| Original caption: “A twenty-five-hundred-pound (eleven-hundred-kilogram) German bomb, buried opposite University College Hospital, London, was removed by Army sappers. Before the bomb, which fell in 1941, was defused, people in the area were evacuated to a safe distance.” A woman and her children are escorted out of the area when a 2,500 pound unexploded bomb dropped during the war was discovered. Bombs are periodically found all over Europe to this day. The bomb fell near Tottenham Court Road and Grafton Way. Inert for 9 years, the “Van Winkle” bomb was discovered 30 feet below the basement level of the University College Hospital during construction on July 13, 1949. 2,500 people were evacuated in the middle of the night before the Number 2 Bomb Disposal Unit, Royal Engineers, could begin disassembly and removal. Some nurses volunteered to stay with patients at University College Hospital who were too ill to be moved. The 2-foot-long (1 meter-long) fuse failed to come out on the 1st attempt; a compressed-air cutter had to be used to remove it. The bomb was doused with water to prevent sparks. After the fuse was cut, the removal team dug the bomb out later. Once the bomb was rendered safe, it was discovered that the nose was missing. That could contain a small explosive, but was considered small enough that the neighborhood was not evacuated while a search was conducted once the bomb was removed. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0281.jpg |
| Image Size | 951.36 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2932 x 2384 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 15, 1949 |
| Location | |
| City | London |
| State or Province | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-306-NT-901C(20) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database