• Silvertown explosion aftermath, January 1917 [Wikipedia]

At around 7 o'clock on the evening of January 19th, 1917, a devastating explosion shook a vast area of London's East End. A former chemical works converted to wartime production of TNT was the source of a blast that left 73 men, women and children dead, more than 400 injured, thousands homeless and more than 60,000 buildings destroyed or damaged.

Lutonians in the capital who experienced the effects of the Silvertown explosion included Mr John Payne, of 55 Biscot Road. He worked in London and was a member of the London Ambulance Brigade, attached to the British Red Cross Society.

"At the time of the explosion I had just got into my ambulance uniform to go off to headquarters," he told a Luton News representative later. "I was in our London strongly-built premises, about nine miles from the scene of the explosion, and when the crash came it shook our premises to the very foundations.

"It was an awful crash, like many bombs dropping at once. There were several Lutonians in the building at the time, and naturally our first thoughts were of Zepps, but when I got through to the ambulance headquarters I found there were no Zepp warnings. I went off to headquarters and we discovered what had happened.

"Then our department sought for a car to get to the spot, for all the ambulance men were called out. We had delay in getting the vehicle, but we secured a car and I drove to the spot, arriving there about midnight.

"The sight for the length of three miles from the wrecked works was one I shall never forget. It was absolutely horrible. There was quite a mile of blazing ruins.

"The curious fact was that there were no crowds of people rushing about; only groups standing anxiously. The worst sight was of the homeless women and children wandering about, dazed, seemingly unable to grasp their position, and absolutely lost.

"The ambulance men got to work quickly, and our men soon rigged up a dressing station and attended to the injured as best we could, for there were so many. We were busy for an hour, and then all were ordered away for safety, several other minor explosions occurring afterwards.

"The scene was beyond description, and one soldier told me it was worse than he saw in Belgium. Streets of houses were wiped out, and when we returned at daybreak we could see round for hundreds of yards over what had been a thickly-populated district. There were acres of nothing but bricks and mortar.

"We searched for bodies, and found several more under the debris, and I saw a 40-ton boiler which had been flung for hundreds of yards.

"We remained until Saturday afternoon, when the military took charge. It was indeed a scene I shall never forget."

Three Luton soldiers, Ptes Fred Hawkes, Syd Pestell and Fred Cook, who are billeted "somewhere near London," also had a very startling experience.

In a letter to Mr George Worboys, of 145 Hastings Street, Luton, Pte Pestell wrote: "We were all seated round the fire in the upstairs sitting room of our billet and everything was quiet. All of a sudden someone remarked that the room seemed to be shaking, and the words were hardly spoken when the terrific crash came and rendered us speechless.

"The window blinds and curtains were blown right into the room, and the house rocked in such an alarming manner that we all thought our last moments had come.

"No one knew what had happened, and when we had collected our thoughts they flew from Zepps to goodness knows what. The awful red flames, the density of which had never seen the like, seemed to envelop the whole house, and for a moment we all expected the side of the house to fall in, as it appeared to us like one mass of fire.

"It all happened in a few seconds, and we rushed to the top of the stairs just as our landlady shouted at the top of her voice, "Oh, Come quick". We needed no calling or second bidding, and we practically jumped from the top to the bottom of the stair.

"Arriving at the hall door, which was open, we caught a glimpse of the sky, and the lurid glare which the flames cast over the whole of London made an awe-inspiring spectacle. It appeared for a moment as if the end of the world had come, so awful was the sight.

"However, finding we were in no immediate danger, we set out with aching ears - caused by the terrific concussion - for the scene of disaster, and we hadn't proceeded many hundred yards before we came in sight of some of the big fires which the explosion had caused.

"The air was full of a sickly odour which could almost be tasted, and everyone knew something terrible had happened. As we walked along we noticed that every window, without exception, was broken, and ceilings had fallen down. Where a house was a bit rickety it had collapsed in places, although 1½ to 2 miles from the actual disaster.

"In the shopping district of the town where we were billeted huge plate-glass windows were blown clean out, and the shop blinds hung in shreds.

"The great concussion must have wrought terrible shocks to the unfortunate ones in the immediate vicinity, and hundreds were rushed off the the hospitals in motor ambulances, and those who were in the munition factory itself will no doubt never be traced.

"I need hardly say we were all truly thankful we were a distance from the explosion, and we think the fact that we had our windows open and hall door wide open at the time saved our billet from damage.

"It was a terrible crash, and a more awful noise couldn't possibly be imagined. On that point all who heard would certainly agree."

[The Luton News: Thursday, January 25th, 1917]