Sir Hugh Turnbull, 1941
Scope and Contents
A letter in the hand of London Police Commissioner Sir Hugh Turnbull, addressed “My dear George” and dated January 4th and 18th, 1941. On City of London Police letterhead. The contents include several detailed descriptions of attacks during the Blitz, including the raid on 29 December 1940 known as the Second Great Fire of London: “the destruction is miles worse than anything that has happened before, anywhere, in this war. At a guess nearly ¾ of a mile by a ¼ mile is nearly gutted out to the north of Cheapside + large areas are burned elsewhere. One of my Police Stations is completely gone…The poor old Guildhall + all the Corporation offices were burned out, but, as in 1666, the walls of the Hall are sound + only require a roof.” Turnbull also describes the attack at the Bank Tube Station on the 11th of January that killed 56: “the scenes were indescribable. Bodies just hurled against walls + smashed; many wounded, and the dirt awful. The shelters were splendid though + one saw very few weeping or hysterical people.”
Dates
- 1941
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Biographical / Historical
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Stephenson Turnbull (1882-1973) was a British Army officer who served as Commissioner of the City of London Police from 1925-1950.
Extent
From the Collection: 30 Cubic Feet (68 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
From the Collection: French
From the Collection: Italian
From the Collection: Welsh
From the Collection: Danish
From the Collection: Swedish
From the Collection: Spanish
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Norwegian
From the Collection: Persian
From the Collection: Japanese
From the Collection: Russian
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Creator
- From the Collection: Scheetz, Nicholas B., 1952-2016 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu