Staveley Road

Staveley Road is a road in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow.

History

Staveley Road was built between 1927 and 1931 as part of the Chiswick Park Estate.

Memorial to the September 1944 V-2 explosion, built in September 2004

1944 V-2 explosion

At 6.43pm on Friday 8 September 1944, a V-2 missile (Aggregat 4 in German) launched from Wassenaar in Holland landed in Staveley Road, near the junction with Burlington Lane, killing three people (including a three-year-old girl), and injuring nineteen people.^[1] The crater was thirty feet deep. The missile had taken seven minutes to reach Chiswick from Holland, travelling at around 3,000mph. This is regarded as the world's first recognised ballistic rocket attack, although another V-2 had previously landed in the outskirts of Paris earlier in the morning. Sixteen seconds after the V-2 attack occurred in Chiswick, another V-2 landed in Epping Forest harmlessly; another V-2 landed in London that day.

Eleven houses were completely destroyed, and another fifteen had to be extensively rebuilt. The area at the time had been partly evacuated. The explosion could be heard six miles away in central London. Within an hour of the explosion, government officials were arriving at the scene. The general public was not notified about the existence of V-2 rockets until 10 November 1944.

Each V-2 rocket was forty-six feet long and carried a one tonne warhead. 4,300 V-2 rockets would be launched. The final V-2 to hit England would be on 27 March 1945 in Kent, killing a 34-year-old woman. 517 V-2 rockets would hit London. The most devastating V-2 attack in London would be on 25 November 1944, killing 160 people.

Blossom in April 2005

See also

• History of rockets and Timeline of rocket and missile technology
• Historical Technical Museum, Peenemunde

References

External links

• Independent October 1992
• Chiswick Local History Society
• BBC September 2004

London Borough of Hounslow
Districts	Bedfont Brentford Brentford End Chiswick Cranford Feltham Grove Park, Hounslow Gunnersbury Hanworth Hatton Heston Hounslow Hounslow West Isleworth Lower Feltham North Feltham North Hyde Osterley Spring Grove, Isleworth Turnham Green Woodlands, Isleworth
Attractions	Boston Manor Chiswick House Fuller's Brewery Griffin Park football stadium Gunnersbury Park and Museum Hogarth's House Holland Gardens London Museum of Water & Steam Musical Museum, Brentford Osterley Park and House (NT) Syon House Tabard Theatre Watermans Arts Centre
Parks and open spaces	Crane Park Duke's Hollow Duke's Meadows Gunnersbury Park Hanworth Park Hounslow Heath Inwood Park Lampton Park Osterley Park Pevensey Road Nature Reserve Turnham Green
Constituencies	Brentford and Isleworth Feltham and Heston
Bridges	Barnes Railway Bridge Chiswick Bridge Kew Bridge Kew Railway Bridge
Tube and rail stations	Boston Manor Brentford Chiswick Feltham Gunnersbury Hounslow Hounslow Central Hounslow East Hounslow West Isleworth Kew Bridge Osterley Stamford Brook Syon Lane Turnham Green
Places of worship	All Saints Church, Hanworth All Saints Church, Isleworth Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs Christ Church, Feltham Christ Church, Turnham Green Church of Our Lady & St Christopher, Cranford Church of Our Lady of Grace & St Edward, Chiswick Church of Our Lady of Sorrows & St Bridget, Isleworth Church of Our Lady Queen of the Apostles, Heston Church of the Good Shepherd, Hounslow Holy Trinity Church, Hounslow St Dunstan's Church, Cranford St Dunstan's Church, Feltham St Faith's Church, Brentford St Francis of Assisi, Isleworth St George's Church, Hanworth St John the Baptist's Church, Isleworth St John the Evangelist's Church, Brentford St Joseph's Church, Grove Park St Lawrence's Church, Feltham St Leonard's Church, Heston St Mary's Church, Bedfont St Mary's Church, Osterley St Michael's Church, Chiswick St Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park St Michael and St Martin, Hounslow St Nicholas' Church, Chiswick St Paul's Church, Brentford St Paul's Church, Grove Park St Paul's Church, Hounslow St Vincent de Paul, Osterley
Other topics	Council Grade I and II* listed buildings People Public art Schools

Coordinates: 51°28′58″N 0°15′54″W / 51.4828°N 0.265°W / 51.4828; -0.265