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Original Text (Annotation: EPW006161 / 876481)
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Guards Chapel Wellington Barracks.
On Sunday 18 June 1944, the chapel was hit by a V1 bomb. If the Luftwaffe could have chosen a target none would have been better than the Guards Chapel.
It stood in Bird Cage Walk, St James and was the home of the Royal Guardsmen based at the Wellington Barracks.
The church was packed that morning with Guardsmen, their families and friends. Just past 11.00 a.m. Not long after the service started, the congregation heard a distant buzzing. It gradually grew louder and turned into a roar overhead which drowned out the hymn singing. The engine cut out and the V1 glided down and hit the roof of the chapel. This was made of concrete, having been rebuilt after damage by incendiary bombs in the blitz. The V1 exploded on impact and the whole roof collapsed on the congregation. Rubble was piled up to 10 foot deep in parts.
121 military and civilians were killed and 141 seriously injured. Only the Bishop of Maidstone, who was conducting the service was totally unhurt. The altar from which he was conducting the service was covered by a portico which sheltered him from the blast.
Legend has it that after the explosion the alter candles were still burning.
It took 2 days to dig the dead and injured out of the devastation
In 1963 the new Chapel, containing the original apse, which had escaped destruction, was dedicated and opened for worship.
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