| Original caption: “The collapse of a burning building at Number Twenty-Three Queen Victoria Street, London, Salvation Army Headquarters.” The night of May 10, 1941, would prove to be the end of the “Blitz,” as the Nazi German Luftwaffe (“Air Force”) would disengage in the United Kingdom to prepare for the invasion of the Balkans and the summer Barbarossa offensive against the Soviet Union. But Londoners didn’t know that at the time – this night would be another maximum effort. All of London was the target. Kampfgruppe 100 (KGr100) dropped the 1st bombs from 20 Heinkel He-111s at 1105 Hours from Waterloo to Tower Bridge. Dropping 6,000 incendiaries, they set a fire that the rest of the bomber stream followed. The number of Luftwaffe aircraft overwhelmed the Royal Air Force’s ability to discern individual flights and directions, and they resorted to general plots of the hundreds of bombers incoming on London. The raid lasted for 6 hours and killed 1,486 people while destroying an estimated 11,000 homes and damaging both houses of Parliament, the British Museum, and Saint James Palace. Several churches designed by Christopher Wren (October 20, 1632 – March 8, 1723), including Saint Mary-le-Bow and Saint Clement Danes, were destroyed. At 0200 Hours, the flames reached next door to the Salvation Army Headquarters (IHQ) at 101 Queen Victoria Street, not far from where the Millennium Bridge’s northern anchorage is today. Major William T. Kennard (August 22, 1876 – February 1954) and his wife, Mabel (February 25, 1881 – December 5, 1961), who held the responsibilities of housekeeping for the IHQ, put out incendiaries at the Salvation Army Assurance Society at Number 103 Queen Victoria. Then they watched in horror from their bedroom window as flames progressed towards IHQ. Salvation Army Officer Wesley S. Grottick (November 8, 1905 – August 29, 1995) arrived around the same time with 2 women. They noted that Queen Victoria Street was on fire, the buildings in the area were devastated, but IHQ was intact. 2 1/2 hours later, the winds shifted quickly, blowing burning embers, paper from a mill on Upper Thames Street, onto the roof of Number 103. The Assurance Society burned so quickly that no 1 had time to recover personal items like spectacles or even Ginger the cat, who kept the premises mouse-free. Kennard and his wife left their home in IHQ with nothing but the clothes on their backs. A Salvation Army employee was struck by a fire engine when they tripped on a downed wire during the evacuation. Grottick and his staff watched IHQ burn from their canteen station. As they served tea, the firemen told them the water mains were broken, and just hot steam came out. Conversely, the firemen wondered at the calm demeanor of the 2 women, who handed out tea and biscuits as if bombs were not falling all around them, and the world wasn’t on fire. 5 lorries (trucks) with a 1,000 gallons (3,700 liters) of water drove from Regent’s Canal a mile away to bring water to the fire. If they failed to stop the fire, the London Fire Brigade was authorized to use dynamite to cut a firebreak, but they wondered how much damage the explosion would do to Saint Paul’s Cathedral, a 100 yards (nienty meters) away. But as the Thames tide rose at 0770 Hours, the water shortage abated, and the fires began to be brought under control. Constable Arthur Cross (August 16, 1902 – January 1968) was appointed official photographer of the London Police in July 1939. Partnered with Frederick G. “Fred” Tibbs (July 23, 1902 – April 1971), Cross made photos of the devastation of London. The 2 arrived at the scene sometime in the morning on Sunday, May 11, 1941. Tibbs photographed 23 Queen Victoria Street before it collapsed. Tibbs framed the firefighters attempting to put out the fires on Queen Victoria Street when a loud cracking sound was heard from 23 Queen Victoria Street, John Wood and Sons, Tobacco Importers, which caused Tibbs to fall backward. He assumed he ruined the shot as the building facade collapsed. He developed the negative plate to find this astounding photograph. The area of Queen Victoria Street was completely rebuilt. The Salvation Army opened a new headquarters on the site in 1954. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2276.jpg |
| Image Size | 705.36 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3246 x 2500 |
| Photographer | Fred G. Tibbs |
| Photographer Title | London Police |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 11, 1941 |
| Location | Queen Victoria Street |
| City | London |
| State or Province | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | HU 650 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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