Local houses off of Purley Way
With thanks to Anton Rippon for identifying
this account from the Exeter Express and Echo
https://insidecroydon.com/2020/09/30/britain-1940-the-day-that-bombs-rained-down-on-croydon/
“Rescue work, which started in Croydon
within a few minutes of the dropping of the bombs last evening, continued until
after midnight and was resumed at dawn today.
“Four private houses were demolished on the
Corporation housing estate adjoining the airport. The ruins are still being
searched. The dead include two men who were killed when a row of six houses on
a housing estate were demolished. Bombs fell in front and behind the houses,
leaving a crater 25ft feet deep and 35ft across.
“One of the two men who were killed gave
his life in shepherding his family to safety. He saw his wife and four children
safely in the Anderson shelter and was going there himself when a
high-explosive bomb dropped in the back garden. He was killed outright. The
other victim was in an Anderson shelter with his wife and son on the opposite
side of the crater. He died after being dragged from the damaged shelter. His
wife and son were unhurt.
“When a demolition squad went to one of the
houses this morning, they heard a cheerful whistling among the ruins. After
lifting pieces of masonry and fallen beams, they found a budgerigar singing
happily in its cage. The wires of the cage were twisted and the bottom of the
cages filled by splintered glass, but the bird was none the worse.
“Many of the rescue squads have now been
working continuously for over 16 hours, searching for any other victims.”
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