Victoria Station

1940-1945

By Joseph Torregrossa

Victoria Railway Station and the line leading up to it were on the receiving end of high explosive bombs and a crashing Dornier Do17 bomber. Most of these incidents occurred during the first phase of the Blitz in 1940-1941, but serious damage was also caused by a V1 flying bomb in 1944.

The Station (opened 1862, rebuilt 1906-10) suffered its first bomb damage on 7 September 1940, as the London Blitz began. According to City of Westminster ARP reports a cluster of five 50kg (110lb) high explosive bombs landed in the vicinity of the Station, causing casualties and resulting in the deployment of six response vehicles. The incident took place at 11.09pm, when the area was crowded and bustling with late night activity: the local public houses had just closed. It was the first real incident to occur in the Westminster area: a taste of what was to come.

On the next night, 8 September, three more high explosive bombs fell on Victoria Station terminus, causing little damage. They were reported as hitting a station platform and two railway sidings. Also that night, a high explosive bomb hit the Grosvenor Road Railway Bridge, on the approaches to Victoria. The bomb hit at 11.41pm, causing a small fire but no noteworthy damage. On 10 September, at 8.36pm, another high explosive bomb struck the Station, exploding on the central section of the carriage sidings.

On 15 September, a section of Victoria Station forecourt was hit by a crashing Dornier Do17 bomber (rammed overhead by Hurricane pilot Sgt Ray Holmes). Most of the fuselage landed on a tobacconist's shop in Wilton Road close to Victoria Station Yard, causing extensive damage to shops in the area. Sgt Holmes drifted down by parachute over the station, landing in a garden in Hugh Street, adjacent to the railway tracks.

On 27 September, a bomb hit the Southern Railway line close to Ebury Bridge. At first it was suspected to be unexploded, but upon further investigation it was found that it had in fact detonated. 

At 10.28pm on 9 October 1940 the Grosvenor Hotel Annexe, adjacent to Victoria Station, was hit by a high explosive bomb. Two other high explosive bombs landed close to the junction of Victoria Street and Buckingham Palace Road. 21 casualties were reported. Terminus Place was blocked by debris. The same evening a suspected unexploded bomb (later determined to have exploded) was found near Ebury Bridge. The bomb caused minor damage to a retaining wall and a section of line, creating a 10 foot diameter and 4 foot deep hole.

Just after 7pm on 21 December 1940 the railway lines running into Victoria Station were hit by a large falling object, initially thought to be a crashing aircraft or a parachute mine but later confirmed as a 2,500 kg (5,500lb) 'Max' bomb. The bomb hit the section of line near Ebury Bridge, overlooked by the back gardens of Hugh Street and the Art Metal Company Building. The huge blast caused extreme damage to the area and destroyed several houses in the vicinity. According to ARP reports, there were 195 casualties and two fatalities.

During the heavy night raid of 10-11 May 1941, Victoria Station was struck again, by five unexploded or delayed-action bombs. Cleverly, a train hauling coal trucks had been relocated to a position to act as a blast wall to protect several important rail lines. Nevertheless, the Station was forced to close for a week whilst repairs were made. Sections of the Underground line tunnel between Victoria and St James's Park were also damaged and exposed to the open air. 

The final major incident at Victoria Station took place at around 1.55am on 25 June 1944, when a V1 flying bomb hit Hudson's Place, next to Platform One, causing extensive damage. The casualty figures were 14 dead, 82 wounded, with a total of 51 casualties on Platform One alone. The V1 blast severely damaged a YMCA centre, two platforms in the Station and shattered windows in neighbouring businesses and buildings for a 150 yard radius.

Even though Victoria Station was hit on several different occasions, sometimes taking severe damage, the staff and repair crews fought valiantly to keep the trains running throughout the war. It was something of a miracle how they kept the trains running, even with daily bombings of the area around the Station.