HACKNEY

• During the second world war, German forces dropped 28,000 bombs and almost 3,000 V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets on London.
• Within the London County Council area (roughly covering today’s inner London), more than 73,000 structures were totally destroyed.
• City authorities were faced with the gargantuan task of figuring out quite where to put the millions of tonnes of rubble.

When rubble choked the city of London

• Between December 1940 and 1946, 2.2 million cubic metres of concrete, brick and stone rubble were dumped on Hackney Marsh and 270,000 cubic metres on Leyton Marsh, raising the ground level by three metres.
• The rubble lies hidden under plants and soil with only occasional surface fragments of concrete and the odd brick hinting at the site’s wartime origins.

• Venture to neighbouring Leyton and Clapton and where the rubble came from becomes far more visible.
• Street after street showcase gaps where houses are missing in otherwise neat terraces.

• It effectively choked the city, blocking miles of roads and rendering vital services inoperable.
• By the end of September, the city-wide War Debris Survey and Disposal Service was established.
• The service turned its sights eastwards, to the wide-open marshland of east London.
• A 1942 memo written by the Ministry of Home Security (now held in the London Metropolitan Archives) notes:
  Sites for tips should be studied and selected.

How Hackney Marshes became a footballing utopia

• Though unmarked by commemorative plaques, the pitches themselves have become a vast footballing heritage site, the “utopia,” as founder of Hackney Wick Football Club Bobby Kasanga has put it, “of grassroots football”.
• The Hackney and Leyton Football League, founded when the pitches opened in 1946, remains London’s largest and oldest league.
• UK photographer Simon Di Principe used to go to the marshes as a kid, with his mother, to watch his father play.
• The marshes endure as a subtle reminder of the losses the people of London incurred during the second world war.

Jonathan Gardner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210930005426/en/
  JetBlue Enhances its Transatlantic Flying with Attractive Fares and Award-Winning Service at London Gatwick Airport Just as U.S.
• JetBlues arrival at Gatwick brings the U.S. airlines award-winning service and attractive fares to a second London-area airport.
• Additionally, JetBlue is the only carrier flying nonstop between the U.S. and Gatwick, where it will bring exceptional experience and affordable fares that will redefine transatlantic travel.
• Gatwick is the second busiest U.K. airport and provides JetBlue with an important presence where it can attract a new base of travelers.

• With JetBlue now connecting New York and London, travelers finally have the ability to enjoy low fares while also experiencing superior service.
• We look forward to welcoming U.K. travelers to the U.S. soon and launching service between Boston and London next year.
• Heathrow travelers benefit from a variety of convenient ground transportation options including the Heathrow Express and London Underground, which offer rail connections with Central London.
• JetBlues entrance into the transatlantic market introduces a new era of customer-focused, low-fare travel for leisure and business travelers.

• Here East is actively recruiting local talent, offering job placements for young people through its Scholarship Programme and there are also 13 tenants recruiting for local talent making the campus one of the biggest employers in the local area.
• Education is also central to the Here East Social Impact Report 2021, as Here East has launched a Scholarship Programme in partnership with Staffordshire University London and LMA to support three local students to enter higher education every year for the next five years.
• The Impact Report also reveals the first list ofHumans of Here East, individuals whose work during the global health pandemic has provided invaluable support to local communities.
• "As we wrote this year's Impact Report, what emerged was an extraordinary story of the Here East team, and members of our campus community coming together to provide more support for each other, for local people and the local economy than ever before."