Alexander Walter Collins^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]}

1907 - 1941  (34 years)

• Name	Alexander Walter Collins  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Birth	1907	Fulham, London, England   [3, 4, 6]
  	Mother's maiden name - Barnwell
  Gender	Male
  Burial	Apr 1941	Hammersmith, London, England   [3, 4]
  		Alexander Collins - grave levelled Keywords: Burial
  		Alexander Collins - grave levelled Keywords: Burial
  Death	21 Apr 1941	Westminster, London, England   [8]
  	Civilian War Dead. Fireman with London Fire Brigade. Injured April 17th 1941 at Christ Church; died at Westminster Hospital. Mother - Mrs A Collins, 7 Poplar Grove, Hammersmith.
  		Alexander Walter Collins CWGC Media Date: 21 APR 1941
  		Westminster - Christ Church Keywords: Picture
  		Westminster - Christ Church Keywords: Picture
  		Alexander Walter Collins CWGC Media Date: 21 APR 1941
  Person ID	I12251	DBH Twigs
  Last Modified	14 Apr 2026

  
  

  Family	Evangeline Mary Jane Wallis,   b. 27 Jul 1909, Reading, Berkshire, England d. 13 Aug 1970, Paddington, London, England (Age 61 years)  [5, 9]
  Marriage	1940	Hammersmith, London, England   [2, 7]
  Family ID	F4232	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Jan 2026

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Poppy - War Dead Keywords: Icon
  		Poppy - War Dead Keywords: Icon
  		Westminster - Christ Church Keywords: Picture
  		Westminster - Christ Church Keywords: Picture
  		Alexander Collins - probate Media Date: 30 JUN 1941 Keywords: Probate
  		Alexander Collins - probate Media Date: 30 JUN 1941 Keywords: Probate
  		Alexander Collins - 1911 Census Media Date: 1911 Keywords: Census1911
  		Alexander Collins - 1911 Census Media Date: 1911 Keywords: Census1911
  		Alexander Collins - grave levelled Keywords: Burial
  		Alexander Collins - grave levelled Keywords: Burial

  
  

• Notes

  Christ Church Westminster was destroyed in the Blitz in 1941. The remains of the church were demolished in 1947 and the site became an open space, being converted into a public garden in 1950. The parish was united with St Peter, Eaton Square. The original site was laid out as a simple grassed plot bounded by a low brick wall with stone coping, which was formerly surmounted by the iron railings of the church. There are no monuments remaining in what was the old churchyard. Christ Church, Broadway - the bomb by New Scotland Yard This post builds on the work of the excellent West End at War website and I urge you to read their original post about this incident here . A busy lunchtime on Victoria Street and I was looking for somewhere to sit with my lunch. There’s a garden on the corner of Broadway (opposite the famous revolving sign for New Scotland Yard”), surrounded by a low wall. This is actually the old grave yard – Christ Church once stood between the current gardens and Caxton Street. On the night of 16th /17th April 1941 a major air-raid on London took place with numerous incidents, casualties and fires. From the accounts I have read, the following is either known or probable: • At some point, probably after midnight, incendiary bombs set the church on fire. • Firewatchers did what they could but contacted the emergency services. • Fire engines were attending numerous incidents all across the centre of London; initially one pump was spared and subsequently an engine with a turntable ladder also arrived. • Soon after the arrival of the turntable ladder, a German plane was heard circling overhead; at just before 3.30am it was said to have dived and dropped at least one bomb (some sources say a whole stick of bombs). • One bomb exploded on or near one of the two fire appliances – my guess is it was the pump because we know the turntable ladder stayed upright. This engine was destroyed with sufficient force for the mark made by a wheel to be seen in the wall of a bank on the other side of the road (see map) several years later. • One fireman was killed instantly. Up to nine others were seriously injured, and were probably taken to nearby Westminster Hospital in Horseferry Road. (This hospital would probably have been extremely busy and the injured judged fit to travel would have been transferred to outer London as soon as possible. One destination would have been the Hillingdon County Hospital.) • At least three of the injured subsequently died, and possibly a fourth man as well. The uncertainty arises because in four cases the Commonwealth War Graves Commission record states at which incident people were injured. However, some sources say up to five men died of injuries, and there is a good match for one additional fireman. • The (anonymous) fireman on top of the ladder was knocked unconscious but the ladder stayed upright and when he recovered sufficiently he was able to climb down, obviously badly shocked. https://blitzincidents.blogspot.com/2014/10/christ-church-broadway-bomb-by-new.html

  
  

• Sources

  [S4178] Ancestry.com, England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Principal Probate Registry; London, England; Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. [S4179] Ancestry.com, England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc), General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 1d; Page: 921. [S4240] Ancestry.com, UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S4365] Ancestry.com, UK, Records of the Removal of Graves and Tombstones, 1601-2007, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), The National Archives; Kew, London, England; Rg 37: Copies of Records of Local Authorities and Church Commissioners Relating to Burial Ground Removals; Reference: RG 37/79; Series Number: RG 37; Piece Number: 79. [S7] Find My Past. [S7] Find My Past, Sep 1907, Fulham 1A 228. [S7] Find My Past, Sep 1940, Hammersmith 1A 921. [S7] Find My Past, Jun 1941, Westminster 1A 524. [S797] DBHT (exported from Ancestry).ged. Record originated in...