Event    From 7/9/1940  To 7/9/1940

Surrey Docks fire

Categories: Tragedy

The docks were set on fire in the first raid of the Blitz. Our picture source gives: "... a firestorm in the docks that blazed from end to end for a whole week. ... A third of the warehouses and transit sheds were destroyed. The inferno at the docks eventually spread to cover 100 hectares (250 acres). Firemen from London and as far away as Bristol fought more than 40 separate fires. The largest fire at the Surrey Docks required 300 pumps to contain it."

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

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