These pictures were taken by William Vandivert in September 1940. Vandivert was a staff photographer for LIFE magazine, and a founder of Magnum Photos.
The two images below are high resolution - click either to open, then click the top right symbol to see them full size.
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wow…that’s unbelievable, almost surreal. we live in an age of special effects…hard to believe the true horror of this time.
Any idea of location?
Balham it looks like.
Balham High Road to be more precise. I’ve checked and I’m definitely right. Picture 3 shows a Sainsbury’s on the right that is still there today, albeit in a new building.
Ah yes - got it - I think the link below should work
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Sainsbury’s+Balham+High+Road&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=Sainsbury’s+Balham+High+Road&hnear=&ll=51.444272,-0.152124&spn=0,0.008959&z=17&layer=c&cbll=51.444101,-0.152273&panoid=ZrA8J_Jdcwvs0oTgzKVdMw&cbp=12,34.68,,1,2.18
That is very cool indeed, Jimmy…
Wow, thanks for the location guys, really gives a great perspective!!
These are iconic images of a major disaster at Balham Tube Station on 14 October 1940. Contrary to popular belief Tube stations were not immune from serious damage from bombs:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balham_station