wife and daughter, were all killed. The house, apparently, was rebuilt after the war.

[marymck]

Oh Steve that's brilliant .... well obviously I don't mean brilliant in the sense of the awful event & the carnage. I mean thanks for the brilliant info.

[Eagle]

My Grandmother , who lived in Venner Road during the war , said the first bomb to hit area took out the German Church on Dacres Rd. If true rather ironic although Bonhoeffer was an anti Nazi and obviously they were aiming for the railway line.
She also mentioned a V1 hit the railway side of Venner road and took out a man having a bath.

[Donique]

I lived at 106 wiverton road during the war. The house suffered bomb damage to windows, doors and the roof. it was about 1948 before the repairs were completed! The houses in Newlands Park opposite Tredown Road were demolished by enemy action, I can remember playing there as a kid before they were rebuilt.

Hi guys,


A new roof was put on the flat earlier this year. One of the roofers who came to give a quote said that the old roof showed signs of bomb damage from the war.

He showed me where there were patches of different kinds of tiles all over the roof. He said that when you got a hole in your roof from flying debris, it was common practice to use bits of the housing that was blown up to fix the damaged houses.

I live on Fransfield Grove, but the buildings here all seem to be older than WW2 and in pretty good nick. Though, they could be newer buildings - I could be/most probably am wrong.

Did Forest Hill and Sydenham cop much bombing? Was there much here worth blowing up?

Hi All,

By luck I came across this Forum and I'm so happy I did. I'm doing some research on Sydenham and one of the areas are Our Lady & St. Philip Neri Roman Catholic Church on Sydenham Road, by Sydenham Library. Another is Our Lady & St. Philip Neri School. The third is the houses between No. 70 and No. 56 Newlands Park, which are completely different to the rest of the houses on Newlands Park. You have now comfirmed what I have been trying to research, that these sites were bombed during WW2. Thanks.

[Thomas]

I think that the LCC bomb damage maps are really interesting - would it be possible for someone to publish them?