York Street/Baker Street W1

18 September 1940

By Brittni Morris

Two weeks into the Blitz and bombs were falling continuously on the streets of London. On 18 September 1940, at around 12.05am, the junction of Baker Street and York Street in Marylebone W1 was hit by a high explosive bomb. A deep bomb crater was dug into the junction, over twenty casualties were inflicted and major structural damage was caused over a wide area.

Bricks and debris from nearby buildings fell into adjoining streets. People in the buildings or caught in the open were trapped as the debris rained down. A large water main was also ruptured by the blast, creating serious local flooding. This weakened the foundations of surrounding buildings, making extraction of the survivors an even more dangerous task for rescue personnel.

An added difficulty was that the blast demolished the rescue parties' only source of light. In the bomb crater, the electric cable supplying the local area was fused, cutting power to the vicinity and making repairs to the water main almost impossible. More importantly, the darkness hindered the rescue parties from searching for victims trapped underneath the heavy rubble.

Numerous St Marylebone ARP message forms noted heavy casualties. One warned that there were at least twenty casualties, with many more trapped underneath the wreckage. Fires later broke out in buildings close by and lit up the night sky. Message forms called for cars and ambulances, as well as a stretcher party and a light rescue party.

By mid-morning on 18 September, rescue teams had brought out all the injured, recovered the dead to mortuary vans and repaired the water main.