Air Raid Warning Systems in Croydon: From non-existence to technical wizardry

Records in the Museum of Croydon record the gradual implementation of an air raid defence system and even - though not until summer 1917 - public air raid warnings. Our project volunteer Norman has recorded the growth of these defences, which consisted of Observation Posts, Special Constables, the airfield itself and a growth in the use of light and sound technology to track and monitor aircraft.

Observation Posts in Croydon

View from the Town Hall Croydon in 1938.

• Town Hall Tower
• Water Tower
• Gillett & Johnston's Tower
• Nottingham Road

Observer duties included observing and reporting on hostile flying machines, exposed lights, fires etc. Reported by telephone to Observation Room, Croydon; Metropolitan Observation Service, Horseguards (forerunner of Observer (later Royal) Corps); Regular Police and Fire Service.

Special Constabulary station and posts
Police Station, Fell Road; Trojan Works, Vicarage Road, Waddon; Christ Church Schools, Clyde Road; Addiscombe Railway Station; Wesleyan Hall, Bartlett Street, South Croydon.

The Special Constabulary were appointed at start of war, they carried out normal policing duties (traffic accidents, carts without lights, drunken soldiers, small boys stealing bicycle) but their principal activities were war-related.

They also manned Observation Posts, reporting hostile aircraft (Zeppelins and Gothas) and breaches of blackout (mostly careless or false alarm by nervous citizens) but always alert to “spies” signalling to Zeppelins.  They guarded key installations though there are no records of their being armed.  They also assisted in rescuing or recovering bombing victims. Specials also controlled mobile first aid parties including St John and Red Cross, Voluntary Aid Detachment (nurses) and a Motor Branch.
When raids were believed to be imminent, Specials were summoned by telephone, personal visit or boards in cinemas and clubs. During the Great War, Croydon Specials paraded for air raid duties on 63 occasions and were on stand-by a further 15 times. An average parade for air raids would comprise 250-300 men (only men).

Air Raid Warnings

THE UNDERWORLD: TAKING COVER IN A TUBE STATION DURING A LONDON AIR RAID, 1918,
by Walter Bayes. Imperial War Museum. Art.IWM ART 935

From June 1917 the police gave raid warnings by firing maroons. Boy Scouts played Morse G-C on bugles for all clear. A red light displayed from Town Hall clock tower during Alert and white for All Clear. In addition the Town Hall basement was sand-bagged as air raid shelter.

A mobile A.A. Based at White Hill Caterham comprising 2 lorries each with 2 machine-guns; one lorry with 24” acetylene searchlight; service wagon for cooking, sleeping and stores

Air defence: Tram with searchlight installed upper deck
Searchlights seen flashing as signal to recall night fighters

Technology
Fire Alarms were installed on on street corners before advent of home and street telephone call boxes.

Each Observation Post was eventually equipped with a telescope with illuminated sights and the base was marked with compass degrees. A sighting would be reported by telephone (or runner) to the Chief Inspector of the Regular Police. His station was equipped with a large-scale map and by receiving bearings from two or more Observation Posts, the location of any incident could be plotted with cords on the map by triangulation [see exhibit in Control Tower]. An example of this was when an incendiary bomb caused a fire on railway truck four miles away, the location of which was plotted by central control within four minutes. Also Zeppelin crashes to north of London observed and accurately plotted. Sighting reports were forwarded to London Air Defence Area headquarters in Horseguards.

Nottingham Road Observation Post was also fitted with “sound detectors” (giant horns) to track enemy aircraft.

Water Tower Observation Post had automatic equipment to record bearing and azimuth of targets and weather reports.

Norman Brice

Air Raid Defences in and around Croydon: Timeline

4 August 1914: Britain declares war on Germany

24 August 1914: Special Constables start guarding “vulnerable points” including water, gas and electricity works; telephone exchange; railway bridges (later gradually reduced to release manpower for air raid duties)

19 January 1915: first time Special Constabulary alerted for air raid

13 October 1915: raid by Zeppelin L14 Kapitanleutnant Bocher. Bombed Croydon. 9 killed, 15 injured

Fighting for Air Volunteer Visit to the Local Studies / Museum of Croydon

In the last post, I detailed how six of us had a busy day last Tuesday as we visited the First World War (FWW) galleries at the Imperial War Museum, London; then went to see archival material at the Museum of Croydon. This time, I’ll write up some notes from the Museum of Croydon. . .

Air Defences at Croydon

In January 1916, as the aerodrome opened for use, an observation point was established in central Croydon. There were numerous reports of suspected signalling to the enemy Zeppelins during the raids of October 1915. Several volunteer observers and police officers were stationed on the Clock Tower of the Town Hall with a direct phone line and motor car ready to convey police at any point. 

The Croydon Zeppelin Raid: A Personal Connection

33 Leslie Park Rd, Croydon, 14 October 1915

The Fighting for War project has used this image of the Zeppelin raid on Croydon in 13/14 October on much of its publicity. It shows two women and a policeman standing in the rubble of 33-34 Leslie Park Rd, gazing into the crater caused by the bomb. We have used it partly as it is free to do so courtesy of the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and also because it shows people rather than just devastated buildings.

And then, rather excitingly, John Murrell got in touch as he was interested in the project and had seen the image used of his grandmother! John's grandmother was Mrs Naomi Murrell (16 March 1879 - September 1971), who lived in 34 Leslie Park Rd. Had the bomb been dropped a few meters in one direction, his granny may not have survived to pose with the policeman and her sister Sarah Kemp. IWM records give the address of the photograph as 33 Leslie Park Rd but John tells me that, according to the 1911 census, his grandmother lived at 34.

The photograph and story of Naomi Murrell recognising herself in an anniversary edition of the Croydon Advertiser featured in news story in the same paper in February 1969. The article is featured below.

Zeppelins over Croydon, 13/14 October 1915

Zeppelins raided London for two nights in September 1915. On the second of these raids, a Zeppelin was seen and heard heading over South Norwood with engines shut off. It reappeared in the direction of Elmers End. There were no public warnings as the authorities felt people would panic!

The Hague Convention and Aerial Warfare

The ‘calculated savagery of the German advance through Belgium’, as described in Croydon and the Great War, had a significant impact on public opinion in Britain as well as being used for propaganda against Germany. The slash and burn style of warfare enacted by German military in Belgium also

Fighting for Air: Visit to RAF Museum, Colindale

On Saturday (18 November), some of the Fighting for Air team of volunteers went to the other side of London to visit the RAF Museum at Colindale or Hendon. We were there specifically to visit First World War in the Air galleries, which opened in 2014. The museum is on the site of a former aerodrome, that had itself been used as one of the ten defensive aerodrome bases encircling London in early 1916. Hendon itself had been used for years before the war and we heard about its early history, the history of the Grahame White factory and the general role of aviation in the war from the RAF Museum’s fantastic volunteer Sandra.

In the Foyer of the RAF Museum

Before we set off, one of the museum staff shared with us pictures of his dad’s cousin who fought in the Battle of Britain in 1940 and had been stationed at Croydon. I wrote down the name as Henry Michael Ferris so hope that is right!

It was a very drizzly November day so this photograph does not do the exterior of the original Grahame White offices and factory justice. Sandra explained about the almost forgotten figure of Claude Grahame White, who pioneered civil aviation before the war, holding flying weekends known as the ‘Hendon Habit’ that attracted enormous crowds and were on a par with Henley Regatta or the Grand National. Grahame also warned about the dangers of the ‘war in the air’ in an article Wake Up Britain! But the government did very little.

Grahame White Factory and Offices

When war broke out, the factory and airfield at Hendon were taken into the control of the government. The factory continued to make Grahame White’ signature aircraft, the Avro 504K, which was a good training plane, from 1913 to 1918, but made many more parts of other planes or put aircraft together. The factory expanded to have a workforce of 6,000 and had a welfare scheme, days out etc and was in many ways comparable to the later (and short lived) National Aircraft Factory at Croydon. Sandra explained how the Factory was moved brick by brick from its original location, just behind to the land of the RAF Museum. The link above also takes you to a virtual tour of the recreated offices.

In the hangar itself, real and replica aircraft tell the story of the ‘War in the Air’ alongside exhibits of training equipment, uniforms, aviation gear, a hut for leisure and various maps. This was all incredibly useful to help us understand how the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) used Croydon / Beddington Aerodrome as air defences in 1916-17 and training from 1917 to the end of the war. The Gosport system and tools of training, such as a speaking tube so an instructor could speak to a pilot, developed by Major Robert Smith Barry enabled me to understand the significance of the photographs our project has just had digitised. These photographs show training at Gosport and are part of our Lansdowne Albums (more on that in future posts, but a sneak preview of a page below).

It was a fascinating trip and I urge people to visit. Various parts are closed, though the main hangar and the WW1 galleries are open. The new hangar for Battle of Britain and other areas is finished in 2018 to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force’s existence. Staff thought the opening would be July / August.

Volunteers needed for assistance with ‘Fighting for Air’ World War One Project

Just over one hundred years ago, two small airfields at the edge of Croydon became a focus for fighting German zeppelins and planes in World War One. Historic Croydon Airport Trust (HCAT) has received a National Lottery grant of £9,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to explore the ‘war in the air’ and how it impacted on the local area.  The Historic Croydon Airport Trust are the volunteer run charity that operates the popular Croydon Airport Visitor Centre and we are looking for volunteers to research and interpret information for this project.

Topics to be researched include Zeppelin raids on Croydon and London 1915-16, the development of air defences, the opening and function of the National Aircraft Factory, the female workforce at this factory, the airmen – many of whom became ‘celebrity’ pilots – and the impact on the local area. We are also looking to catalogue the relevant collections held in HCAT archives. The underlying aim is to share the research with a wider audience through the stories you uncover.

33 Leslie Rd, Croydon, Air Raid Damage, 1915 (c) IWM (HO26)

The information on the airport’s involvement in the First World War will inform a new display case and interpretation at Croydon Airport Visitor Centre micro-museum. The impact of the war and the fledgling aviation industry on the local area will be mapped on the History Pin website and a free heritage map produced.

We Need You!

We are looking for volunteers to help us with this project. We will provide training on research techniques, reading material around the subject area and using archives as well as time to share knowledge. There will be a visit to the War in the Air exhibition at the RAF Museum in Colindale (on Saturday 4 or 18 November), as well as presentations from experts.

We need people who can use email and basic Word and Excel programmes

Travel expenses to the RAF Museum Colindale and locations external to Croydon & Sutton will be paid.

The sessions will take place on monthly evening meetings from October 2017 to March 2018. Dates are 17 October, 14 November, 12 December, 9 January, 6 February and 6 March 6-8pm. The first one will be in the Croydon Airport Visitor Centre at Airport House.

Please send an email as an expression of interest with a paragraph of information about why you want to take part. We ask for a commitment to attend 3 of the evening sessions.

Contact: Debbie Challis on volcoordcas@gmail.com

National Aircraft Factory No 1: Part One

A post from U3A group member Bill O'Neill on the rise of the industrial estate around Croydon Airport and the need for production of aircraft in World War One.

NAF From the Air around 1958

The Need for Aircraft

In 1917, the war on the Western Front had reached a stalemate, with both armies dug in and little sign of progress despite the heavy cost in men and materials. The Russians were leaving the war and Germany would be able to consolidate its troops in the west. Submarines were now sinking large numbers of allied merchant ships and our cities were under bombardment from both Zeppelins and German bombers.