Southwark in the Blitz

The modern London borough of Southwark was an amalgamation of the old boroughs of Southwark, Bermondsey and Camberwell in 1965. Each of these old boroughs has their own unique Blitz stories - some tragic, some extremely sad and some even funny.

On that first raid, Bermondsey’s own Surrey Docks was one of the intended targets for the Luftwaffe. Twelve hours later, Surrey Docks was a smouldering ruin with many of its inhabitants made homeless, jobless, and others injured or killed. On 7 September, it was also the scene of several extremely brave Civil Defence actions resulting in gallantry awards.

On the night of 7/8 September 1940, nearly 150 of the three boroughs’ citizens had been killed. This was the start of what became known as the ‘Night Blitz’, lasting through to May 1941. At the end of this period, this total had risen to nearly 2,000. Prior to the start of the Night Blitz, young boys had been marvelling at the dogfights over North Kent between the RAF and the Luftwaffe. Now this was a different war; the homes and streets of London were the new front line. With their ‘never surrender’ attitude, the population were the new front-line troops.

Through the eyes and words of the three borough’s inhabitants and local research, this book takes the reader through the Night Blitz, the Nuisance Raids, the Baby Blitz and the V-Weapon attacks. It is also a testament to those who ‘endured’ in the old boroughs of Southwark.