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The London County Council bomb damage maps, 1939-1945

documentary heritage
  • Description

    The attack on London between 1939 and 1945 is one of the most significant events in the city's modern history, the impact of which can still be seen in its urban and social landscapes. As a key record of the attack, the London County Council Bomb Damage Maps represent destruction on a huge scale, recording buildings and streets reduced to smoke and rubble. The full set of maps is made up of 110 hand-coloured 1:2500.

    Ordnance Survey base sheets originally published in 1916 but updated by the LCC to 1940. Because they use the 1916 map, they give us a glimpse of a lost London, before post-war redevelopment schemes began to shape the modern city. The colouring applied to the maps records a scale of damage to London's built environment during the war the most detailed and complete survey of destruction caused by the aerial bombardment. A clear and fascinating introduction by expert Laurence Ward sets the maps in the full historical context of the events that gave rise to them, supported by archival photographs and tables of often grim statistics.

  • Place
  • Other Id

    G1819.L7 WAR (Library of Congress Call Number)

    86999 (Cat ID)

    86859 (Presto content ID)

  • Department

Images and documents

Catalogue

  • Object Type
  • Name/Title
    The London County Council bomb damage maps, 1939-1945
  • Primary Maker

     Laurence Ward (Author)

  • Contributor/Publisher
    Thames & Hudson
  • Place
  • Date
    2015
  • Physical Description

    1 atlas (288 pages) : illustrations (some colour), maps (some colour) ; 38 cm

  • ISBN/ISSN
    9780500518250
  • Level of Current Record
    Bib record
  • Member Object

    1 item in this collection. View all items.

  • Subject Category
  • Public Access Text

    [Keywords: World War Two; Second World War; Aerial bombing; London Metropolitan Area (England) - Maps]

    Includes bibliographical references (pages 284-285) and index.

  • Collection Type
    Reading Room
  • Copyright
    All rights reserved
  • Last Update
    19 Dec 2023
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