| Original caption: “Victory Gardens — for family and country. A thriving Victory Garden — not on an island, but in a London bomb crater, close to Westminster Cathedral. Where the Nazi’s sowed death, a Londoner and his wife have sown life-giving vegetables.” On September 20, 1940, Nazi German Luftwaffe aircraft unloaded bombs on London. Westminster Cathedral was a prime target that night, as churches were burned out in an attempt to demoralize Londoners. A bomb buried itself in the square between the choir of the cathedral and Morpeth Terrace, which had not been modified in the previous 200 years. 2 hours after impact, it detonated, forming a crater. left a crater 30 feet deep, 30 feet wide and 30 feet from the Choir School, but did no other damage, even to the windows. The blast was absorbed by the soft clay (the area was originally marshaled known as Bulinga Fen) on which the Cathedral is built, and went up vertically. By Spring 1941, the crater was left unreconstructed. Bricks and refuse from the Cathedral allotments were thrown into the crater, and it was filled with soil over 10 months. The Head Sacristan, George Hayes (December 12, 1887 – ????), his wife and daughter, who lived in the Archbishop’s House, created a highly ornamental and productive garden, providing 130 pounds of tomatoes annually, together with cabbages, cucumbers, beetroot, onions, beans, parsley, lettuces, peas and mint to supplement the wartime diet, all surrounded by flower beds. Note the screens, stakes and wires to “give vegetables every opportunity.” The crater was edged with bricks. According to circulated news reports in August 1942, the crop was producing 130 pounds (59 kilograms) of tomatoes, cucumbers, beetroot, beans, parsley, mint, onions, peas, cabbage and lettuce. The caretaker and his wife reported that “the bomb pulverized the soil so thoroughly that their vegetable crops are highly successful.” Some reports indicated that the chemical traces left by the bomb served as fertilizer. It was featured in the United Kingdom’s “Grow More Food” Campaign. Today the area is a soccer pitch. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2030.jpg |
| Image Size | 948.64 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2966 x 2200 |
| Photographer | Harry Shepard |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 14, 1942 |
| Location | Westminster |
| City | London |
| State or Province | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | Library of Congress |
| Record Number | LC-DIG-fsa-8b08131 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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