'Earlsfield's Doodlebug Summer' Guided Walk

A quiet working-class suburb not far from Clapham Junction, Earlsfield was not a major Luftwaffe target, but like most of south Lonodn it was in the firing line when the Nazi rocket campaign got underway in June 1944. 'Killed by Enemy Action' would be an all-too-common epitaph on Earslfield graves.

Having witnessed the complete destruction of a school during the Blitz and suffered innumerable bombing incidents, the later stages of the Second World War saw more Nazi terror reigned upon Earlsfield with at least eight V1 'doodlebugs' landing in the area in the summer of 1944. Just a few weeks after the allied invasion of Europe people would have sensed the beginning of the end and not have been expecting another ferocious bombardment on the home front.

These incidents are not widely known but the eightieth anniversary seems an appropriate moment to recall them, visit the sites and remember some of the people who lost their lives. They include Openview, Summerley Street, Garratt Lane/Burmester Road, Anglo-American Laundry, St Gregory’s Church, Tilehurst Road and Wilna Road. The incidents are recorded in the London County Council bomb damage map records which are seen as the most accurate and reliable record of a uniquely turbulent period. Commonwealth War Grave Commission ‘civilian death’ records have been invaluable in pinpointing dates and a few details of the victims. The Wandsworth page lists 1206 individuals who were killed in the borough.

On the Walk we will also cover other local incidents from the WW2 period and recall people who served the community through those years and whose courage and resilience raised spirits and saved lives.

Event Venue

Walk starts 2pm at Burmester House, (opposite Tesco Express), Summerstown/Garratt Lane roundabout, Burmester Road, London, United Kingdom