As the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, local historian Davis Watson reflects on the impact World War Two had on Woodford
Eighty years ago, South Woodford residents joined the nation in celebrating VE Day and the end of six painful years of war.
By the time war had been declared in September 1939, South Woodford, like many other towns across the nation, had been preparing in case of conflict. The local borough had founded a community Civil Defence Service in March 1936 and when war was announced, 43 wardens’ posts, spread across six districts, were quickly confirmed. It was post 21 – located at The Shrubberies, George Lane – who were tasked to deal with one of South Woodford’s most demanding incidents in the early hours of 14 October 1940. Two high-explosive bombs fell onto the train crossing, causing serious damage to the tracks and adjoining subway that was then under construction. On that occasion, no casualties were recorded. However, the residents of South Woodford would not always be so lucky.
Less than two months later, a mine exploded in Wordsworth Avenue, killing 12 people and injuring 41. Sixteen of those injured required hospital treatment and were likely collected by volunteers based at the nearby Cowslip Road School (since renamed Oakdale Infant School), who would transport victims to the nearest hospital. Later in the war, the school was used as an emergency feeding store and suffered severe damage in January 1945 when a long-range rocket fell in Woodville Road. Sadly, that incident alone injured 90 people and claimed the lives of a further 18, including a small girl found crushed beneath a fallen chimney stack.
Another young South Woodford resident to lose their life during the war was seven-year-old Arthur Bartaby of 8 Stanley Road. Arthur was one of four children of Ada and George Bartaby that were evacuated to Barnstaple in July 1939. One morning in September 1940, while in the kitchen of the Hawkins family with whom he stayed, Arthur fell and damaged the base of his brain, passing away a day later.
Another local site utilised during the war was Holy Trinity Church, whose hall served as a rest centre to provide accommodation for bombed-out families. The church itself received damage when its splendid east windows – donated in the 1890s by the Nutter sisters, well-known local philanthropists – were blown out. A replacement was designed by Hugh Easton and dedicated by Reverend Hugh Gough, the Bishop of Barking, on 22 April 1950. Two months earlier, a new electrical installation in the church had been dedicated to “the memory of the men and women who lost their lives during the Second World War,” as a plaque still visible on the interior west wall records. One of those men was David Scott Shearman Wilkerson, an RAF pilot who passed away in a crash at Tedsmore Hill, Shropshire, in September 1944. Prior to the war, Wilkerson had run the 17th Epping Forest scout troop based at Holy Trinity and when the church erected a scout hut to the south-west of their site around 1950, they named it the David Wilkerson Memorial Hall in his honour; it still stands today.
For more information on local VE Day anniversary events, visit swvg.co.uk/ve80
