Leonard Bentley
Piccadilly Circus: 1941
This is a Wide World Photo Inc press photograph showing the view looking east from the south side of Regent Street towards Piccadilly Circus. Despite the overcoats this is Tuesday 20th May 1941 and several uniformed figures can be seen, steel helmets are being carried and a Metropolitan Police Constable is walking towards the camera wearing his steel helmet and carrying his gas mask over his shoulder, not too many other people are carrying their gas masks though. There is the sign for a public bomb shelter on the lamppost right centre and it was certainly needed because in this small area of the Quadrant, up to seven bombs were dropped in the roadway and onto surrounding buildings during the war, but at the time of the photograph only one had hit this part of Regent Street and that was in the early hours of 11th September 1940. An unexploded bomb had lodged in the roadway between 88 and 94 on the northside about 25 yards further up Regent Street. A party of Royal Engineers together with a Government scientist named Dr. Arthur Merriman attended the scene and it was decided to steam the explosive charge out of the bomb casing, a large quantity of the explosive had been removed when the bomb exploded in the early evening. The damage caused was to plate glass windows and stone work was chipped, the Café Royal which is on the left just before the covered pavement, which in my time was known as the “Meat Rack”, was more extensively damaged and water and gas mains were disrupted. From the photograph, which was taken about eight months later, you wouldn’t think anything had happened. Dr. Merriman was subsequently awarded the George Cross. The film playing at the London Pavilion is an American film which changed its name crossing the Atlantic, the Abbott and Costello film “Buck Privates” became “Rookies” for the UK audience. The film ran from 5th May for most of the month and featured the Andrews Sisters who sang probably their most famous song, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Best viewed with the zoom feature.
Piccadilly Circus: 1941
This is a Wide World Photo Inc press photograph showing the view looking east from the south side of Regent Street towards Piccadilly Circus. Despite the overcoats this is Tuesday 20th May 1941 and several uniformed figures can be seen, steel helmets are being carried and a Metropolitan Police Constable is walking towards the camera wearing his steel helmet and carrying his gas mask over his shoulder, not too many other people are carrying their gas masks though. There is the sign for a public bomb shelter on the lamppost right centre and it was certainly needed because in this small area of the Quadrant, up to seven bombs were dropped in the roadway and onto surrounding buildings during the war, but at the time of the photograph only one had hit this part of Regent Street and that was in the early hours of 11th September 1940. An unexploded bomb had lodged in the roadway between 88 and 94 on the northside about 25 yards further up Regent Street. A party of Royal Engineers together with a Government scientist named Dr. Arthur Merriman attended the scene and it was decided to steam the explosive charge out of the bomb casing, a large quantity of the explosive had been removed when the bomb exploded in the early evening. The damage caused was to plate glass windows and stone work was chipped, the Café Royal which is on the left just before the covered pavement, which in my time was known as the “Meat Rack”, was more extensively damaged and water and gas mains were disrupted. From the photograph, which was taken about eight months later, you wouldn’t think anything had happened. Dr. Merriman was subsequently awarded the George Cross. The film playing at the London Pavilion is an American film which changed its name crossing the Atlantic, the Abbott and Costello film “Buck Privates” became “Rookies” for the UK audience. The film ran from 5th May for most of the month and featured the Andrews Sisters who sang probably their most famous song, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Best viewed with the zoom feature.