Many people forget that London suffered air raids during the First World War that caused damage across the city. This photograph shows soldiers and civilians inspecting bomb damage to Wellington Street, Strand, as a result of a Zeppelin night raid on 13 October 1915. Ref: 2241/2 .That same night the roof of the Great Smith Street Library was damaged by the base of a shell weighing five and a half pounds. It broke through a slate, smashed a roof rafter and damaged wiring.

Tho...ugh this was nowhere near as bad as what was experienced during the Blitz, Londoners had to be prepared for the prospect of bombs falling on them and how to respond in an emergency. This theatre programme from a 1918 production of Soldier Boy! At the Apollo Theatre included air raid warning procedures for the audience. Ref: TC/1/7/1918/2

As we get closer to marking 100 years since the end of the First World War on 11 November, we will be looking at the role Westminster Libraries played in the conflict and remembering the members of staff who lost their lives on the Front Line.

The libraries of Westminster were used for many purposes during the war. In December 1917 under the Defence of the Realm Regulations the newspaper reading room at the Great Smith Street Library was occupied by the Australian Imperial Fo...rces Headquarters (Reconciliation Section). In October 1918 the War Department requested that the entire library building be vacated for use by the Australian Forces. The Australians took possession of the library on 10 November 1918 handed back to the Council on 10 October 1919. Ref: E137 Great Smith Street Library (005)