"Lookout! Here comes death". These are the words of Cyril Dermaine, a firemen from West Ham. Robert Baltrop, a porter who did look out duty on 10th September 1940, watched and listened to the German planes reverberate across the Thames; coming through Rainham, Barking and Dagenham.
That day was to be known as Black Saturday.
Hallsville School in Agate road Canning Town, was supposed to be a secure shelter for many locals until the buses could get there to evacuate them. There were up to 600 people crammed into the basement, most were women and children. Three days and nights passed with no sign of the buses. A series of official mistakes meant that the buses were sent to Camden Town instead of Canning Town.
The school was hit by a parachute bomb on the fourth day. The building was split in two and fell into the basement. It left a 20ft crater and barely any survivors.
70 years later, there are still so many unanswered questions. There were warnings that the school was at risk of bombing. The home secretary at the time was Sir James Anderson. He was told about the extent of the bombing the next day. The prime minister Winston Churchill, was told by Anderson at a cabinet meeting but he wasn't informed about the death toll. It was recorded as low as 77.
Churchill went to see the ruins of the school the next day. Many of the 600 caught up in the bombing were buried alive as the 20ft crater was filled in. Those who were fortunate enough to survive were then left in a tragic position of losing some if not all of their family members.
I was recently asked to be admin for a new facebook group; Hallsville School Cover-Up 10th September 1940 aka Black Saturday.
The purpose of the group is to campaign to get a larger memorial acknowledging the larger number of victims who perished, perhaps with written letters of apology to the survivors, admitting the mistakes during those fatal three days.
Some may say the term 'Cover-up' is harsh, I thought it myself at first. The more you read the different accounts of witnesses though, and learn about the huge family loss, it becomes clear that no one gave the victims or survivors a good enough chance to protect themselves. Many were encouraged to leave the safety of their homes, where some had good brick bomb shelters. Why?
Survivors were not compensated and many were not able to get closure by giving their family members a proper burial. Why?
I wanted to post this today as today is Remembrance Day which marked the end of the First World War. The Hallsville School Incident was Britain's worst civilian tragedy of the Second World War. Many feel it could have been prevented, but everyone in the group wants to keep the incident at the forefront of as many as minds as possible.
I dedicate this blog to all the families who lost their lives because of wanting to save their lives.
May you all get the justice and respect you deserve.
That day was to be known as Black Saturday.
Hallsville School in Agate road Canning Town, was supposed to be a secure shelter for many locals until the buses could get there to evacuate them. There were up to 600 people crammed into the basement, most were women and children. Three days and nights passed with no sign of the buses. A series of official mistakes meant that the buses were sent to Camden Town instead of Canning Town.
The school was hit by a parachute bomb on the fourth day. The building was split in two and fell into the basement. It left a 20ft crater and barely any survivors.
70 years later, there are still so many unanswered questions. There were warnings that the school was at risk of bombing. The home secretary at the time was Sir James Anderson. He was told about the extent of the bombing the next day. The prime minister Winston Churchill, was told by Anderson at a cabinet meeting but he wasn't informed about the death toll. It was recorded as low as 77.
Churchill went to see the ruins of the school the next day. Many of the 600 caught up in the bombing were buried alive as the 20ft crater was filled in. Those who were fortunate enough to survive were then left in a tragic position of losing some if not all of their family members.
I was recently asked to be admin for a new facebook group; Hallsville School Cover-Up 10th September 1940 aka Black Saturday.
The purpose of the group is to campaign to get a larger memorial acknowledging the larger number of victims who perished, perhaps with written letters of apology to the survivors, admitting the mistakes during those fatal three days.
Some may say the term 'Cover-up' is harsh, I thought it myself at first. The more you read the different accounts of witnesses though, and learn about the huge family loss, it becomes clear that no one gave the victims or survivors a good enough chance to protect themselves. Many were encouraged to leave the safety of their homes, where some had good brick bomb shelters. Why?
Survivors were not compensated and many were not able to get closure by giving their family members a proper burial. Why?
I wanted to post this today as today is Remembrance Day which marked the end of the First World War. The Hallsville School Incident was Britain's worst civilian tragedy of the Second World War. Many feel it could have been prevented, but everyone in the group wants to keep the incident at the forefront of as many as minds as possible.
I dedicate this blog to all the families who lost their lives because of wanting to save their lives.
May you all get the justice and respect you deserve.
