Pics : The Silvertown Explosion 1917.

There were many accidents in UK munitions factories during WW1 ; the most (in)famous being The Silvertown Explosion of January 1917 which killed 73 people and laid waste to a large area of London's East End.

Silvertown Explosion 1917 | Explore 20th Century London

Silvertown Way was once one of the busiest roads in East London, running through the heart of the Royal Docks and associated Thameside industrial area. Now, the docks are long-abandoned and most of the industry is gone. Virtually no-one walks along here. A business appointment took me close by this week, so in appropriately cold and grey conditions I walked to find what can be seen of the site of the Brunner Mond TNT factory.

This is the old entrance, with the neglected memorial stone on the right : -



And here's a view slightly to the left looking across the epicentre of what would have been the factory site : -




Part of the inscription on the memorial : -



And a view directly across the road. The terraced houses on the right survived the blast but to the left is the modern Silvertown Fire Station on the site of the old station which was totally demolished in the explosion.




And just a few yards further along, this building lost its upper floor and roof which was rebuilt between the wars.




This entire area is earmarked for residential redevelopment so I'd wanted to see it in this rather bleak and abandoned state.

 

Cheers Martin. I remember reading the story about it in After the Battle.