Many thanks for that. I have thought for a long time that being bombed out of 14 Elsley Road was just a family myth. It seems to have been true. I was born in January 1940 so I remember nothing of any part of London.

Hi,14 Elsley Rd was bombed, I lived in number 29 from 1943 and as a child of eleven i used to play on the site with friends.Hope this is of interest to you.I am now 91 years of age and remember it quite clearly, cheers Peter

It was a V1 bomb that caused the houses at the rear of 58 Lavender Gardens to be missing. It landed at 07:58 on the 19th July 1944 on Lavender Hill. It not only badly damaged the Shakespeare Theatre but also the houses on both side of the end of Elspeth Road.

How do I know this? – Well, my Grandparents and Mother were living at number 9 Elspeth Road at the time, and were all lucky to have escaped with their lives. Their house, along with all the others, suffered irreparable damage and they were forced to move elsewhere. Fortunately they found a ground floor flat available close by at 43 Lavender Gardens, which I remember visiting as a baby in 1956/57.

The houses were never rebuilt, and I remember seeing the boarded up bomb site in-situ for many years. Elspeth Road was eventually realigned to meet with the top of Latchmere Road, and the grassy area with trees, bench and mural are a stark reminder of that dreadful day.

The first house on the south side of the road is number 13 for that very reason – It must have been very lucky for some!!

we have foxes with cubs, they come every evening. There is no smell, they play on our deck and lawn, occasionally they dig – but a small price to pay, they are fantastic to watch. Killing because of a little damage is ridiculous – humans have destroyed much of their natural habitat