C: GroBgaswerk Beckton
A German aerial map showing Beckton. The Beckton Gasworks was the main supplier of gas to central London.
The Docks in the Second World War
Black Saturday (2)
D: I lived in Canning Town, E16, and I was 18 years old. That Saturday was a warm sunny day with a high blue sky. The Alert was sounded... Then came the bombs - there were no ack-ack firing - only one Navy ship in the East India Docks... We went down into the Anderson shelter in the backyard.
One of my brothers was having his hair cut - the barber ran away and left him with one half of his hair short, the other long. My father was at work at Blackwall and was standing at the wharfside when he was blown into the mud. He was OK though. We had our evening meal and thought it was all over,
The smell of the factories burning and the smoke was awful, but I do not remember us being afraid. Later that evening our friends the bombers were back. It was much worse and we were back in the backyard shelter.
The sky I will always remember was red - there was no panic, everyone just seemed to take it. The people who lost their homes in the Victoria Dock area were taken into a school.
Sadly hundreds of them were to lose their lives on the night raid when the school was bombed. There was a big cover-up about the school and what happened to the bodies. Folk still think lots were dug in and concreted over.'
Mrs R.E. Isles.
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C: GroBgaswerk Beckton
A German aerial map showing Beckton. The Beckton Gasworks was the main supplier of gas to central London.
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The Dockers|
The Strikes of 1889 |
In the 20c |
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Contact
Nigel Sagar
Design and Technology
London Borough of Barking
and Dagenham
Email: nigel.sagar@lbbd.gov.uk
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