81 years ago, on 9 February 1945, the Presbyterian Church in England (PCE) lost some of its leading figures when a V2 rocket fell close to the denomination’s offices in London.
PCE was one of the Church denominations that joined to form the United Reformed Church (URC), and Presbyterian Church House stood on the site of the URC’s Offices of General Assembly, in Tavistock Place, London. A memorial plaque naming the ten people who were killed on the day is situated in the entrance to the building.
On the day of the bombing, ministers and lay members from across Britain were attending a meeting. As well as the ten who were killed, many others were injured.
The dead included the General Secretary to the Presbyterian Church of England, the Revd William Thorburn Elmslie (pictured), and other members of the head office staff. Father Reginald H Tribe, a Church of England priest who had been awarded the Military Cross for courage during the First World War, was also among those who died. He had been attending a meeting of the Faith and Order Department of the British Council of Churches.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the Revd AP Harcus, escaped injury because he was late for the meeting. One report describes how he was walking towards Church House when he saw the V2 rocket hit the building. He ran to help his colleagues but several had been killed immediately. The building itself was in a precarious state and was subsequently demolished.
The present URC Church House was rebuilt on the same site and opened in 1957.
Main image and plaque: Andy Jackson; photo of William Elmslie from The Alpine Club/www.londonremembers.com