The Poplar Recreation Ground Memorial is a memorial to 18 children killed at Upper North Street School in Poplar on 13 June 1917, by the first daylight bombing attack on

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

by fixed-wing aircraft.

Background

London had faced air raids by

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

airships in 1915 and 1916. The first fixed-wing bombers to attack targets in England hit

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

and Shorncliffe on 25 May 1917, causing 95 deaths and 195 injuries. Cloud prevented this bombing raid reaching its intended target of London. A second raid hit

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

on 5 June 1917. Early on Wednesday 13 June 1917, Hauptmann Ernst Brandenburg left an airfield near

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

in Belgium with a formation of 20

Gotha G.IV The Gotha G.IV was a heavy bomber used by the (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. It was the first mass-produced large airplane. Development Experience with the earlier G.III showed that the rear gunner could not efficientl ...

aircraft from ''Kampfgeschwader der Obersten Heeresleitung'' 3 (''Kagohl'' 3), as part of Operation Türkenkreuz, the German plan for the strategic bombing of London. The aircraft had been fitted with extra reserve fuel tanks to enable a non-stop flight. Two quickly turned back, but the other 18 aircraft made good progress in clear but hazy summer skies. They flew over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

, and one dropped bombs on

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

. Three bombed

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness (; also called Shoebury) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. east of the city centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when i ...

, and one left to undertake aerial photo-reconnaissance over

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. The remaining 14 Gothas in two formations flew over East London. The bombers created a great noise, but were assumed to be friendly until they began dropping bombs in

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the hundred o ...

and the docks in the East End. The Gothas continued over the city, and then turned back over

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

at about 12 noon, dropping a concentration of over 70 bombs in an area within of

Liverpool Street Station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the ...

. Three bombs hit the station itself, where the poet

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

was present on leave. Over 100 people were killed, and over 400 injured, in the deadliest air raid on London during the First World War. The dead included PC Alfred Smith, who is commemorated in the

Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice The Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice is a public monument in Postman's Park in the City of London, commemorating ordinary people who died saving the lives of others and who might otherwise have been forgotten. It was first proposed by painter ...

Postman's Park Postman's Park is a public garden in central London, a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St. Martin's Le Grand, King Edward Street, and the site of the former headquarters of the General ...

. British anti-aircraft guns at various locations around London opened fire, and aircraft from the three home defence squadrons the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

were scrambled to intercept, but they both struggled to find a target in the hazy conditions, and none of the Gothas was lost. On his return, Brandenburg was summoned to Berlin to be awarded the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

, Germany's highest military honour. He was wounded in an air crash on the return flight from Berlin. The daylight bombers were to return to London on Saturday 7 July 1917.

Upper North Street School

The Upper North Street School was a London county primary school in Poplar, and is now renamed Mayflower Primary School. The school was one of the locations hit by the German bombs. One or two high explosive bombs crashed through the roof and top two floors to explode in the classroom on the ground floor where 64 infants were taught. The explosion killed 18 children, of whom 16 were aged between four and six years old, and injured more than 30 others. Two older children were killed as the bomb passed through the upper floors, where classes for the older girls and boys were located. A mass funeral was held on 20 June 1917, with 15 children buried together in

East London Cemetery The East London Cemetery and Crematorium are located in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham. It is owned and operated by the Dignity Funeral Group. History The cemetery was founded in 1871 and laid out in 1872 to meet the increasing deman ...

. It has been said that the last coffin contained pieces of bodies that could not be identified. The funeral service was conducted by the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Arthur Winnington-Ingram Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram (26 January 1858 – 26 May 1946) was Bishop of London from 1901 to 1939. Early life and career He was born in the rectory at Stanford-on-Teme, Worcestershire, the fourth son of Edward Winnington-Ingram (a C ...

at the Poplar parish church,

All Saints Church, Poplar All Saints' Church, Poplar, is a church in Newby Place, Poplar, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and is the Church of England parish church of Poplar. It was built in 1821–3 to serve the newly created parish. The church was designated a Grade ...

, together with the

Bishop of Stepney The Bishop of Stepney is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Stepney, an inner-city district in the London Borough of T ...

Luke Paget Henry Luke Paget (1853−1937) was the 4th Anglican Bishop of Stepney from 1909 until 1919 when he was appointed Bishop of Chester. Paget was born in 1853 and educated at Shrewsbury and Christ Church, Oxford before embarking on an ecclesiasti ...

and the local Rector and Rural Dean O.S. Laurie. The boys' band of the Poplar Training School played, and over 600 wreaths were laid.

Memorial

A public fund was set up, raising £1,455 to pay for a memorial. The memorial cost £230, so some of the remaining funds were used to pay for the graves of 16 of the children, and the balance to endow a bed in the children's ward at

Poplar Hospital Poplar Hospital was a medical facility opened in East India Dock Road in London, England, in 1855. It was opened under the patronage of Samuel Gurney, MP, to treat people who had suffered injuries in the docks. The premises which were leased for ...

, and another at the Lord Mayor's Home for Crippled Children at

Alton, Hampshire Alton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England, near the source of the River Wey. It had a population of 17,816 at the 2011 census. Alton was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as ''Aoltone' ...

. The memorial was built by a local funeral director, A.R. Adams. It was unveiled by Major General

Edward Ashmore Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Beckwith Ashmore, (11 December 1919 – 28 April 2016) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He saw active service in the Second World War and later commanded two frigates before achieving high command in the Navy. ...

, commander of the London Air Defence Area, at Poplar Recreation Ground on

East India Dock Road East India Dock Road is a major arterial route from Limehouse to Canning Town in London. The road takes its name from the former East India Docks in the Port of London, and partly serves as the high street of Poplar. To the west it becomes Co ...

on 23 June 1919. The memorial is in a Victorian Gothic design, built from marble and granite. A white stepped stone base leads up to a central column of white Sicilian marble, surrounded by four columns of black Labrador granite. The column is surmounted by an angel with spread wings, and inscribed with the names of the children who died. The memorial received a Grade II listing in 1973, upgraded to Grade II* in 2017. A grave marker nearby, for the 15 children buried together, received a separate Grade II listing in 2017. Also nearby is the (unlisted) gravestone of the school caretaker, Mr Batt, died on 1 November 1917; he had pulled his son's body from the damaged building.

References

Memorial in Poplar Recreation Ground
The National Heritage List for England, Historic England
Grave marker for 15 infants from Upper North Street School (Poplar) in the East London Cemetery
The National Heritage List for England, Historic England
Upper North Street School Children
Imperial War Museum
Upper North Street School Air Raid, June 1917
Tower Hamlets Borough Council
London 1917–18: The Bomber Blitz
Ian Castle, Christa Hook, pp. 19–22
East London in mourning – remembering the civilian dead
Peace Pledge Union

Peace Pledge Union

Peace Pledge Union
WW100: Poplar memorial features in new exhibition
The Docklands and East London Advertiser, 18 July 2014
Bombed School Memorial
Public Monuments & Sculpture Association
First World War: The First Blitz
Historic England
Images
at Mayflower Primary School
The First Blitz
Andrew Hyde, Casemate Publishers, 2012, , pp. 151–156
Poplar tree planted to remember children killed in 1917 air raid on school
The Docklands and East London Advertiser, 2 April 2014 {{coord, 51.5107, N, 0.0168, W, source:wikidata, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Buildings and structures completed in 1919 Grade II* listed monuments and memorials 1919 in London Poplar, London

Background

Upper North Street School

Memorial

See also

References