My mother’s family were bombed-out of Lewisham in the Nazi German blanket-bombing of Lewisham in September, 1940. Tens of thousands had to fircibly relocate to the Chislehurst Caves (then situated in Kent). They went on foot – walking miles to gain safety as the UK government had nowhere to put them. Eventually, the owner of the caves agreed to this – and the government assisted the people to establish an underground town which lasted until 1948 – when the Labour Party finished building new Council Houses. As for my mother’s family – they were relocated to Oxford on the grounds that one of their relatives already lived there (I think a cousin had moved there at some point before this). Obviously, Lewisham still possessed a working-class population – as the plaque discussed in this article commemorates the 51 people killed when a VI hit the Market Area during 1944. By this time, my family had established themselves in Oxford (the men joining the military) – and a large part of the Lewisham population was now living in the Chislehurst Caves.
