Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

At the bottom of the Piccadilly Line escalators at Holborn, you turn
right to reach the platforms. As you enter the tunnel at the bottom of
the escalator, there is a large, heavy-looking, apparently steel door
set into the wall on the left-hand side of the foot tunnel.

Other than having been painted open, it looks like it is in working
order (it even has a small handle).

What was the purpose of this door, and is it still available for that
use today?

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

What was the purpose of this door, and is it still available for that
use today?

It leads to the Aldwych Platforms. They used to be just normal underground
shutter doors.
--
To reply direct, remove NOSPAM and replace with railwaysonline
For Train Information, The Latest News & Best photos around check out the
Award Winning Railways Online at http://www.railwaysonline.co.uk

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

(Matt Ashby) wrote in message . com...
At the bottom of the Piccadilly Line escalators at Holborn, you turn
right to reach the platforms. As you enter the tunnel at the bottom of
the escalator, there is a large, heavy-looking, apparently steel door
set into the wall on the left-hand side of the foot tunnel.

Other than having been painted open, it looks like it is in working
order (it even has a small handle).

What was the purpose of this door, and is it still available for that
use today?

Flood-door dating from WW2. These were fitted at various stations
where a bomb breaching adjacent water mains might endager the running
tunnels, or where one line flooded due to a bomb breaching a tunnel
under the Thames could flood into another line. These are still
visible at a lot of stations, such as at the foot of both escalators
linking the Northern Line with the National Rail (formerly Northern
City Line) platforms at Moorgate. They could also be seen in the
end-of-platform tunnels between the Piccadilly and Northern Lines at
Leicester Square, but they were faced and tiled over during
refurbishment work late last year, although the it's still fairly
obvious where they are. If you look at the northern ends of both
Northern & both Bakerloo platforms tunnels at Waterloo, you can also
see the remains of the track-side flood-doors that would have been
closed had any of the under-Thames tunnels been breached.

It's important to appreciate that these were not, "blast-doors," as
they are sometimes erroneously called. A case in point is what
happened when Bank station took a direct hit in January 1941. The
initial Civil Defence report noted:

"At the foot of the escalator to the Central London railway there are
two steel doors for the prevention of floods giving access to each
side of the tube platforms. These doors were open and the main
casualties were those sheltering at the foot of the escalator, who
were blown through the doors against the wall of the tube opposite.
Had these doors been shut, the technical officer of the Transport
Board advises that the blast might have blown in the sides of the tube
tunnels."

I've been doing a lot of new research lately for my site on the
Underground during WW2, and an update should be online soon. The
existing page is at:

http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

"Robin Mayes" wrote in message .. .
"Nick Cooper 625" wrote in message
om...

"At the foot of the escalator to the Central London railway there are
two steel doors for the prevention of floods giving access to each
side of the tube platforms. These doors were open and the main
casualties were those sheltering at the foot of the escalator, who
were blown through the doors against the wall of the tube opposite.
Had these doors been shut, the technical officer of the Transport
Board advises that the blast might have blown in the sides of the tube
tunnels."

The bomb in question smashed through the road at Bank junction and bounced
from the ticket hall down the escalators. Several city workers have tried to
simulate the latter part of the bomb's path, usually on a Friday night.

And creating far more damage, no doubt.

Jokes aside, the bomb actually exploded in the escalator machine room
and the blast went down the escalators, as well as upwards, removing
most of the road junction about the ticket hall. Something similar
happened at Trafalgar Square.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

In message , Nick
Cooper 625 writes

Flood-door dating from WW2. These were fitted at various stations
where a bomb breaching adjacent water mains might endager the running
tunnels, or where one line flooded due to a bomb breaching a tunnel
under the Thames could flood into another line. These are still
visible at a lot of stations, such as at the foot of both escalators
linking the Northern Line with the National Rail (formerly Northern
City Line) platforms at Moorgate. They could also be seen in the
end-of-platform tunnels between the Piccadilly and Northern Lines at
Leicester Square, but they were faced and tiled over during
refurbishment work late last year, although the it's still fairly
obvious where they are. If you look at the northern ends of both
Northern & both Bakerloo platforms tunnels at Waterloo, you can also
see the remains of the track-side flood-doors that would have been
closed had any of the under-Thames tunnels been breached.

At Bethnal Green too; I've taken pictures of the winding mechanism.
--
Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Kat wrote in message ...
In message , Nick
Cooper 625 writes

Flood-door dating from WW2. These were fitted at various stations
where a bomb breaching adjacent water mains might endager the running
tunnels, or where one line flooded due to a bomb breaching a tunnel
under the Thames could flood into another line. These are still
visible at a lot of stations, such as at the foot of both escalators
linking the Northern Line with the National Rail (formerly Northern
City Line) platforms at Moorgate. They could also be seen in the
end-of-platform tunnels between the Piccadilly and Northern Lines at
Leicester Square, but they were faced and tiled over during
refurbishment work late last year, although the it's still fairly
obvious where they are. If you look at the northern ends of both
Northern & both Bakerloo platforms tunnels at Waterloo, you can also
see the remains of the track-side flood-doors that would have been
closed had any of the under-Thames tunnels been breached.

At Bethnal Green too;

Everytime I got through any particular station and spot them, I mean
to include the detail in the web-page, but I usually promptly forget
afterwards, because methodically noting facts doesn't multi-task wekk
with "Commute Mode"!

I've taken pictures of the winding mechanism.

Are they on line anywhere, or if not, I know a very good web-site that
might be able to use them... insert fluttering eyelashes emoticon
that probably doesn't even exist

I'm currently wading through the wartime daily bombing reports for
"key points," sifting out all the LU-related railway incidents, which
is producing a mass of data not previously widely known, such as hits
and unexploded bombs at various depots. Also almost finished
identifying by name the vast majority of the wartime fatalities on LU
property, including - on an even more melancholic note - a certain
amount of myth-shattering r.e. Bounds Green.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Nick Cooper 625 wrote:

I'm currently wading through the wartime daily bombing reports for
"key points,"

Where are these available? Are they online?

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

"Richard J." wrote in message ...
Nick Cooper 625 wrote:

I'm currently wading through the wartime daily bombing reports for
"key points,"

Where are these available? Are they online?

No, they're at the National Archives in 43 volumes of good old fashioned paper.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

In message , Nick
Cooper 625 writes
Kat wrote in message
...
[...]
At Bethnal Green too;

Everytime I got through any particular station and spot them, I mean
to include the detail in the web-page, but I usually promptly forget
afterwards, because methodically noting facts doesn't multi-task wekk
with "Commute Mode"!

I've taken pictures of the winding mechanism.

Are they on line anywhere, or if not, I know a very good web-site that
might be able to use them...

You're welcome to them.
I was hoping to get down there today and get some better ones but the
best laid plans etc.

I'm currently wading through the wartime daily bombing reports for
"key points," sifting out all the LU-related railway incidents, which
is producing a mass of data not previously widely known, such as hits
and unexploded bombs at various depots. Also almost finished
identifying by name the vast majority of the wartime fatalities on LU
property, including - on an even more melancholic note - a certain
amount of myth-shattering r.e. Bounds Green.

Have you heard/read anything about WW2 bomb damage at Mile End?
It was recently mentioned to me by someone who thought there was a link
on the BTP website but I can't find anything.
--
Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Kat wrote:

Have you heard/read anything about WW2 bomb damage at Mile End?
It was recently mentioned to me by someone who thought there was a
link on the BTP website but I can't find anything.

Go to
http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20S...20-%201949.htm

and look at 24 September 1940: "During a night of heavy enemy bombing, Mile
End Underground Station receives a direct hit." No link to any more
details though.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

In message , Richard J.
writes
Kat wrote:

Have you heard/read anything about WW2 bomb damage at Mile End?
It was recently mentioned to me by someone who thought there was a
link on the BTP website but I can't find anything.

Go to
http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20S...story%20Societ
y/The%20history/A%20Time%20Line%20for%20Policing%20the%20Railways% 201900
%20-%201949.htm

and look at 24 September 1940: "During a night of heavy enemy bombing, Mile
End Underground Station receives a direct hit." No link to any more
details though.

Many thanks for that.
If you look at:
http://www.eastlondonhistory.fsnet.c...leEnd/pc39.htm
The building with the arches (part of the original station?) is still
there on Burdett Road.
I would really like to know more about what happened to the station
after the bombing if anyone knows.
--
Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Kat wrote in message ...
In message , Nick
Cooper 625 writes
Kat wrote in message
...
[...]
At Bethnal Green too;

Everytime I got through any particular station and spot them, I mean
to include the detail in the web-page, but I usually promptly forget
afterwards, because methodically noting facts doesn't multi-task wekk
with "Commute Mode"!

I've taken pictures of the winding mechanism.

Are they on line anywhere, or if not, I know a very good web-site that
might be able to use them...

You're welcome to them.
I was hoping to get down there today and get some better ones but the
best laid plans etc.

Well, if you could e-mail me them, that would be great.

I'm currently wading through the wartime daily bombing reports for
"key points," sifting out all the LU-related railway incidents, which
is producing a mass of data not previously widely known, such as hits
and unexploded bombs at various depots. Also almost finished
identifying by name the vast majority of the wartime fatalities on LU
property, including - on an even more melancholic note - a certain
amount of myth-shattering r.e. Bounds Green.

Have you heard/read anything about WW2 bomb damage at Mile End?
It was recently mentioned to me by someone who thought there was a link
on the BTP website but I can't find anything.

That's another new one on me. Richard notes that the incident was on
24/09/40 , but in going through the daily reports, I began with the
volume that begins with October 1940, simply because most of the
incidents I wanted to chek up on were in that month or the November.
It was only then that it became apparent just how detailed the reports
are, so I just carried on from that point, rather than back-tracking.
Should be at Kew again on Saturday, though, and will see. The reports
detail not only "new" damage, but also whether previous bomb damage is
continuing to affect services, and as 01/10/40 reports - which actualy
covers 09:00 30/09 to 09:00 01/10 - doesn't mention Mile End, we can
probably assume that that was no longer the case, even less than a
week later.

Just as an example, the report for 01/10/40 reads:

- - - -

09:00 30/09 - 09:00 01/10/40

------------------------------------------------------
|H.E's |EALING COMMON Station|The bombs fell on the |
|0750 hrs |W.5. |PICCADILLY line. |
|30/9/40 | |Station closed. |
| | |Through trains running|
| | |on single line. |
------------------------------------------------------


GENERAL REMARKS: RAILWAYS

L.P.T.B.

The central line service between NORTH ACTON and EALING
BROADWAY has been suspended owing to damage to HANGER LANE
bridge.

The Metropolitan Line between KINGS CROSS and MOORGATE has been
suspended.

The service between ADDISON ROAD and LATIMER ROAD has been
suspended.


Railway Situation Report at 0800 hrs., 1st October, 1940.

L.P.T.B.

Northern Line. Service normal except:
Single Line working Hampstead - Camden Town (Damage Chalk
Farm Tunnell 27/9). Expect re-open 05.10.40.
No service Woodside Park to High Barnet (UXB 21/9)
Central Line. Service suspended Wood Lane - Ealing Broadway
(Damage Hanger Lane Bridge 28/9) and N.Acton Station closed
(date resumption not known).
Piccadilly Line. Closed between RUISLIP and UXBRIDGE (damage
H.E. on 30/9).
Bakerloo Line. Normal, except that Stanmore trains are
reversed at West Hampstead (Damage Kilburn Bridge 16/9).
District Line. Ealing Common Station re-opened 30/9.
Service suspended EALING COMMON - EALING BROADWAY (Damage
Hanger Lane Bridge 28/9). (Date resumption not known).
Metropolitan. Closed between:
Kings Cross and Moorgate (Damage H.E. 10/9 and 24/9),
expect to re-open Oct. 10th, amd Latimer Road-Addison Road
(25/9) expect re-open Oct. 1st. Closed RUISLIP - UXBRIDGE
(H.E. on 30/9).


Unexploded Bombs.

L.P.T.B.

1. Woodside Park 21/9. Serviced suspended
Woodside Park - High
Barnet.
2. Farringdon Cow Cross Street 24/9. Delay in clearance of
line.
3. Neasden Depot 18 road 24/9. Preventing use of South
end of yard.
4. Surrey Docks 24/9. Delay to repairs to
previous damage.
5. (Morden Depot 27/9. No interference.

- - - -

Inevitably, there was a lot of damage to tracks in the open, which was
a lot more disruptive than actual stations being put out of action.
Even so, very few of these incidents - even the Ealing Common hit -
get mentioned elsewhere. All the above is spread over four or five
pages, as it's mixed in with all the other railways around the
country, so it's a question of filtering out the LPTB-related stuff.
I'm still decided whether to just include the raw transcriptions on my
site, or to actually track each incident and do a summary on an
event-by-event basis.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Nick Cooper 625 wrote:
Kat wrote in message
...

Have you heard/read anything about WW2 bomb damage at Mile End?
It was recently mentioned to me by someone who thought there was a
link on the BTP website but I can't find anything.

That's another new one on me. Richard notes that the incident was on
24/09/40 , but in going through the daily reports, I began with the
volume that begins with October 1940, simply because most of the
incidents I wanted to chek up on were in that month or the November.

September 1940 is certainly worth researching, as it includes (according to
the BTP site) potentially LU-affecting bombs at Charing Cross, Marble Arch,
Mile End, Earl's Court, Blackfriars and Waterloo stations, a shot-down
German bomber that crashed on the forecourt of Victoria station, and
probably several incidents on the 28th ("Railways attacked across
Britain").

Are you also aware of the daily campaign reports on the RAF's Battle of
Britain site at http://www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/calendar.html? They include
some railway details.

The service between ADDISON ROAD and LATIMER ROAD has been
suspended.
[...]
Metropolitan. Closed between:
Kings Cross and Moorgate (Damage H.E. 10/9 and 24/9),
expect to re-open Oct. 10th, amd Latimer Road-Addison Road
(25/9) expect re-open Oct. 1st.

Interesting that you quote that particular "suspension", as AFAIK the line
from Latimer Road to Addison Road (now Kensington Olympia) was never
reopened.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

"Richard J." wrote in message ...
Nick Cooper 625 wrote:

The service between ADDISON ROAD and LATIMER ROAD has been
suspended.
[...]
Metropolitan. Closed between:
Kings Cross and Moorgate (Damage H.E. 10/9 and 24/9),
expect to re-open Oct. 10th, amd Latimer Road-Addison Road
(25/9) expect re-open Oct. 1st.

Interesting that you quote that particular "suspension", as AFAIK the line
from Latimer Road to Addison Road (now Kensington Olympia) was never
reopened.

Most sources quote the closure as 19/10/40. The daily reports up to
03/10 have the service suspended since 25/09, and it's not mentioned
after that upto and including 12/10 (which is as far as I'm
transcribed my notes so far), which suggests that it did reopen
briefly. It's probably the case, though, that the earlier suspension
precipitated the eventual closure of the branch.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message . com...
http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps you'd be
interested in having a banner reading out the previous and latest civilian
murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

B2003

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

(Boltar) wrote in message . com...
(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message . com...
http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps you'd be
interested in having a banner reading out the previous and latest civilian
murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

Nothing to stop you doing it on your own website, if you want.

P.S.: Congratulations on so spectacularly missing the point.

P.P.S.: Kill-file.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Nick Cooper 625 wrote:
(Boltar) wrote in message
. com...
(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message
. com...
http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps
you'd be
interested in having a banner reading out the previous and latest
civilian
murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

Nothing to stop you doing it on your own website, if you want.

P.S.: Congratulations on so spectacularly missing the point.

P.P.S.: Kill-file.

Perhaps you should explain *your* point, i.e. why you choose to put
casualty statistics of the Iraq war on a site containing valuable
historical information about London in the Second World War. Personally, I
would rather not mix present-day political debate with that sort of
archive. You presumably have your reasons for doing so, and those might be
respected more if you had bothered to explain them rather than kill-filing
the first person to raise the issue.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

"Richard J." wrote in message ...
Nick Cooper 625 wrote:
(Boltar) wrote in message
. com...
(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message
. com...
http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps
you'd be
interested in having a banner reading out the previous and latest
civilian
murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

Nothing to stop you doing it on your own website, if you want.

P.S.: Congratulations on so spectacularly missing the point.

P.P.S.: Kill-file.

Perhaps you should explain *your* point, i.e. why you choose to put
casualty statistics of the Iraq war on a site containing valuable
historical information about London in the Second World War. Personally, I
would rather not mix present-day political debate with that sort of
archive. You presumably have your reasons for doing so, and those might be
respected more if you had bothered to explain them rather than kill-filing
the first person to raise the issue.

For anyone who bothers to look further, the banner is on most of my
web-pages, regardless of content - it is not something specific to
this particular one. My web-pages are the sole responsibility of
myself, they are not supported by any advertising or subscription, and
the fact that I pay for the web-hosting in its entirety means that I
can put whatever I please on them, upto and including something
constituting a political statement of protest against actions carried
out, aided or abetted by the government of my country.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message . com...
(Boltar) wrote in message . com...
(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message . com...
http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps you'd be
interested in having a banner reading out the previous and latest civilian
murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

Nothing to stop you doing it on your own website, if you want.

True , but then I'm not interested in making juvenile political points
on a website that has nothing to do with it and then directing people to
go look. What did you want, a round of applause on how you're just following
the opinion of rest of the left wing flock like a good little sheep?


P.S.: Congratulations on so spectacularly missing the point.

How could anyone miss it? You might as well have sign posted it.


P.P.S.: Kill-file.

Oh well, I'll just have to come to terms with the loss of any devastatingly
incisive replies you may have posted in the future.

B2003

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

(Boltar) wrote in message . com...
(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message . com...
(Boltar) wrote in message . com...
(Nick Cooper 625) wrote in message . com...
http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps you'd be
interested in having a banner reading out the previous and latest civilian
murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

Nothing to stop you doing it on your own website, if you want.

True , but then I'm not interested in making juvenile political points
on a website that has nothing to do with it and then directing people to
go look. What did you want, a round of applause on how you're just following
the opinion of rest of the left wing flock like a good little sheep?

That's quite funny, considering that you're the one who's bleating the
most about this.

P.S.: Congratulations on so spectacularly missing the point.

How could anyone miss it? You might as well have sign posted it.

Nope, you're _still_ missing it. Here's a clue: My tax never paid the
wages of Saddam Hussein, his henchmen, his allies or the Ba'ath Party.
Keep thinking about it until you get it, although if it makes your
brain hurt too much, you might need to lie down in a nice dark and
quiet place for a bit.

P.P.S.: Kill-file.

Oh well, I'll just have to come to terms with the loss of any devastatingly
incisive replies you may have posted in the future.

Well, try not to lose too much sleep over it. You can, though, take
solace in the fact that a whole ten months after the banners were
added, you have earned the distinction of being the very first person
who has tried to pick a fight over them.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Boltar wrote:

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps
you'd be
interested in having a banner reading out the previous and latest
civilian
murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

Nothing to stop you doing it on your own website, if you want.

True , but then I'm not interested in making juvenile political points

The recent illegal invasion of Iraq is, without doubt, more important than
something that happened a lifetime ago... One is of passing historical
interest; one is of current day-to-day import

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Stimpy wrote:
Boltar wrote:

Interesting header on that page. For the sake of balance perhaps
you'd be interested in having a banner reading out the previous
and latest civilian murders by the Ba'ath party? Just a thought.

Nothing to stop you doing it on your own website, if you want.

True , but then I'm not interested in making juvenile political
points

The recent illegal invasion of Iraq is, without doubt, more important
than something that happened a lifetime ago... One is of passing
historical interest; one is of current day-to-day import

You can hardly dismiss the Second World War as "of passing interest". Its
long-term effects probably have more impact on your day-to-day life than
the Iraq war.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

Two weeks ago, Nick Cooper wrote:
I'm currently wading through the wartime daily bombing reports for
"key points," sifting out all the LU-related railway incidents ...

Also almost finished identifying by name the vast majority of the
wartime fatalities on LU property, including - on an even more
melancholic note - a certain amount of myth-shattering r.e.
Bounds Green.

"Rails Through the Clay" says that at Bounds Green "19 shelterers
were killed and 52 injured ... when a bomb reached the platforms of
the Piccadilly Line, which is ascending at this point to reach the
surface just beyong the station." This was on 1940-10-13, the day
before the bomb at Balham that killed considerably more people.
There's myth to shatter here?
--
Mark Brader | "I do not want to give the impression I spend all
Toronto | my time on the Internet, but in the right hands
| it is a wondrous tool, and in the wrong hands
| it is an even better one." -- Cecil Adams

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Heavy steel doors at Holborn
 

(Mark Brader) wrote in message ...
Two weeks ago, Nick Cooper wrote:
I'm currently wading through the wartime daily bombing reports for
"key points," sifting out all the LU-related railway incidents ...

Also almost finished identifying by name the vast majority of the
wartime fatalities on LU property, including - on an even more
melancholic note - a certain amount of myth-shattering r.e.
Bounds Green.

"Rails Through the Clay" says that at Bounds Green "19 shelterers
were killed and 52 injured ... when a bomb reached the platforms of
the Piccadilly Line, which is ascending at this point to reach the
surface just beyong the station." This was on 1940-10-13, the day
before the bomb at Balham that killed considerably more people.
There's myth to shatter here?

Definitely, quite apart from the fact that the bomb demolished houses
above the tunnel, causing the collapse, rather than it actually
reaching the platforms.

Most sources - including the plaque on the platform itself - say 19
people, specifically 16 Belgian refugees and 3 British citizens. Many
writers have come up with prosaic - almost romantic - accounts of the
aforementioned Belgians fleeing the invasion of their country, forming
a little enclave at the "unpopular northern end" southbound platform
(the escalators come down to the opposite end of the platforms), etc.

In fact, the civilian casualty records of the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission - which are arranged by borough - show only 16 people
killed in the station itself, with one more dying in hospital the next
day:

13/04/40 - "Died at Tube Station, Bounds Green Road" (Municipal
Borough of Wood Green):
BOULLE, FRANCINE (age 5) [Belgian Subject]
JEMMETT, ALBERT GEORGE (Age 67)
JEMMETT, CHARLOTTE SARAH (Age 58)
JEMMETT, FLORENCE MAY (Age 23)
KINGATE, HENRY MARK (Age 59)
MANDALL, HENRY MARK (Age 8)
MANDALL, PAULINE LOUISE (Age 18 months)
MANDALL, RACHAEL LOUISE (Age 11)
MEARS, WINIFRED JESSIE (Age 35) [W.V.S. worker]
NECCHI, GIULIO (Age 9)
NECCHI, MAFALDA (Age 15)
NECCHI, MARK JOHN (Age 41)
NECCHI, ROSE (Age 40)
WATTS, ELLEN MARY (Age 64)

14/04/40 - "Died at Tube Station, Bounds Green Road" (Municipal
Borough of Wood Green):
NEUCKERMANS, ROBERT JOSEPH AUGUSTE (Age 26) [Belgian Subject]
VAN HAELTER, DAVID (Age 28) [Belgian Subject]

14/04/40 - "Injured 13 October 1940, at Tube Station, Bounds Green
Road; died at Friern Emergency Hospital" (Urban District of Friern
Barnet):
MANDALL, WILLIAM ALFRED (Age 33)

In addition, four people were killed in the houses above the station:

13/04/40 - "Died at Cedars, Bounds Green Road" (Municipal Borough of
Wood Green):
BOWDICH, BARBARA ANTOINETTE (Age 11, died at Cedars, Bounds Green
Road)
PAGE, MAUD JEAN (Age 35, died at Cedars, Bounds Green Road)
PAGE, MOYA (Age 16 months, died at Cedars, Bounds Green Road)

13/04/40 - "Died at Cranbrook, Bounds Green Road" (Municipal Borough
of Wood Green):
NORRIS, CHARLES VICTOR (Age 63, died at Cranbrook, Bounds Green Road)

So, you've got 17 people killed or fatally wounded in the station,
only three of whom were Belgian. Of the rest, the surnames are either
British or Italian. I still need to check a few things r.e. this
particualr incident, so I've not yet added the above details to my
web-page, but those for most other fatalities are available:

http://www.cwgcuser.org.uk/personal/...ra/lu/tuaw.htm

It seems unlikely that there are another 13 Belgians unaccounted for
by the CWGC, or that anyone could have overlooked the "extra" ten
(plus one fatally injured) Brits at the time, so in all probability
this is a simple confusion at an early stage of "16, of whom 3 were
Belgian" with "16 Belgians plus 3 others." I've also had sight of a
1943 report on damage done to tube tunnels by bombing, and even that
notes both totals and that there is some disagreement over the number
of casualties.

The reason the wrong figures have gained such common currency is
because Charles Graves used them in his 1947 book 'London Transport
Carried On' (a.k.a 'London Transport at War'). Graves seems to have
relied a lot on "immediate" contemporary witness reports held by
London Transport, which in this respect are more annecdotal than
accurate. The nationality of most of the victims seems to have been
attributed merely to the fact that the collapse was at the end of the
platform where most/all of the Belgians were. The CWGC, on the other
hand, had the benefit of being informed once the victims were properly
identified afterwards. Unfortunately, it seems that many other
subsequent authors have simply relied on Graves's account. It was
only when I contacted the CWGC asking if they could do a database
extract of all civilians killed at tube stations that what actually
happened became apparent.