Mayor Alfred Henley worked non-stop during the Blitz, often sleeping in his office. He would help where the need was the greatest in those dark days.
Mayor Henley was killed by enemy action on 11th May 1941 outside the Bermondsey Town Hall in Spa Road. This night was the last real night of the “Night Blitz” of 1940/41.
On that sad night he and his brother had just finished some electrical repairs at the Municipal Offices when they heard that Peek Frean’s shelter had been hit. He summoned his driver, Eddie, to take him along to help but was hit by shrapnel from a bomb in Spa Road. He later died of his wounds in hospital. Henley Drive just around the corner is named after him and there is a block of flats named after him too.
Mayor Alfred Henley
Re: Mayor Alfred Henley
The town hall was destroyed that night. The building in the photo was the council extension offices when opened c.1930 and became the town hall after the destruction of the Victorian one.
Eddie Taylor was the chauffeur to several successive mayors of Bermondsey. One of his granddaughters has his two medals, each with bars, awarded by RoSPA for consecutive years of accident free-driving before and after the war, now in a safety deposit box in Canada. (I did have a photo of them but can't find it now).
Eddie Taylor was the chauffeur to several successive mayors of Bermondsey. One of his granddaughters has his two medals, each with bars, awarded by RoSPA for consecutive years of accident free-driving before and after the war, now in a safety deposit box in Canada. (I did have a photo of them but can't find it now).
Re: Mayor Alfred Henley
The Mayor of Bermondsey during the Blitz was Albert George Henley (Pictured with chain), a tireless figure and staunch trade unionist. During the Blitz, he would tour the borough during raids with his brother, Percy + chauffeur Eddie Taylor.
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