This photo has always held fascination for me, as it shows the house I was born in and grew up in until it was demolished in the slum clearances of the 1970's. It was the home of my grand parents. My dad was also born here in July '39 and when this image was taken my Grandfather was recovering from wound received at Dunkirk.... Where the arrow points was a cluster of five houses (three one on side of the road, two directly opposite) where the immediate and extended family all lived. All survived the war and the bombing.
This is the back yard of the house in 1939. L to R: My grandmother Henrietta (Hetty) grandad William (Bill) and my great aunt Emily. This was taken in 1939 when grandad was on compassionate leave for a bereavement.
Sorry! The stadium you can see was West Ham speedway track in Custom House, East London (on the docks) the house where I lived was No.11 Devonshire road E.16.
so where the cloud/flak is, now stands the ExCel Centre and below that are the docks and the Thames at Silvertown, so may well have had your house damaged in WW1 explosion which led to about 900 homes nearby being destroyed. To be pedantic, the arrow points to what is now looks to be Lambert Road! Your family was fortunate to survive the bombing, other neighbours were not quite so fortunate... DENT, HARRY HENRY. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 13/01/1945. Age: 7. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: of 53 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Son of Harry Henry and Mary Dent. Died at Garvary Road. GALE, ARTHUR ALFRED. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 19/03/1941. Age: 11. Reporting Authority:WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: of 28 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Son of Charles Edward and Ellen Lucy Gale. Died at 28 Devonshire Road. GALE, ETHEL. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 19/03/1941. Age: 18. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: of 28 Devonshire Road. Custom House. Daughter of Charles Edward and Ellen Lucy Gale. Died at 28 Devonshire Road. GALE, JAMES. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 19/03/1941. Age: 13. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: of 28 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Son of Charles Edward and Ellen Lucy Gale. Died at 28 Devonshire Road. HUISH, ELSIE MAY. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 06/03/1945. Age: 23. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: of 110 Upperton Road, Plaistow. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Milton, of 23 Devonshire Road, Custom House; wife of Ldg. Sto. Kenneth Huish, R.N. Died at 110 Upperton Road. LEE, DAVID. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 13/01/1945. Age: 6. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Lee, of 55 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Died at Garvary Road. LEE, NOAH JAMES. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 13/01/1945. Age: 10. Regiment/Service:Civilian War Dead Reporting Authority:WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Lee, of 55 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Died at Garvary Road. PAWSEY, SYLVIA JACQUELINE. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 13/01/1945. Age: 8. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Pawsey, of 54 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Died at Freemasons' Road. PLATMAN, ARTHUR FREDERICK. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 19/03/1941. Age: 64. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: of 26 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Husband of the late Rose Platman. Died at 26 Devonshire Road. PLATMAN, ROSE MABEL. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 19/03/1941. Age: 42. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: of 26 Devonshire Road, Custom House. Daughter of Arthur Frederick and of the late Rose Platman. Died at 26 Devonshire Road. PRATER, DOUGLAS ARTHUR. Rank: Civilian. Date of Death: 20/10/1940. Age: 17. Reporting Authority: WEST HAM, COUNTY BOROUGH. Additional Information: Son of Henry Arthur and Elsie Margaret Prater, of 12 Devonshire Road, Stratford. Died at Frederick Street. (As you say the houses opposite survived, perhaps this is a different Devonshire Road?) The 13th January 1945 V2 explosion was Incident 521 and killed a total of 14 civilians.
This is a wartime aerial picture of the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead and the nearby area. I found it in a book many years ago and it was captioned as a German reconnaissance photo, but undated. Our old house is arrowed. Cammell Laird’s – where many famous warships were built – was a major target for the Luftwaffe during the Merseyside Blitz, along with the nearby docks and industries of Birkenhead and Liverpool. In August 1940, a bomb damaged the battleship Prince of Wales, which was being fitted out at the yard following its launch there in May 1939. Thankfully, after many ups and downs over the years, Laird’s is still in business, although on a much reduced scale. But the town planners achieved what the Luftwaffe could not and long ago obliterated the surrounding area, including our house.
No, there is/was only one Devonshire Road. The fact that some of these residents were killed in Freemasons Road and Garvary Road pretty much confirms it as they are/were nearby streets. Freemasons Road had a lot of pubs and shops at the dock end of it plus the Seamans Mission (known as the flying Angel) was there too. The V2 confirms something that my Nan always told me: that she was giving my dad a wash in the scullery (it was upstairs - the window to it can be seen in the image above) when the Windows all blew in due to a 'bomb' exploding. Neither she or my dad had a scratch worth mentioning apparently, which is just as well or I wouldn't be here to write this!
No intention of hijacking the thread (and photo) but the yellow ring shows where my dad lived during the early war years. I can't remember the exact street name but I believe there is a Crowne Plaza Hotel there now near the Western Gateway. By 1943 the family had (he was a 12 year old) moved to Clifton Road E16.
I used to live in Newham and have been fascinated by this picture for years. This is the Google Earth view, note that the top of the picture is north west. The original stadium has gone and the one visible here is in a different location, but the A13 can be clearly seen.
