London County Council Bomb Damage Map, sheet 52 covering Bethnal Green
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Title
London County Council Bomb Damage Map, sheet 52 covering Bethnal Green
London County Council Bomb Damage Map, sheet 52 covering Bethnal Green
Reference
LCC_AR_TP_P_039_052 (Collage 346235)
Date
Collection
The London Archives: London County Council Bomb Damage Maps
Description
Created within the Architect’s Department of the London County Council (LCC), the bomb damage maps record cumulative damage to buildings in the County of London caused by air raids and V weapons during the Second World War. The full set of maps is made up of 110 hand-coloured 1:2500 Ordnance Survey base sheets originally published in 1916 but updated by the LCC to 1940. The colouring applied to the maps records a scale of damage to London’s built environment during the war - the most detailed and complete survey of destruction caused by the aerial bombardment. Although a large proportion of this damage arose from the incendiary bombs which set large areas on fire, high explosives that blasted buildings apart, and other devices dropped by the Luftwaffe (the German Air Force), the maps also show the impact points of the V-1 flying bombs and V-2 long range rockets, as large and small circles. It is, therefore, unsurprising that in some areas of highly concentrated damage where the same buildings were hit and repaired on several occasions, it can be difficult to ascertain cause using the maps alone. The bombed areas are coloured with synthetic dyes and crayon, in colours which represent categories of damage, ranging from black to yellow. Key: BLACK – Total destruction PURPLE – Damaged beyond repair DARK RED – Seriously damaged; doubtful if repairable LIGHT RED – Seriously damaged; but repairable at cost ORANGE – General blast damage; not structural YELLOW – Blast damage; minor in nature LIGHT GREEN or LIGHT BLUE – Clearance areas SMALL CIRCLE – V-2 Rocket LARGE CIRCLE – V-1 Flying Bomb Note that many parks and open spaces are coloured light green, while areas of water are coloured light blue.
Created within the Architect’s Department of the London County Council (LCC), the bomb damage maps record cumulative damage to buildings in the County of London caused by air raids and V weapons during the Second World War.
The full set of maps is made up of 110 hand-coloured 1:2500 Ordnance Survey base sheets originally published in 1916 but updated by the LCC to 1940.
The colouring applied to the maps records a scale of damage to London’s built environment during the war - the most detailed and complete survey of destruction caused by the aerial bombardment. Although a large proportion of this damage arose from the incendiary bombs which set large areas on fire, high explosives that blasted buildings apart, and other devices dropped by the Luftwaffe (the German Air Force), the maps also show the impact points of the V-1 flying bombs and V-2 long range rockets, as large and small circles. It is, therefore, unsurprising that in some areas of highly concentrated damage where the same buildings were hit and repaired on several occasions, it can be difficult to ascertain cause using the maps alone.
The bombed areas are coloured with synthetic dyes and crayon, in colours which represent categories of damage, ranging from black to yellow.
Key:
BLACK – Total destruction
PURPLE – Damaged beyond repair
DARK RED – Seriously damaged; doubtful if repairable
LIGHT RED – Seriously damaged; but repairable at cost
ORANGE – General blast damage; not structural
YELLOW – Blast damage; minor in nature
LIGHT GREEN or LIGHT BLUE – Clearance areas
SMALL CIRCLE – V-2 Rocket
LARGE CIRCLE – V-1 Flying Bomb
Note that many parks and open spaces are coloured light green, while areas of water are coloured light blue.
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