| South Londoners go about their business amid bomb damage. Note Austin K30 lorry (truck) collecting debris off the street and Church [of England] Army Mobile Canteen for Her Majesty’s Forces. An Austin 7 automobile is in the center foreground. Londoners, including a mother pushing a pram and her son, ignore the devastation and the cleanup crews while the ruins still smolder. Behind the Austin 7 is a vegetable market stall; likely the vendor’s shop has been destroyed. Due to the docklands in Rotherhithe and factories in Bermondsey, Southwark was a major target for Luftwaffe bombing raids during the Blitz. From October 7, 1940, to June 6, 1941, there were 1,651 bombs dropped on Southwark, plus another 20 parachute mines which were devastating with their delayed fuses. Bermondsey, Camberwell and Southwark had certainly seen a huge amount of destruction to their homes and their industries in 1940. The civilian death toll in the 1st 4 months of the night Blitz was heavy in South London: 376 people in Bermondsey, 449 in Camberwell, and 434 in Southwark – a total of 1,259. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0277.jpg |
| Image Size | 652.27 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2934 x 2337 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1941 |
| Location | Camberwell, Southwark |
| City | London |
| State or Province | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-7420(1236) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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