Ivy Josephine Gurr

1909 - 1944  (35 years)

• Name	Ivy Josephine Gurr
  Born	1909	Greenwich, London, England
  Gender	Female
  Residence	2 Apr 1911	2 Lakes Cottages, Thames Street, Greenwich, London, England   [1]
  Occupation	25 Nov 1944  [2]
  	firewatcher
  Residence	25 Nov 1944	3 Curlew House, St Norbert Road, Broxley, Kent, ENgland   [2]
  _UID	ACF6FD29417A44CAAF6FF90F41A9EE0291A0
  Died	25 Nov 1944	New Cross Road, Brokley, Kent, England   [2, 3]
  Buried	7 Dec 1944	Greenwich, London, England
  Person ID	I30660	My Big Tree
  Last Modified	7 Aug 2017

  
  

  Father	James Phillip Gurr,   b. 1881, Greenwich, London, England ,   d. 6 Sep 1947, Poplar, London, England  (Age 66 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth Ann Nairn,   b. 1868, Sunderland, Durham, England ,   d. 1937, Lewisham, London, England  (Age 69 years)
  Married	9 Jan 1898	St Peter, Greenwich, London, England   [4]
  Family ID	F11201	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Benefactor on the death of Ivy was her father, James Gurr On the 25th November 1944, New Cross High Street was busy with South Londoners. Woolworth's on the corner of Goodwood Road, and the adjacent Co-op were packed with shoppers. One report mentions that a sought-after supply of saucepans had become available and many were queuing outside Woolworth's in the hope of being able to purchase one. At 12.26 PM, there was an enormous explosion as a V2 Rocket impacted into the Woolworth's store. Contemporary reports from a number of witnesses indicate that the V2 had been seen in its last moments of flight, a line drawn across the grey November sky. The store bulged outwards and then imploded and in the carnage 168 people were killed and 121 were seriously injured. It was the 251'st Rocket to be successfully launched. This was the worst tragedy in the entire V weapon campaign and one of the worst civilian disasters of World War II. As the store exploded there was blinding flash of light and an enormous roar followed by a dense cloud of smoke and powdered dust. Witnesses several hundred yards away felt the warm blast on their faces, some were physically pushed backward by its force. The Co-Op Store next door also collapsed killing more people inside. The bodies of passers-by were flung for great distances, and an army lorry was overturned and destroyed killing its occupants. A double decker bus was spun round causing yet more deaths and injuries, its occupants were seen still sitting in their seats covered in dust. There were piles of masonry and pieces of bodies all around, where Woolworth's had been there was just an enormous gap. The debris stretched from the Town Hall to New Cross Gate station and it was to take 3 days to clear this and to retrieve all the bodies from the debris. Today the site has been totally re-developed but the extent of the damage area can be seen from where the new buildings commence both in the New Cross Road and in surrounding streets. Lewisham council have erected a blue plaque on the building to commemorate the tragedy. www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/V2_maintextb.html

  
  

• Sources

  [S215] 1911 Census, England., (n.d.), citing RG 78, RG 14 (Reliability: 3). [S220] Military Record (Reliability: 3). [S225] Probate Record (Reliability: 3). [S18] Marriage Cert (Reliability: 3).