There are two main sources for naming the people who died on 15th August 1940
· Croydon
Roll of Honour (CROH), published in “Croydon and the Second World War” by
Berwick Sayers
·
Commonwealth
War Grave Commission (CWGC) register of the civilian war dead 1939-1945
The sources mainly
agree on names, and on the location where the person died they never disagree
but one source might give a precise location such as the NSF factory and the
other might say “Waddon factory estate” or “Croydon airport”. Where either of them gives a precise location,
I have assumed that is correct.
For people lacking a
precise location in either source, I have used the 1939 Register to look up
their occupation and, where possible, matched them to a known location. In five cases, even this is not helpful and
we do not know.
At British NSF
Factory (link)
Hans Saemann, aged 42
born in Germany to a Jewish family.
Married to Edith, lived in Chesterfield House in Mayfair, just off Park
Lane. Occupation: company director
Bob Hutchins, aged 33,
married Helene Wingendorff the previous year.
Occupation chief engineer, works manager, radio component manufacturer.
Edgar Dunn, aged 26
and born in Winnipeg in Canada.
Occupation in 1939 Register: engineer in charge of lab making radio
components.
Kenneth Phillips, aged
29, born in Wales. Married to Alice
Crawshaw. Occupation in 1939 Register: foreman,
wireless. Reported as having been in the
test room at the time of the bombing.
John Temple, aged 20,
possibly from Durham. In 1939 Register
his occupation was wireless components tester.
Reginald Collingwood, aged
26, had married Doris Paul a few months earlier. Occupation in 1939 register: universal
grinder.
Henry Smith, aged 20,
living with parents. Occupation: wheelwright.
Percy George, aged 45,
married to Alice Robinson. Occupation toolmaker.
Kathleen O’Neill, aged
35, born Kathleen Roe (or Rowe), married Charles O’Neill. Occupation in 1939 Register: small press
operator, wireless components
George Townsend, aged
30, married to Sybil Gordon. Occupation
in 1939 Register was fitter and turner but CROH says by 1940 he was a tool
inspector.
Leonard Tucker, aged
17 and living with his father.
Occupation storekeeper.
Alfred Willson, aged
52, married Elizabeth Hall and lived in Battersea. Occupation in 1939 Register was factory cleaner.
Bessie McGrattan, aged
45. Married Fred Fudge but seems to have
been divorced. Occupation: secretary to
the company – CROH says she died at Post 27, Queens Way. This may have been the small structure on the
corner of Queens Way and Princes Way seen in the British Pathe film (from 15 seconds).
Eileen Dennis, aged
42. Occupation: clerk. Born in Croydon, in 1939 she was a charge
hand at a wireless factory in Portsmouth.
Cluett reports two clerks died in the Wages Office
Grace Richardson, aged
39, born Grace Padbury, married Walter Richardson. Occupation in 1939 Register: mechanical, bookkeeper
and short-hand typist
William Edwards, aged
17 and lived at Foss Avenue, just across Purley Way. In 1939 he was an errand boy at a wine merchants,
so he may have been an apprentice.
Ronald Field, aged 16
also from Foss Avenue. May have been an apprentice.
John Ford, aged 16,
may have been an apprentice.
David Leahy, aged 43
born in Cardiff, married to Catherine Crampton.
May have served in the army in India.
Occupation at NSF not known.
Sydney Hogsden, aged
31, married Louisa West. Occupation not
known, in 1939 Register he was a roof tiler.
Bertie Willcox, aged
58, born in Steyning in Sussex, Married
to Caroline. Occupation at NSF not known,
in 1939 Register his occupation was public convenience attendant.
Dorothy Friend, aged
20 and lived in Coldharbour Road, just across Purley Way. Occupation at NSF not known. In 1939 she was an ‘automatic operator, soap
manufacturer’ which could be Bourjois, but both CWGC and CROH say she died at
the NSF Factory.
Alfred Woolgar,
foreman in charge of inspection of wireless components – NSF is not specified
but this seems the most likely location.
Aged 26, lived with his parents in Maida Vale (one street away from
another Blitz Incident).
Leonard Davies, aged
20. Living with his mother. In the 1939
Register he gave his occupation as “fitter assembler, small electricals company”. This is not certain to be British NSF but I
have assumed he was there on the balance of probabilities.
At Rollason’s (link)
Stanley Norton,
aircraft sheet metal worker. Aged 43,
married to Dorothy Davey. From Barnsley,
served in Durham Light Infantry in the First World War.
Leonard Norton, welder.
Aged 19 and Stanley’s son.
George Hebb, aircraft
rigger. Aged 26, had been married to
Daisy Antink for just over a year.
Sydney Underwood, aged
24. In the 1939 Register his occupation
was ‘sheet metal worker, hot and cold [illegible] fitter’. I have assumed he was at Rollason’s based on
the similarity of his job to Stanley Norton.
At Bourjois (link)
Henry Beard, examiner
and storekeeper. Aged 27, he lived in Hornsey
with his wife May Green.
Ivy Bailey, age 20, occupation
not known but described in CROH as a munitions worker in the B.S Factory which
I have interpreted as Bourjois Scent.
John Costa, occupation
not known. Aged 41, married to
Ethel. In 1939 his occupation was
manservant, gardener etc at a private school at Ruskin House, Croydon but that
may have been evacuated when war broke out.
It’s possible he had found work at Bourjois. One eyewitness reports speaking to the
commissionaire as he left the building who was subsequently killed – this could
have been Mr Costa.
At the Government
Training Centre (link)
Leslie Orton, aged 35
and married to Olive Beevor. In the
1930s he lived at Yarmouth in Norfolk and in the 1939 Register he was a motor
engineer, MIMT garage. He died on 17th
October, just over two months later, from his injuries.
Patrick Hogan, aged
22, parents from Dublin. Only recorded
in CWGC, not CROH. In 1939 Register his
occupation was ‘trainer at Waddon Government Training Centre’.
In local houses (link)
John Goodman at 2
Coldharbour Way. Aged 37, married to
Florence Purdy for 15 years. 1939
Register occupation French polisher (incapacitated).
Alfred Waterman at 4
Coldharbour Way. Aged 54, married to Olive Blake – 1939 Register records him as
having no occupation owing to war wound, presumably from the First World
War. Prior to this he had been a railway
porter.
Maurice Maddison at 18
Leyton Crescent. Aged 11,
schoolboy. CWGC records his date of
death as 15 August 1941 but I have assumed CROH is correct.
Location not known
Horace Allsop, aged
25. Born in Croydon, he lived locally
with his widowed father. In 1939 his
occupation was given as ‘painter’.
Victor Bradford, aged
32. Born in Bromley, married Ivy
Crathern early in 1939 and they lived in Beckenham. In 1939 his occupation was ‘motor salesman’.
James Brown, aged
44. Married Edith and in 1939 gave his
occupation as ‘canvasser (directory)’.
By 1940 he was a Special Constable in the Metropolitan Police Z Division. CROH says he was missing after the air raid.
Bertram Esten, aged
39. Information difficult, surname could
be transcribed as Ester, Exten or Eaton.
Married, in 1939 Register gave his occupation as ‘hairdresser’s
assistant’.
Edwin Martin, aged 44.
Died on 17th August at the War Memorial Hospital in Carshalton. He does not appear in the 1939 Register but
his daughter, Lillian, was a soap packer so there could be a link with
Bourjois.
Roy Norris, aged 32
born in Bath and married to Althea Eyles.
In the 1939 Register his occupation was ‘radio purchasing manager’ so he
could be linked to NSF.
Frank Wheeler, aged
56. May have been born in Camberwell, married to Bertha. CROH says he was a hot water
fitter/engineer’.
RAF
Samuel Adams
Alfred Couling, aged
20, born in the Hackney area, buried in Stoke Newington.
John Dell – note CROH
has his surname as Sell
Peter Halley, aged 24
from Glasgow. Married Roberta and lived
in Maida Vale.
Harold Hurley, aged
23, born in Bristol
Bernard Mills, aged
20. Probably born in Marylebone but
buried in East Ham.
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