By Mia Curtis-Mays, Archives Assistant
On the 10 July 1944, two V1 flying bombs, more commonly known as doodle bugs, caused devastation in Crawley. Blowing up at the junction of Oak Road and West Street, the blast killed 7 people and seriously injured 44. Over 1,200 premises were damaged and 24 were destroyed. Another doodle bug fell on Malthouse Road but luckily failed to explode. The event became known as the ‘Southgate Blitz’.
I discovered this event when transcribing a Crawley burial register for Snell Hatch cemetery (UD/CR/3/27/1). I had noticed that quite a few people had died on the same day and since it was during the war years, I looked up if anything significant had happened. Once I discovered what had happened, I felt that I had an opportunity to discover more about the people involved, beyond their names written on a page.
Discovering what happened through newspapers
Discovering more about a bombing in newspaper records can require some detective work. Because of fears of informing the enemy of where they successfully bombed, the names of the places were not listed. This can make keyword searching on The British Newspaper Archive a lot more difficult!
While the names of the places weren’t listed, to still inform the public of what had happened, local newspapers of the area bombed would display an article (often front page) describing a bombing that had happened in an unknown location. Externally, this kept the secret safe but still let locals informed. So, when locating more information on a bombing in World War Two, locate the local newspaper and find its front page!
The 15th of July 1944 edition of the Crawley and District Observer details that the blast destroyed shop premises on each side of the street and that the road was littered with glass from the shop windows being blown out. While it was lucky that no one was in the shops at the time, unfortunately three people were killed in the road outside.
Moments after the disaster, the Civil Defence workers and members of the Women’s Voluntary Services and Home Guard were on the scene. Helping them clear the debris were proprietors, managers and staff of the local businesses. The Trader’s Mutual Assistance organisation also helped out. Tea for those helping out was supplied from the Women’s Voluntary Services’ mobile canteen.
During the cleaning work, there was an unexpected visit from the King and Queen, who had immediately stopped their Royal Car. They met with many of the ARP workers and the King recognised the Chief Air Raid Warden as an ex-London police officer. They also spoke to the Women’s Voluntary services organiser Miss Wallis. The King asked to see the exact spot where the bomb fell and when told of the coincidence of the bomb falling in the same spot that one had fell the year before, he was struck by how calm everyone was taking it. The visit of the King and Queen was well received.
The victims of the Southgate Blitz
Five of the seven victims appeared in my burial register, so I decided to research more into their lives. The five buried in Snell Hatch Cemetery are Dora Wakeham, Helena Ayling, Doris Emma Startup, Sarah Ruth Pollard, and Doreen Chapman. These victims would’ve been neighbours and members of the local community, showing that war casualties did not just happen overseas, but also on the Home Front.
To find World War Two civilian deaths, Ancestry has a collection called UK WWII Civilian Deaths 1939-1945 which I found particularly useful in my research.
Sarah Ruth Pollard
Sarah Ruth Pollard is listed as being 76 years old, of 90 West Street, Crawley. She was the daughter of the late Peter and Susannah Pollard. She died at home. Looking back at previous census, Sarah had lived in Crawley from at least 1881, living with her parents and her brother. Her father and brother were wheelwrights, and Sarah was a trimmer in 1891, and was listed as living on her own means by 1901. After the death of her parents, she was listed as living in 90 West Street in 1911 with her brother Robert (who was a coach builder by then) and his family, the same address she lived at upon her death in 1944.
Doris Emma Startup and Helena Ayling
Doris Emma Startup is listed as being 40 years old, of 51 West Street, Crawley. She was the daughter of Percy John Ayling, and of Helena Ayling. She became the wife of L A C Bertram J Startup R.A.F. She also died at home.
Doris was living in 78 West Street, Crawley in 1911 with her parents and siblings. Her father was a domestic coachman in 1911, but by 1921 he was a jobbing gardener. At this point, Doris and her family were living at 53 West Street, next door to her final residence.
In 1932, she married Bertram Deacon Startup in St Peter’s Church in Lindfield, where Bertram was from. Their wedding featured in the 15 December 1932 edition of the West Sussex Gazette. Doris was described to have been wearing a gown of old family lace, trimmed with pearls, an under slip of ivory satin, a silk embroidered veil, with a cornet of orange blossom. The reception was held in West Crawley parish room.
Bertram and Doris then began living at 51 West Street in Crawley, next to Doris’ parents.
Doris’ mother Helena was also killed in the bombing. She was listed as 66 years old, of 53 West Street Crawley. She was the wife of Percy John Ayling. She also died at home. This meant that both mother and daughter died in their neighbouring houses.
Dora Wakeham
Dora Wakeham was listed as being 81 years old, of 8 Oak Road, Crawley. She was the widow of William Wakeham and died at Crawley and District Hospital.
Born in Kirdford, Dora was living in 8 Oak Road in Crawley by at least 1921 with her husband William Wakeham. William, born in Arundel, was a carpenter joiner for Mr Cook and Son Buildings, a local Crawley business. Mr Cook and Son’s business premises got damaged during the explosion.
Doreen Chapman
Doreen Chapman is listed as being 24 years old, of The Flushings, Springfield Road, Crawley. She was the daughter of Mrs M A Chapman, and died at Cook’s and Co., in Springfield Road, Crawley.
Looking at electoral registers and census records, it appears that Doreen lived in London in 1921 with her parents and five older siblings. Her father, Henry Walter Chapman was a boarding-housekeeper. In 1939, Doreen was still living in London with her mother and brother. At this time, she was employed as a postal clerk. It appears that the family moved to Crawley during the war.
Sometimes when transcribing documents, we can forget that these written names were ordinary people living ordinary lives like you and me. Researching for this blog helped me put into perspective the importance of making these burial records more accessible and making sure that the stories of the ordinary don’t get forgotten. While this story is one of tragedy, I was particularly touched by the descriptions of the local Crawley community coming together in a time of crisis.
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