A radio show will commemorate the 80th anniversary of a WW2 bomb which killed nearly 70 people in Balham.
Riverside Radio is airing the one-off programme next Wednesday (Oct 14), which will uncover the details of the highly damaging, but little reported on local tragedy.
On the evening of 14th October 1940, one of the worst wartime domestic disasters took place at Balham in South-West London.
During the Second World War, Balham was one of many deep tube stations designated for use as a civilian air raid shelter.
On the day of the disaster, people had been sheltering inside the station from early afternoon.
At 8.02pm a 1400 kg bomb landed on the road above the northern end of the platform tunnels, creating a large crater into which an out of service double decker bus crashed.
Water and earth flowed into the tube station from fractured water mains and sewers above. Nearly 70 people were killed and 70 more injured.
The tragedy under-reported at the time as the Government feared the impact on morale.
Now, local documentary filmmaker Rob West has turned his hand to radio, creating the programme for Riverside.
“As someone who uses Balham Station regularly, I've always been curious to know more about the background to the bombing of the Station in 1940. What's become clear in making this documentary is how much has gone unreported, how many people still have some connection to the disaster and how many lives were affected by it,” Mr West said.
Lesley Strachan, a Director of Riverside Radio and Balham resident, added:
“Rob has found archive records of survivors of the incident talking about their experiences. He has also tracked down descendants who still live locally to discover and record their memories. I found the documentary extremely moving. We will be publishing all the names of the victims of the bomb on RiversideRadio.com as part of our commemoration of a local tragedy.”
The documentary airs at 8pm on Wednesday October 14 on Riverside Radio, the community radio service for the South West London boroughs of Richmond, Wandsworth, Merton and Lambeth.
The programme is available on DAB Digital Radio, online at RiversideRadio.com or by asking a smart speaker to ‘Play Riverside Radio’.
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