Zeppelin Bomb

On the night of 19 October 1917 an incendiary bomb dropped by a German Zeppelin airship landed on 46 Parkwood Street, St James, Northampton, killing Mrs Eliza Gammons and her nine-year-old twin daughters Gladys and Lily. The Gammon family are believed to be Northampton’s only victims of air raids, which killed or wounded around 2,000 people in Britain during the First World War. Eliza Gammons died instantly, and her two daughters died of their injuries shortly afterwards. A memorial plaque was installed at Gammons Place, St. James and a pear tree was planted in 2017 to commemorate the family and mark the centenary of their deaths.

A total of 22 bombs were dropped on Northampton that day, the majority causing little damage. However, Northampton was not the intended target, the aircraft was aiming to hit Sheffield, a major industrial centre for the production of steel.

Zeppelins primarily dropped high-explosive bombs (50 to 300kg in weight) and incendiary bombs intended to start fires. Dropping bombs from these airships was imprecise, often subject to the strength and direction of the wind, which on this night was gale force. The German airship and Zeppelin bombing campaign began in January 1915 and in1918 it was superseded by bomber aircraft. The campaign had little strategic importance during the First World War, but it left a considerable psychological impact on the British civilians who were affected by it.

Number 80 of the objects selected for the A History of Northamptonshire in 100 Objects exhibition 2025.