London's Natural History Museum in Wartime
London's Natural History Museum suffered like the rest of the city in the Blitz. Karolyn Shindler reports on the efforts to preserve its treasures.
Seventy years ago, German bombs devastated cities across England. In September, it was London that was the focus of destruction, threatening people, homes – and the great museums. That month, the Natural History Museum in South Kensington was struck on successive nights by incendiary and high-explosive bombs. Fire caused grave damage to the botany department, while the geology department was struck by a high-explosive bomb that shattered nearly 300 skylights and hundreds of panes of glass and partitions. Rainstorms only added to the damage. By October, 28 bombs had landed on or near the museum.
Even during the bombing, scientists were trying to protect the collections. As one wrote, "I am mopping up at 3am during an air raid…" Yet, miraculously, injuries were relatively minor, and damage to the collections was much less than had been feared....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Seventy years ago, German bombs devastated cities across England. In September, it was London that was the focus of destruction, threatening people, homes – and the great museums. That month, the Natural History Museum in South Kensington was struck on successive nights by incendiary and high-explosive bombs. Fire caused grave damage to the botany department, while the geology department was struck by a high-explosive bomb that shattered nearly 300 skylights and hundreds of panes of glass and partitions. Rainstorms only added to the damage. By October, 28 bombs had landed on or near the museum.
Even during the bombing, scientists were trying to protect the collections. As one wrote, "I am mopping up at 3am during an air raid…" Yet, miraculously, injuries were relatively minor, and damage to the collections was much less than had been feared....