One of the many maps of bomb damaged London has gone on show in the City of London’s heritage gallery, alongside a declaration about the end of WW1.

The main case of the display shows one of the many maps that were plotted by the London County Council, in this situation, the Canada Water docks area.

The colours represented six different grades of damage, and were, slightly confusingly for a WW2 event, plotted on maps dating from 1916 — the middle of WW1.

According to the accompanying text, other cities only needed 5 colours for their maps, but London used six due to the intensity of the bombing raids over the capital.

Although the maps are of a historical interest, they are still in use today, as construction companies often have to carry out research to see if their building site might contain unexploded bombs.

They do also, in a rather grim way, look quite artistic.

The Heritage Gallery is also showing off something from the end of the previous war — how the Lord Mayor’s Show was handled during the war, in that it carried on regardless.

When the Lord Mayor was elected in September 1918, there was already expectation that the Great War might be finally coming to a conclusion, but the Lord Mayor’s Show went ahead on the 9th November as planned.

While it was strongly supported by the military, in a warning of the pandemic to come, a lot of Allied countries couldn’t join in that year as a lot of their troops were ill with the flu.

On display are some of the documents from that special Lord Mayor’s Show, and the record from the Common Council that was held on the 14th November, just after the Armistice was signed.

The Heritage Gallery is open daily in the basement of the Guildhall Art Gallery, and both items are on display until next Thursday (24th January 2019). Entry is free.

NEWSLETTER

Be the first to know what's on in London, and the latest news published on ianVisits.

You can unsubscribe at any time from my weekly emails.

Tagged with: , ,
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE

This website has been running now for over a decade, and while advertising revenue contributes to funding the website, it doesn't cover the costs. That is why I have set up a facility with DonorBox where you can contribute to the costs of the website and time invested in writing and research for the news articles.

It's very similar to the way The Guardian and many smaller websites are now seeking to generate an income in the face of rising costs and declining advertising.

Whether it's a one-off donation or a regular giver, every additional support goes a long way to covering the running costs of this website, and keeping you regularly topped up doses of Londony news and facts.

If you like what you read on here, then please support the website here.

Thank you

One comment
  1. H says:

    This book is fantastic in case anyone keener to know more about bomb damage during WW2: https://www.amazon.co.uk/London-County-Council-Damage-1939-1945/dp/0500518254

Home >> News >> History