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!!

I don’t have any photos of the area at that time but there are a few lurking around on the internet. You might find the article at https://simonhoggblogs.com/2014/03/18/why-was-the-winstanley-estate-built/ by Simon Hogg interesting. He’s got some aerial photos as well.

I think it might just have been a story. It’s not impossible it suffered some damage (I can’t remember if Gideon Road, to the rear, was cleared because of bomb damage or as part of the post-war demolition and rebuilding of roads in the area) but I certainly don’t think the house itself suffered any substantial damage.

I’m afraid I don’t have any information other than what I’ve published on here. If you are still nearby the local history section at Lavender Hill library were very helpful when I went (it was a few years ago, so you might want to check first if you are planning on going in case it has moved or has restricted hours).

Looking at your description I wonder if the bomb you mention is this one: http://bombsight.org/bombs/16821/ Unfortunately that site has very little detail and only covers the blitz. You can get a lot more from places like the local archive.

Another site that has a bit more detail (and looks like a real labour of love by the author) and covers the V1s is ‘Flying Bombs and Rockets’, there is a page for SW11 http://www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/V1_summary_sw11.html and there are a couple on there that might be the V1 you saw, you might be able to narrow down based on direction and time.