The imposing 3 and 5 storey block of shops and flats that stood on this site were built in 1902 as Nos.288-312 Upper Richmond Rd, curving up to the railway line in Charlwood Rd. They are indeed the buildings that can be seen in photo "2124", and which can be seen towering in the background in photo "2123". The developer was Thomas McIsaac, while the builders were "Read & Wilkinson" of Wandsworth High St.At 10:30 am on Sunday 18th June 1944 a V1 that had been shot down by AA fire smashed into the back of the block, causing much of the structure of Nos.300-312 to collapse. The Chief Warden happened to be in the area at the time, and wrote in his diary about a thick cloud of smoke and dust moving slowly along URR towards the High St, an overturned omnibus outside the old Police Station, a fire in one of the shops, and residents leaning out of the flats' windows, screaming for assistance. He quickly commandeered No.233 URR, then a Christian Science Reading Room at the north-west corner of Gwendolen, to use as his HQ, after having to tell his men to rush a man who was blocking their way, insisting that they could not enter, as a service was just about to commence! The bomb blast also lifted the roof off the Methodist Church opposite, but this immediately fell back roughly into place, and the building was put to use as a casualty post. Other damage was caused to the railway track; mansion blocks at the south-west end of Norroy Rd (explaining the electrical sub-station and modern buildings situated there now); the villas at Nos.6-10 Charlwood Rd (replaced after the War by the flats of "Charlwood Court"); and Nos.314/316 URR at the south-west corner of Charlwood (since replaced with the "Air Malta" building). A few days after the incident sappers were called in to demolish the dangerous facade of Nos.300-312, and after the War much of the vacant site was used for the construction of "Jordan Court" (where the "Hare & Tortoise" is located), but leaving a bit of scrubland, which has now become the Pocket Park....probably Putney's last undeveloped bomb site. Part of the original block still stands as the 3 storey Nos.288-294 URR.The incident caused the deaths of 35 residents, with a further 15 seriously injured. The youngest victim was 4 y.o, and the oldest was 74 y.o. The worst hit families were the Macks (both parents killed, along with 3 teenage sons), and the Hulls (both parents killed, as well as their 3 young children). Following this incident a decision was taken by the authorities that no more attempts would be made to shoot V1s out of the sky, once they had entered the London airspace.Prior to the construction of the block, this strip of land along URR had originally contained 4 houses known as "Clarendon Villas", built during the 1850s, and possibly developed by Putney solicitor/property owner Henry Scarth, who, together with the Charlwood family, was certainly listed as the owner of the undeveloped plot at the time of an 1849 map.
David Johns ● 1893d