Paradise Memorial Garden was created to commemorate the 30 people who lost their lives on Sunday 13th October 1940 when the Prince of Wales Public House, which stood on this site, was destroyed by enemy action during the second world war.
{Around the rim of the plaque:}
The pulsing engine stopped right overheard.
Four minutes to the crash. Slowly we counted;
One girl cried, "Oh God! dear God!"
The tension grew to bursting point; the blast
Shattered the windows. We breathed again.
from Doodlebugs by Grace Griffiths, 1944
Our image comes from Paradise Memorial Garden.
SarfLondonDunc informs that the plaque's absence was noticed by someone on 18 Nov 2009, but we don't know when it was installed.
Site: Prince of Wales WW2 bomb (2 memorials)
SW9, Clapham Road, 294
From Paradise Memorial Garden: "According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database, 32 people died at 294 Clapham Road on 13 October 1940. The dead included five husband-and-wife couples and one mother-and-daughter. Judging from the names of the casualties, The Prince of Wales may have been an Irish pub or at least popular with the Irish community." PMG goes on to list the names of the dead with some information about each one.
The black stone plaque replaced the bronze one what it was stolen.
What do you think of the large 1950s development that has replaced the pub and a long stretch of Clapham Road? Low rise with pillared arcades set back around a green area, with pedestrian access to the street behind - all nicely done. Just a pity there are so many closed shops and parked cars.
