September, 1942
THE KING’S BUSINESS
St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, standing among ruinf .
Englands Churches During War
By ROBERT W . HAMBROOK Washington, D. C. ■
K HILE IN ENGLAND for four months last year on official b u s i n e s s for the United privilege of observing much that had rio concern with my official work. The war has, of course, left its im print on every phase of life. -Even though some areas have been un touched by raids, every individual in England has been affected by ration ing, by limitations of significant ma terials, and by the urgency of doing everything possible for winning the war. * Germany has sought to destroy Brit ish morale by bombing objectives of sentimental, cultural, social, and re ligious significance. Consequently there have been heavy bombings of hospitals, slum areas, downtown loca tions, and churches. Little damage has been done to industrial areas. In one major city alone, when I left a year ago, there was not one Church of England church that had not been damaged sufficiently to prevent its úse. It is obvious that many buildings of historical significance have either been completely destroyed, damaged beyond repair, or made unusable for the time being. .Not only church buildings but also' church congregations in England are
changed from their business suits into fire watchers’ clothing. A prelimi nary period Was spent as usual in ap propriate drill to meet possible raid situations. Bombs have been d r o p p e d all around the locality, and the Cathedral has been hit twice, once by a bomb which came down on the altar and did some damage, requiring the re placing of a few stones in the roof structure. Practically no glass remains in the windows, and some parts of the outside walls are scarred by bomb fragments. On a certain night in April when London was blitzed widely and heav ily and fires burned in all directions, a small bomb struck the roof structure of one of the wings. It produced a small hole in the roof, knocked down the brick ceiling beneath and burst b e f o r e it reached the main floor, leaving bomb splinter marks on the walls. The ceiling material crashed to the floor and made a large hole in the floor, perhaps fifteen feet IH diameter, into the room below, which was used as a dressing room where fire Watchers changed their clothes. Some one usually occupied this room, which had telephone connections to headquarters. At the time the bomb fell, the individual normally at the phone was not on duty and the one .substituting for him was outside ex-
being affected drastically by the pres ent conflict. And a l o n g with the Christian world’s concern over the loss of historic c h u r c h structures, there needs to be an even greater longing for the safeguarding of evangelical Christian testimony and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ Many causes for rejoicing and needs for prayer are to be observed in present-day church life in England. It is my purpose to tell w h a t I saw personally of the churches under war conditions. St. Paul’s Cathedral As has been told many times, most of the publishing-house area adjacent to St. Paul’s Cathedral no l o n g e r exists. This section of London was practically;destroyed t h r o u g h fire, mostly during week-end periods. S t Paul’s Cathedral still stands because seventy architects and a few others who appreciate the significance of this architectural gem have voluntarily protected it night after night through out the war. Each night of the week a certain number of these men stay on guard in the building. It was my privilege to khow one of the men who serves each Wednesday night. I had dinner a t a near-by restaurant with him and a part of his group on one of his nights and then went over to the C a t h e d r a l where the men
States Office of Education, I had the
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