Ebury Bridge SW1

21 December 1940

By Laura Zaepfel

On the cold night of 21 December 1940 a massive explosion rocked the railway line close to Ebury Bridge, near Victoria Station. The blast destroyed a section of line, demolished houses on Hugh Street, badly damaged the Art Metal Company Building and broke windows in the Imperial Airways Terminal Building (Airways House) opposite. Initial witness reports were confused and contradictory, ascribing it to either a crashing plane, parachute mine or very heavy calibre bomb. It was unusual in that it was the only German weapon that fell on London that night.

Some witnesses claimed they saw an ‘an orange glow in the sky, making a roaring noise, and moving rather slower than an aeroplane.’ (William Sansom, The Blitz: Westminster in War, 1947). Whatever they saw, five observer telephone warnings were made before it reached the ground. The doors of the Kingston First-Aid Post - in Knightsbridge - were blown in by the impact.

196 casualties were reported, of whom three were fatal. Many had to be extracted from damaged local houses. 56 rescue vehicles attended the blast site; over 100 Royal Engineers helped railway workers clear the Southern Railway line and restore the route south from Victoria.

Ebury Bridge and Victoria were not the only areas affected by the mystery detonation. Sloane Square was covered in glass and debris while external damage were done to houses up to a half-mile distance. A section of railway line was found in Chichester Street. Other detritus and parts of railway sleepers were found across Pimlico, some as far as Chelsea Bridge. In Hugh Street, an iron signal gantry was found, having been blown off the line during the night. Twisted metal shards were found close to the nearby Art Metal Company Building, promoting the theory of a downed plane.

Regional ARP Headquarters later assessed the blast effects as consistent with a 2,500kg (5,500lb) 'Max' bomb - the heaviest in the Luftwaffe's arsenal.

The Ebury Bridge area (Semley Place) was hit again - by a parachute mine - during the major raid of 16-17 April 1941.