World War 2
Bow Church survived the blitz of fifty-seven consecutive days from September 8th 1940 which devastated much of the East End with significant loss of life. On 19th April 1941, Old Palace School in St Leonard’s Street was bombed, killing thirty-four firemen and women, the largest loss to the fire service in a single tragedy in English history. When a local distillery went up in flames even the River Lea caught fire.
By the light of a full moon on May 10th 1941, the church took a direct hit that destroyed the top half of the tower and the west end of the roof of the nave. 550 bombers killed 1436 Londoners on that night which proved to be the last of the blitz before the Luftwaffe turned its attention to Russia. In total, eighty high explosive bombs and two parachute mines were dropped on Bow.
The church was patched up in time for services to commence again by Christmas, held by George Ansell who served as Rector from 1932, through the war and until his death in 1951. He was described in his obituary as ‘one of the great East End clergy… There can be no doubt that he simply worked himself to death.’
James Fitkin, Rector of nearby All Hallows Church in Devons Road, Bow, recalled the bombing of his church in September 1940. ‘Suddenly from out the summer sky came fire and slaughter on a scale none of us had known before. The very foundations literally rocked beneath our feet. Lurid flames spread across the sky. A pall of smoke stretched as far as the eye could see. Houses were demolished, factories destroyed, homes reduced to rubble. In less time than it takes to tell, the horrors and carnage of war had been brought to our doors… To what would they lead? Quick as thought the answer came, ‘We will survive.’’
In November, James recorded conditions in the public air raid shelters in his diary. ‘Overcrowding is rife. Lighting and ventilation leave much to be desired. Sanitation is primitive and inadequate and hygienic conditions generally give cause for anxiety and disquiet… But to an extent unknown before we are finding that we have got to make the best of one another. And in the process not a few of us are discovering how good the best can be and what unexpected reserves of neighbourly kindness are to be found in the people with whom we have to do. Our common suffering is breaking down many barriers and getting rid of many artificial distinctions. If life in the shelters helps us to understand one another better and draws us nearer to each other in thought, aspiration and endeavour, it will not have been in vain.’