Bermondsey Builders’ Wartime Discovery

An unexploded bomb, originating from the Nazi blitz over London during the Second World War, was discovered by builders in Bermondsey yesterday.

The bomb was discovered by workers laying the foundations for a new building in The Grange, Bermondsey on the morning of Monday 23^rd March, and is reported to weigh 1,000lbs and be 5ft in length. As soon as the bomb was discovered, the Metropolitan Police’s bomb squad put in place a 400 metre exclusion zone around the sigh, bringing numerous road closures. Two schools had to closed early and hundreds of people were evacuated from apartment blocks.

Traffics was severely affected for much of the morning both north and south of the Thames following the closure of Tower Bridge. There were reports of queues for buses stretching several miles. Applicants for History and for Human, Social, and Political Sciences might wish to consider that, 70 years after the event, the Second World War is still affecting our lives today. In what other ways is the British experience in towns and cities still shaped by the Blitz?

Bermondsey was one of Central London’s worst affected areas during the Blitz. At least 709 civilians are known to have been killed in the Nazi bombing campaign. The area is thought to have been targeted on account of its heavy industry and the close proximity of the London docks. Economics applicants might be interested in the economic consequences if there are more unexploded bombs discovered beneath the streets of London. How would such discoveries affect house prices and insurance premiums?

Applicants for Archaeology and Anthropology and for Architecture want to pick up on the archaeological importance of discovering such an artefact. What is the best way to locate any other dormant munitions underground?