On 1945, the German air force dropped thousands of bombs in London, killing nearly 30,000 people.
More than 70,000 buildings were demolished and another one was built.
7 million damaged.
The extent of damage to each of these buildings is recorded and drawn on a map close to the real
Time of surveyor, architect, engineer and construction worker.
The result is an incredible collection of maps, colors-
Manual coding reveals in detail the extent of the damage.
These maps are still valuable resources for scholars, family historians, and even builders who are trying to avoid exposure to explosives.
Now, these bomb census maps can be found in a beautiful oversized book published earlier this year to mark the 75 th anniversary of the end of the Blitz
London and the rest of Britain were ruthlessly attacked by the German Air Force for a month.
London County Council bomb damage map, 1939-
1945 contains large, high
High-quality replicas of all 110 maps in the London area, as well as comments by Lawrence Ward, chief archivist at the Metropolitan archives of London, which holds the original map.
These maps provide a starting point for so many stories, Ward said.
They are a great source because they make you want to keep learning more.
As soon as the bomb falls, the data collection of the map begins.
The County Council of London, known as the central administration of London County (
It's probably the area called Inner London today)
, Asked its construction department to respond in the event of a bomb attack.
Prior to the war, surveyors worked primarily at construction sites to ensure compliance with regulations and that the building was in compliance with the specifications, and they suddenly found themselves in charge of rescue operations.
They work with local rescue agencies, which consist of people from the construction sector, such as engineers and bricklayers.
Their main purpose is to pull people out of the ruins, destroy the buildings and try to save lives.
They are arranged as rescue agencies because they understand how the building works, so if the building is about to collapse, make a judgment about the time you enter the building and try to save people.
The rescue Department responded in total to 16,396 incidents, saving 22,238 people. Fifty-
Four of them were killed in these efforts.
Once the rescue operation is over, surveyors and rescuers will work together to classify the damage into six categories by building, from "explosive damage" in nature to "total damage ".
Their report was sent to the London County Council, where they were recorded on a map of 1916 Ordnance Surveys.
Color for each damage category (
Displayed in key, top right)
, The state of each affected building on the map is hand colored.
In April 20, 1941, architect Andrew Butler wrote a diary in the book about the work: for the block, I have started to be on the 8 th floor, with two apartments on each floor, the whole face was torn off and I found it possible to stand on a part of the roof.
So, I grabbed a broken chimney and looked at the damage there.
My notebook is getting messy.
With dust and soot, wet dirt and sweat on my hands, it's hard for me to read what I wrote.
However, when I dried the books and I had to transcribe them into a report, the notes served their purpose.
The map is visually eye-catching.
The apparent randomness of color is in sharp contrast to the more orderly pattern of streets and buildings.
In some places, the entire area with several blocks and dozens of buildings is black (
Total damage)and purple (
Damage cannot be repaired).
In other places, the severity of the damage varies greatly, and the yellow area (
Minor explosion damage)
In black, purple and red (
Serious damage).
The circle on the map indicates that it is from V-1 and V-
Two rockets have done great damage to Arsenal in Germany.
Starting in June 1944, V-shaped in Germany
By that time, its attacks were mainly made up of burning bombs thrown by planes. The V-
One is carrying 1,870-
It is possible to navigate through the autopilot and hit the target's pound warhead.
More than 2,000 people landed in London, killing 2,329 people.
On September, a V-
The world's first ballistic missile rocket hit London.
By the end of the war, 517 people detonated bombs in London, killing 2,511 people.
The destruction caused by World War II has made London a diverse city today.
These maps help explain how the rows of magnificent old apartments can be interspersed with more modern buildings.
Looking at a very, very small area, Ward says, you can have buildings from five different centuries sitting very close.
As you go further, you may walk along a very beautiful Victorian-style street full of these beautiful terraced houses with lots of Victorian-style details, there will be such a low age of 1960-
Very practical, very square high-rise residential block.
But this is often caused by bomb attacks.
The book also contains a remarkable collection of photos of a damaged Square in central London-
A mile in central London, filmed by two police officers, will shoot the damaged area after the attack.
The map shows how extensive the damage is, and the photos, as shown above, show the damage at close range, really giving people an idea of the scale of the damage.
I just think it's shocking that they can continue.
London has just started working, he said.
This must be an unusual moment.