How the Blitz changed London – a blow-by-blow online map

Thursday 4 April 2019

Layers of London, an interactive map-based project at the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) has collaborated with the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) to publish online for the first time, the London County Council (LCC) Bomb Damage Map, which chronicles the devastation of the metropolis by The Blitz – enemy bombing in the Second World War.

Laurence Ward, LMA’s head of digital services and an authority on the map, says, “The London County Council Bomb Damage Map is a detailed and moving record of the damage inflicted on the capital during the Second World War.

“It speaks of the experience of Londoners, of loss and devastation, and provides a fascinating view of the challenge faced in the post-war period to rebuild the city. In adding the map to the Layers of London website and enabling users to make direct comparisons with other maps and share their stories, we hope to add significantly to our understanding of the impact of the Second World War on London.”

The hand-coloured map diligently charts, house by house, the extent of the war damage, with categories ranging from buildings that were destroyed, to those that suffered minor loss such as broken windows. Dating from 1940, the underlying map captures the capital before the post-war developments that gave rise to the modern city. It also depicts the locations where V1 (‘doodlebugs’) and V2 bombs fell.

The original is held at LMA, one of the partner institutions in the Layers of London project, an ambitious website that makes key historic maps available online and boasts a dynamic community engagement programme. Other project partners include the Museum of London Archaeology, The British Library, Birkbeck, Historic England, The National Archives, and the National Library of Scotland.

Professor Matthew Davies of Birkbeck, University of London, and director of the Layers of London project, says “This is an extraordinary map, which paints a graphic picture of the impact of wartime bombing on London. We are delighted that London Metropolitan Archives has made it available to the Layers of London project, sharing it online for the first time with many thousands of users and contributors to our website.”