Westminster City School

16 November 1940

By Sarah Allen

At approximately 1.45am on 16 November 1940 Westminster City School (1877) on Palace Street SW1 was struck by a high explosive bomb. The bomb detonated in front of the School's main entrance. The first ARP report of the damage came in about ten minutes later. It reported damage to the coal gas main and requested a fire service pump. Soon after, another message was received reporting two sitting casualties.

At 2.10am a supplementary message reported that three high explosive bombs had fallen, but no casualties. It also reported that the water main was ruptured. A water board van was requested to turn off the water. The second bomb was identified as having fallen near 125 Victoria Street. The impact of this bomb made Victoria Street partially impassible. The third bomb fell at the junction of Ambrosden Avenue and Francis Street across Victoria Street. 

In the official Air Raid Damage Report, written the same day, the exact location of the first bomb was reported as the garden in front of the main entrance to the School. This completely destroyed the front stairs as well as the main porch. The bomb also reportedly left the first two floors of the building uninhabitable, as well as causing major damage to the roof. Glass windows throughout the School were all shattered. Windows and glass skylights in surrounding buildings were also blown in. 

Confusion over the number of casualties continued. One report stated that there were no casualties, while another recorded a single casualty. Such discrepancies in reports give an idea of how difficult record-keeping could be during the Blitz. With so many different messages received at the Westminster City Hall Report Centre, it is easy to see how initial reports could be contradictory.

Westminster City School, a boys' secondary school, had already been evacuated in the face of the oncoming air raids. Many pupils had left for Judd School in Tonbridge and more pupils were evacuated to Exmouth, Devon in July 1944, after the onset of the V-Weapons campaign.