The Bethnal Green Memorial Project

The disaster memorial at night, March 2018The disaster memorial at night, March 2018

The Bethnal Green Memorial Project is dedicated to collecting and preserving records relating to the Bethnal Green underground shelter disaster of 3 March 1943, and its aftermath. We now have recorded more than 30 interviews with survivors, and witnesses and relatives of those who died and digitised documents and photographs from the families of those who were involved. The project is also deeply involved in making the history of the the disaster more widely known and complementing the information given at the new Bethnal Green Disaster Memorial in honouring the 173 men, women and children who died in the disaster, their families, rescuers and those who survived.

A dedicated team of staff and volunteers have produced an oral history book and two audio trails designed to be experienced at the memorial in Bethnal Green Gardens. These are free and available from this website along with extensive education resources for schools and youth groups, an exhibition and an oral history archive of interviews with survivors and witnesses. The team have given more than 50 talks to community groups and the project has now directly reached over 10,000 people. Our overall aim is to commemorate, consider and better understand the disaster and the impact it had on so many people, many of whom were told by the authorities not to speak about it.

The project is based at the University of East London and funded generously by the Heritage Lottery Fund. We have been working in close partnership with the Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust and the Bishopsgate Institute with additional support from the Raphael Samuel History Centre and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Prayers at the memorial, 75th anniversary, March 2018Prayers at the memorial, 75th anniversary, March 2018

A plaque for the audio trails has now been installed on the railings at Bethnal Green Underground station and up to 30 audio players can be borrowed free of charge from Bethnal Green Library, a short walk from the memorial site. The players are loaded with the adult and child friendly versions of the audio trail. The memorial is situated next to the stairway going down to Bethnal Green Underground Station, on the intersection of Roman Road and Cambridge Heath Road (East London).

Latest news: Full interview recordings with survivors, rescuers, friends and relatives are now available to hear online in the 'stories to remember' section of the website. These include interview summaries and transcripts. A PDF version of the project oral history book is now available for free download. The final phase of construction of the memorial was completed in December 2017 and it is now open to the public. For the 75th anniversary of the disaster images of many of the victims are currently being projected on the memorial after dark until 9th March 2018.

The disaster

Shortly after an air-raid warning on the evening of 3 March 1943, hundreds of people in Bethnal Green fled for shelter. In East London many houses had no garden or space for an Anderson Shelter, and the London Underground offered protection. In nearby Victoria Park the Royal Artillery fired a rocket-based anti-aircraft weapon. It is possible that a rocket misfired as witnesses described how a tremendous, unexpected 'whoosh' filled the air just as several buses emptied of passengers near the underground shelter. There was rush to get to shelter through the only entrance - down 19 wide steps without a central handrail - which led to the ticket hall. The dark, wet staircase was ill-lit by a single light bulb.

Suddenly a woman with a child stumbled and tripped; an elderly man fell over her; others couldn't stop themselves tumbling on top. Very quickly the crush of bodies was five or six deep. Pinned down by the weight of those above them, people couldn't move - and they couldn't breathe. It is thought that 300 hundred people were caught up in the stairway. According to the official magistrate's report, which was not made public for two years, 'the stairway was converted from a corridor to a charnel house in ten to fifteen seconds'. 173 people lost their lives, mostly women and children, and many more were injured. It was one of the worst civilian disasters in modern history. At the time many survivors and witnesses were told not to talk about the disaster and many did not discuss the terrible event for the rest of their lives. See the disaster section of this website for more details.

The Project in the Media

 

 

A key aim of the project is to raise general awareness of the circumstances of the disaster. At the 70th anniversary of the disaster there was a great deal of media coverage of the disaster and the new memorial, partially constructed but complete enough to host the anniversary ceremony. The link above gives an overview. On the day the BBC also broadcast a live interview with the project director from the memorial site on national and international news, exploring why the disaster had not been better remembered and memorialised before now. In 2018 the 75th anniversary and the now completed memorial have also attracted coverage in the local and national media including the Daily Mirror, the Daily Express, BBC News and History Workshop Online.