A History of the Elephant & Castle (Part Two)

First, the bombs, next the concrete and then—-what will be the future of the Elephant?

View from the Mirror

This is the second part looking at a history of the Elephant and Castle area of south London. To read the first instalment please click here

The Elephant at war

Being a major transport hub with a large civilian population, the Elephant and Castle was bombed heavily during World War Two. 

Londoners sheltering at Elephant and Castle tube station during the Blitz.

The worst raid to hit the area took place on the 10th May 1941, when bombers deliberately targeted the south London district in order to create a ferocious firestorm which rapidly engulfed the Elephant. 

A painting depicting the night in which the Elephant was consumed by flames.

After the war much of the Elephant lay in ruins, a shadow of its pre-war days when Londoners had flocked there to indulge in its many shops and places of entertainment.

Bomb damage at the Elephant, 1941. The destroyed…

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About Daniel Kemp

Daniel Kemp is a member of The Society of Authors. His introduction to the world of espionage and mystery happened at an early age when his father was employed by the War Office in Whitehall, London, at the end of WWII. However, it wasn’t until after his father died that he showed any interest in anything other than himself! On leaving academia he took on many roles in his working life: a London police officer, mini-cab business owner, pub tenant and licensed London taxi driver, but never did he plan to become a writer. Nevertheless, after a road traffic accident left him suffering from PTSD and effectively—out of paid work for four years, he wrote and self-published his first novel —The Desolate Garden. Within three months of publication, that book was under a paid option to become a $30 million film. The option lasted for five years until distribution became an insurmountable problem for the production company. All ten of his novels are now published by CNext Chapter with the tenth novel being a two-part ending to the Heirs and Descendants Series. A Covenant of Spies completed the four-book series alongside: What Happened In Vienna, Jack? Once I Was A Soldier and A Widow's Son. Under the Creativia publishing banner, The Desolate Garden went on to become a bestselling novel in World and Russian Literature in 2017. The following year, in May 2018, his book What Happened In Vienna, Jack? was a number-one bestseller on four separate Amazon sites: America, the UK, Canada, and Australia. Although it's true to say that he mainly concentrates on what he knows most about; murders laced by the mystery involving spies, his diverse experience of life shows in the two novellas he wrote, namely: Why? A Complicated Love, and the intriguing story titled--The Story That Had No Beginning. He is the recipient of rave reviews from a prestigious Manhattan publication and described as—the new Graham Green—by a highly placed employee of Waterstones Books, for whom he did a countrywide tour of book signing events. He has also appeared on 'live' television in the UK publicising his first novel. There is no morality to be found in evil. But to recognise that which is truly evil one must forget the rules of morality. Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daniel-Kemp/... He is fond of writing Quotes and a collection of his can be found here--- https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/list/72612151
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