A Bromley church has been gifted the remains of the bomb which leveled it during World War II.
Bromley was subject to heavy bombing throughout the Blitz, and St Peter and St Paul Church on Church Road was almost entirely destroyed during a heavy raid on 16 April 1941.
Only the church tower and font survived the bombing, eventually becoming the basis of the new church.
The bomb, reduced to the jagged remains of a tail fin, was recovered by Bromley Home Guard Captain Bernard Finnie, who later served as Mayor of Bromley from 1949-1950.
He repurposed the bomb as a parasol stand until he passed away in the 1960s.
The bomb remained in his house following his death in the 1960s, with the new owner now opting to return the bomb to St Peter and St Paul’s, a fact which Rev. James Harratt, the church vicar, considers rather poignant.
He said: “It’s a strange one because as a church we are a place of peace and reconciliation, and to introduce a piece of ordinance is not a normal thing to do, but there is a certain poetry to it.
“There is always the choice and the ability to turn away. That poetry is enshrined in a stained-glass window memorializing the blast, which champions the Latin word ‘resurgam‘, meaning ‘to rise again’.
“In the window which shows the church in ruins, there is the Latin word for resurgence, resurrection, new life, and that has been one of the mottos of this church as it was rebuilt.
“It is obviously very important to the Christian faith as well, the idea of new life, so it is interesting to have something which is a symbol of destruction and death.
“To embrace something meaningful from the ashes of terrible things of the past, and the new hope and new life, that has sort of been the experience of this church.
“This entire building is a monument to the idea that death and destruction never has the last word, but new hope and new life is possible, and this will be a reminder of that, very potently.”
The vicar added that the bomb’s return will likely form the basis of his Remembrance Day sermon.
He said: “Councilor Finnie turning a bomb into a parasol stand is not the most profound example but there is a verse in the Bible about turning swords into plowshares and taking that which has been used for violence into tools for hope and life, and we continue to do that in this church despite the damage and destruction of the war.”
The rebuild of St Peter and St Paul’s began in 1947, with the future Queen Elizabeth II laying the cornerstone.
Parishioners helped to raise money for its reconstruction, with various area churches also donating to the cause.
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