Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust
Registered Charity
Number 1118618
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Bethnal Green Tube Disaster
1943.
On 3 March 1943 a crowd of people
entered Bethnal Green tube station which was used
at the time as an air-raid shelter. After the
searchlights went on and an anti-aircraft battery a
few hundred yards away in Victoria Park launched a
salvo of a new type of anti-aircraft rockets the
crowd surged forward. Someone tripped on the stairs
causing many others to fall. 300 people were
crushed into the stairwell within a few seconds,
173 of them died and over 90 were injured. The
worst civilian disaster of the 2nd World War.
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| Full planning permission
has now been granted by the London Borough of Tower
Hamlets for the Memorial to be built. Now all we
need to do is raise the money.
Details of how to donate to the trust are given
at the bottom of this page and on the 'Appeal /
Donations' page. If you have any additional fund
raising ideas please let us know.
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posted: 18 August
2010
New Patron – Tommy Walsh.
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Tommy Walsh – of Ground Force, Quest TV’s daily DIY show, and several TV adverts – has agreed to be our charity patron.
He is just as lovely in the flesh as he is on TV, so we are delighted about this. Tommy has lots of contacts and hopefully will be able to help us to reduce some of the costs of the memorial. With his help we hope that it will bring us closer to being able to start building within the next 9 months.
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posted: 20 August 2010
English’s sales.
English’s sales day last week brought in a splendid £740. The next sale is on Saturday 18th September 2010.
posted: 18 August 2010
Video clips.
The following links are for video clips relating to the tradgedy on YouTube.
The first is a short documentary telling the story of the Bethnal Green Tube shelter disaster.
The second is an interview with Dr Joan Martin MBE, who was on duty as a junior doctor on March 3rd, 1943.
The third an interview with Sandra Scotting, whose grandmother and cousin were killed in the Bethnal Green Tube shelter disaster, explains the impact on her mother and the importance of the memorial.
posted: 18 August
2010
Alf Morris’s dance night.
Alf Morris's dance night will take place at Hornchurch Conservative Club on Friday 19th November, so put the date in your diaries. More details and tickets will be available in September.
posted: 18 August
2010
Keith Miller – Medium/ clairvoyant evening.
This took place on 28 th July and was very impressive. Most people in the audience seem to receive messages. We raised £345, which included donations, so it was also a very successful event financially.
We would therefore like to thank Keith very much for all his hard work in conducting the evening completely free of charge and also to Lesley and the staff at Eastbourne House (Globe
Town Community Centre) for allowing us to use their premises free of charge. It was a great evening. We will organise another medium event in the autumn and will let you know once we have a date & venue booked .
posted: 18 August
2010
Cockney Music Hall.
Cockney Music Hall evening at St. John on Bethnal Green Church 31 st July
We had a great evening at t he cockney music hall. We had colourful entertainment, magic, tricks, dancing, singing and all the wonderful Pearly Kings & Queens helping us to have a
really fun time. Hope those of you that attended enjoyed themselves.
I would like to thank everyone who came along and also to St. John on Bethnal Green Church
for allowing us to use the church for the event free of charge. Also a big thank-you to the
artists Underbling & Vow (Nanna & Rosie) and the whole cast who performed free of charge.
Also thanks to the Spicer family who ran the tea & cakes bar and to all the Pearly Kings &
Queens who helped out and performed during the evening, especially John Walters, Pearly King
of Finsbury , who organised everything. Everyone worked so hard, without any remuneration, as
always, to make it such a successful evening.
Also, ‘Minty’ from EastEnders (actor Cliff Parisi ) came along and kindly brought the ‘Albert
Square’ signpost that had been signed by all the cast (including Barbara Windsor, Patsy
Palmer and everyone), which we will auction in due course. He kindly posed for photographs
with his fans as well as contributing to our funds.
At the end of the evening we were very surprised to be presented with a cheque for £1000 from
the Pearly King & Queen Society and a further £150 from the Royal Antediluvian Order of
Buffaloes, Islington branch. So with all the donations, ticket money, raffle and tea money we
raised £2845.26, which was magnificent and we really can’t thank everyone enough for coming
along and making it such a brilliant evening.
There are some photographs from the evening on the 'Cockney Music Hall 2010' page.
posted: 18 August
2010
Woodhouse Players.
We would like to thank Leslie Winterflood and the Woodhouse Players who raised £100 for us at
a recent show. If you see any of their shows around London please go up to the actors and
actresses and thank them again for us.
posted: 18 August
2010
W. English & Son Sales Days.
The wonderful staff at W. English & Son , funeral directors , 464a Bethnal Green Road, E2 OEA
come in on their days off to help organise sales days for us. They have managed at least one
a month for us this year so far and raised lots of money. On 24 th July they raised just
under £600, but we had a little difficulty with a licence for the outside space , but
hopefully this will be sorted out for future sales - next sale 18 th September. If you have any goods that we can sell – bric-a-brac, books, Cd’s, DVD’s, games, puzzles, toys, good quality clothes, furniture, electrical – all must be
in good working order – then please bring them along to the ir office Monday-Friday 10am
until 4pm or on the Saturday sales days between 10.30am and 4.30pm , or just come along and
snap up the bargains . Our thanks, as ever, go to you for donating the goods and for buying
them, and to the wonderful staff at English’s - Terri, David and Sue, not to mention Den who
helps us clear up at the end . A lso thanks to all our helpers who come along on the day to
give us an hour or two to help with the selling.
posted: 18 August
2010
Saturday 4 th September Blitz & Library Day.
There is going to be a special day at Bethnal Green library on Saturday 4th September commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Blitz and we will also be taking part.
Entertainment & readings at 1pm, our survivors will give talks at 2pm and Sean's talk and book sale & signing at 2.45pm.
For those of you who do not know, the library is a two minute walk from Bethnal Green tube station, just the other side of Bethnal Green Gardens (Barmy Park)
posted: 18 August
2010
Are you an Eastenders fan?
If you would like to bid for the Albert Square signpost that has been signed by the cast
please let us know and we ’ll keep you informed when we auction it off.
posted: 26 April
2010
A list of injured.
There is a new page entitled 'List of the injured'
that has been compiled from Police reports of the
time.
posted: 18 March
2010
BBC London News coverage.
There is a
video clip on YouTube from BBC
London's coverage of the Memorial Service.
posted: 11 March
2010
BARBARA WINDSOR LIFTS MORALE AT THE 67TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE BETHNAL GREEN TUBE DISASTER
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Barbara Windsor kept up morale for the survivors
and relatives of those who died in the worst
civilian disaster of the 2nd World War when she
joined with the Pearly Kings & Queens in an
impromptu knees up and sing-song on the steps of
St. John on Bethnal Green church on Sunday 7th
March.
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Barbara was there with her husband Scott Mitchell
to lay her own wreath to the people of Bethnal
Green who suffered so much during the War.
The church was packed with survivors, relatives of
those who died and local people who just wanted to
know more. They found the Service, conducted by
Rector Fr. Alan Green, Rev. Stuart Lee and Rev.
Fiona Green, moving and comforting. The names of
all 173 victims were read out by some of the
trustees of the Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust
in front of the altar where 173 candles shone out
as a reminder of their loved ones.
The secretary of the charitable trust, Sandra
Scotting, asked the congregation to help them raise
the remaining £450,000 to erect the Stairway to
Heaven Memorial as quickly as possible, as time is
not on the side of the survivors due to their age.
She asked if anyone had a few tons of high quality
bronze they did not want or if they knew any
bankers with bonuses playing on their consciences!!
The trustees and supporters have worked tirelessly
to raise funds in the last year, especially W.
English & Son, funeral directors in Bethnal Green
Road, who have raised over £11,000 in the last
year. However, it is now accepted that outside
help is required from local businesses and various
funds and hopes that they will climb on board with
sponsorship or donations for the sake of the
heritage of East London in time for the Olympics.
The charity trustees are now applying for lottery
grants to help move the funds closer to their
target.
After the Service relatives laid flowers and
wreaths on the railings above the staircase leading
down to Bethnal Green tube station, where everyone
had died. Barbara Windsor laid her lovely
arrangement of white roses and other white & green
flowers. She signed her card ‘With all my love
Barbara Windsor’. Fr. Alan Green then gave the
blessing and white doves were released by a little
girl who had to persuade them to fly from the white
basket. Everyone then returned to the church for
an exhibition about the disaster and refreshments
provided by the Beigel Shop in Brick Lane, the
local Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s stores.
American historian Sean Dettman, who now lives in
Bethnal Green, was on hand to sign copies of his
book “The Bethnal Green tube shelter disaster – A
Stairway to Heaven”. It includes interviews with
survivors and relatives and also uncovers many
government papers from before, during and after the
event. It is available to purchase for £9.99 at W.
English & Sons, 464a Bethnal Green Road, E2, and at
LXV books, 65 Roman Road, E2, East Side Books,
Brick Lane or through the charity’s
websitewww.stairwaytoheavenmemorial.org.
That morning there had been considerable coverage
about the disaster with interviews from some of the
trustees on BBC Radio London’s Leslie Joseph
programmer and later in the evening the Service was
shown on the BBC’s regional London news at 6pm and
10pm.
Some pictures of the day can be found on the 67th Memorial page
Make a note in your diary for next year’s Memorial
Service on Sunday 6th March 2011.
posted: 29 March
2010
Sean Dettman’s book
‘The Bethnal Green tube shelter disaster – a Stairway to Heaven’ is still available at £9.99. We have books left to sell, so please buy up copies for your family members. They are available by post from me Sandra on 077324 60 444 or from English’s 464a Bethnal Green Road, LXV Books at 65 Roman Road, E2.
posted: 27 January
2010
Interview with Alf on Youtube.
There is an interview with Alf on Youtube that can
be viewed
here.
FUTURE EVENTS
If you have any ideas or
would like to run something for us please get in
touch.
Coffee mornings, raffles, sponsorship events,
jumble sales or basically anything you can do to
raise some money, then let us know. It can just be
a one-off event, you don't have to commit to doing
something on a regular basis.
Remember - every little helps!!
HOW TO DONATE TO THE MEMORIAL APPEAL.
Now that we have our Registered Charity number
we can accept on-line donations.
If you have any queries about fund raising please
contact Derek Spicer, Fund-raising co-ordinator,
tel: 07722 162 168 or 01277 372 938
info@stairwaytoheavenmemorial.org
Please make your cheques
payable to "Stairway To Heaven Memorial Trust" and
send them to:
Alf Morris.
56 Grosvenor Drive,
Hornchurch,
RM11 1PN
Telephone 01708 444 154
