The Bishopsgate Goods Yard disaster — I

One of the worst incidents of the German air raids on Britain in the First World War was a stampede at the Bishopsgate Goods Yard, Shoreditch, on 28 January 1918, in which fourteen people were killed. This has been almost entirely forgotten by the internet: while there are a number of detailed historical discussions available of the site, which is currently being redeveloped into a massive retail and housing complex, none appear to mention this sad incident in its history.1 I’m not sure why the Bishopsgate stampede is so little-known. It may be that it has been overshadowed by the catastrophic bombing of Odhams Printing Works in Covent Garden the same night, in which 38 shelterers were killed by a Gotha’s bomb, London’s worst air raid incident of the war. (Though even that is hard to find anything about, short of opening a book.) The best account of Bishopsgate is by Ian Castle who also provides a list of the victims, who ranged in age from 58 to just six months.2 Bishopsgate Goods…