"History Under Fire" 1941 POPE-HENNESSY, James [commentary by]

POPE-HENNESSY, James

B.T. Batsford Ltd.

9" x 7"

52 photographs of Air Raid Damage to London Buildings, 1940-41 by Cecil Beaton

Beaton spent the first two years of the war in England, dividing his time between Ashcombe and Pelham Place, and working on various assignments. He took to exploring the streets of London during the Blitz, photographing the wreckage caused by the German bombs. The writer and historian James Pope-Hennessy was engaged in a similar activity, surveying the destruction of the capital and its historical buildings. The two came together to produce History Under Fire, with Pope-Hennessy providing the text and Beaton the images. The sub-title of the book reads ’52 Photographs of Air Raid Damage to London Buildings, 1940-41’. The book was published in May 1941, the final month of the Blitz, and is an important contemporary account of London's wartime experiences.

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