Andrew Gilford Young
Andrew Gilford Young – Civilian Victim of the Fulham Blitz
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| Edward Young and Constance Gilford marriage certificate Parish Church of Bassaleg, Monmouthshire |
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| 1911 Census |
By the time of the 1911 Census, the family were living at 91 Risca Road, Newport. Edward, then 37, was employed as a Shipping Clerk, while his wife Constance, aged 35, was at home caring for their three children: Edward Gilford (6), Constance Gilford (3), and Andrew Gilford (1).
Constance died in 1916, and the following year Edward
remarried, taking Ada L. Bailey as his second wife in Swansea.
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| 1921 Census |
At the time of the 1921 Census, the family were residing at 7 Devon Terrace, Mumbles. Edward, now 46, was still working as a Shipping Clerk, employed by Houlder Bros. & Co. Ltd., Shipowners. His second wife, Ada Louisa, was 31. The children in the household were Edward Gilford (16), who had followed his father into clerical work as a Shipping Clerk, and Constance Gilford (13) and Andrew Gilford (12), both of whom were attending school. Also present was William Bailey (3), Ada’s young son.
Death During the London Blitz – 10th May 1941
Andrew later moved to London, where he lost his life on 10th
May 1941 at 37 Sulivan Road, Fulham, during one of the most
destructive nights of the entire Blitz.
The attack on 10th May 1941 formed part of
a renewed phase of Luftwaffe bombing directed at London, including the
districts of Fulham, Chelsea, Hammersmith, and the wider West London area. By
this stage of the Blitz, German bombers were increasingly targeting densely
populated residential neighbourhoods, as well as key infrastructure such as
railway lines, gasworks, and public utilities.
Fulham lay beneath the flight paths used by bombers
approaching London from the Thames Estuary, and the curve of the river made
navigation straightforward even at night. This allowed aircraft to strike deep
into the western suburbs with devastating accuracy.
During the raid, high‑explosive bombs fell across
Fulham’s residential streets, including the area around Sulivan Road.
Houses in this district were typical late‑Victorian and Edwardian
terraces—solidly built but unable to withstand the immense blast force of large
bombs. The attack caused severe structural damage to homes, fires triggered by
ruptured gas mains and incendiaries, casualties among families sheltering in
their houses, and widespread disruption to local services.
Although the raid of 10th May 1941 is
remembered city‑wide as the most intense night of bombing London endured, local
bomb‑damage records confirm that Fulham suffered particularly heavy
destruction, with numerous civilian deaths across the borough. The pattern
of damage shows that the area endured repeated and intense bombardment
throughout the spring of 1941.
Andrew was among those killed in his own home—a tragic
reminder that many Blitz casualties occurred not in workplaces or public
buildings, but in the supposed safety of familiar domestic surroundings.
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