Pics of air-raid damage,1943- but where?
 

Hi, I have recently been looking through my Great Uncle's wartime photos, which he took while serving as a bomb disposal boffin at the Air Ministry.The enclosed series of photos were taken I think in early 1943, and I'm guessing in the South East due to the Maidstone number plate on the squashed car, but I would love to know where the incident occured. I have read that the Germans were launching hit-and-run attacks on rail installations at the time. If anyone could supply any info at all on the area or the engines in the pics, I would be most grateful as the photos are turning into an obsession!:)
Many thanks, Fred (There are a few more pics if they are of interest)

Well Farmer Fred, I cant tell you where they are, but thanks for posting the pics mate, they are nice to see.,
Good to hear from you. I am sure someone on here will give a location.

48111

Thanks for the welcome, I hope these are of interest! Uncle took a number of railway related pics which I will post in the relevent sections. He was given an AM permit to take photos and used it as much as he could.
Fred :)

Hello Farmer Fred and welcome to the Railway Forum. Thanks for the photos, they are very interesting. I don't know where they were taken as I was not born until after the war.

Welcome to the Forum Fred. I think they probably taken in the South East. The loco tender in one of the photos looks like one from a South Eastern and Chatham Loco. Some of the other photos look like they were taken in a loco shed or works. Interesting set of photos. Thanks for sharing.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Hello Fred and welcome to the forum. Could the photos have been taken at Ashford? I believe the area suffered quite a bit of bombing during the war.

I had a look at Ashford railway works on Google images and the style of the buildings is very similar, so I reckon that might be it. I feel a day's outing coming on!
thanks!
Fred

Hello
 

Hello everyone,
I served my apprenticeship in ashford railway works between 1975 and '81 and to me it does look like the works...my brother was also an apprentice at ashford so i will ask him what he thinks.
kind regards
paul

I have studied a few maps etc of the railway works and added to that my dim and distant memory of my time there and have decided that it is ashford.
The first picture (1221) is a view towards ashford , showing the corner of the loco erecting shop taken from the roof of the locomotive wheel shop.Interesting the row of sand buckets on the catwalk of the wheel shop for use in an incendiary attack.
Pic 1222 shows a view of the power house on the left ,the tube shop and on the far right of the picture under the gantry can be seen the entrance to the boiler shop.Note the cannon shell strikes on the wall.
Photo 1223 is i think taken inside the errecting shop i think.
Cant decide where abouts the crushed car and lorry were taken but carter paterson had a depot in the town and the buildings in te background look like the works.
Photo 1225 looks to be inside the boiler shop but cant identify where photo 1226 was taken.
Paul