On the night of September 24, 1942 much of Soho was blitzed and the Parish Church of St.Anne's reduced to rubble. To mark the sixtieth anniversary of that night The Soho Museum and the reborn St. Anne's Church mounted the very well attended 'Soho Blitz' - 'Disaster to Triumph': a fascinating, commemorative exhibition that coincided with that night of the Blitz and thereafter, 'in pictures, objects and sounds'.
In focussing on that event, and the subsequent recovery of the area (which after the war fought off wholesale demolition and relocation of its entire population), the exhibition celebrates Soho's survival and the longevity of its tenacious community. A community which stubbornly refused in both the Sixties and Seventies, to be redeveloped, resisted the advance of 'the Vice' (which would have taken over the place) and furthermore is currently battling for the simple human right of its residents to enjoy a good night's sleep.
At 3.45 a.m. on the 11th.May 1941 a high explosive bomb blasted the West End of Old Compton Street near the junction of Dean Street. There were four killed outright and 8 ambulance cases. When the Air Raid report was filled in there were still three people trapped inside collapsed and burning buildings and the gas main was still ruptured.
Later that same evening there is a Message Form (also held by The Westminster Archive) which refers to a dog belonging to The Admiral Duncan P.H. which was injured in the blast, "would the RSPCA in Jermyn Street please collect it from the police who have taken charge of it".