July 20th 1944, 00.43am, Marrilyne Avenue, Enfield

Having already been hit by two high explosive bombs in September and November 1940 Marrilyne Avenue luckily survived a near hit from the V1 which landed in the river bed of Turkey Brook just as it joins up with the River Lea Navigation. The impact left no discernible crater and while there were no official casualties a number of local houses were damaged. Nearby public and military phone lines were also cut. This V-1 had again been air launched by III/KG 3.

The level of the news blackout can be seen in the brief newspaper reference to the Marrilyne Avenue which fails to give any mention of the hit or huge fire given off by the recent Edmonton Gasworks incident. A newspaper at the end of the war did report that 800 houses received damage and one person seriously injured at Marrilyne Avenue.

Evacuees

By this date the official evacuation of children and other at risk groups was under way. As the threat increased districts were raised from ‘neautral areas’ to ‘evacuation zones’. The whole of Enfield District was designated as an evacuation zone at the beginning of July.

A local paper reported ‘The whole of Enfield has now been scheduled an evacuation area. Up to the launching of the flying bomb attacks the western portion of the district had been termed a “neutral” area. The completely indiscriminate nature of the flying bomb raids has resulted in this western area being brought into the official evacuation zone.’

Evacuees largely consisted of children but also mothers with children under five (who could also take older children with them), expectant mothers, the elderly and infirm.

This photograph is identified as being Marrilyne Avenue although it doesn’t completely  match with other sources on the bombs location. The deep crater certainly is on a scale with one left after a V1 hit.