Government records reveal that nine civilians were killed on the morning of July 3, 1944, when a German V1 bomb exploded at the corner of Sloane Court East and Turk’s Row. Doris (“Dorothy”) Eileen Reid of 4 Gwynn House, Lower Sloane Street, was just 34 years old when she was killed by the buzz bomb.
Gwynn House was a civilian apartment building facing Lower Sloane Street, with Sloane Court East at its rear. Dorothy died instantly when the bomb exploded.
Dorothy was buried at Brompton Cemetery (Section R, southwest of Circle 4) on July 7, 1944, less than two miles from her home.
Dorothy’s 3-year old son, Andrew John Reid, survived the blast, as he had been left with others in the porter’s basement, which was used as an air-raid shelter. According to Dorothy’s family, the ‘all-clear’ had been given so Dorothy returned to her flat with her dog (a Bedlington Terrier) to run Andrew’s bath and prepare breakfast. It was at this moment the V1 bomb fell on Sloane Court East and Turks Row, killing Dorothy and her dog instantly and destroying her flat.
Andrew survived unscathed, and was collected by other members of his family who lived close by in Chelsea. He went on to live with his grandmother and aunt (Dorothy’s mother and sister). Andrew died in 1987.
