Lost Books – help needed to recover

Advert for the Dartford Bok Recovery Drive

The bombing raids on Britain during the Second World War took in toll in many places, including libraries!

England saw some 54,000 children’s books go up in flames during the bombing of England, and thousands of special collections housed in the libraries were lost forever. Of the 1,145,500 books destroyed in the ruins of the bombed libraries, 982,000 were in city libraries; 155,813 belonged to university libraries, and the rest in county libraries.

Dartford set up a ‘Book Recovery Drive’ in the May of 1943 to encourage readers to help resupply local libraries.

Dartford Book Recovery Drive
May 8th-22nd

Our Target 70,000 Books

For
Books for the Forces
Books for “Blitzed” Libraries
Books for Children’s Hospitals
Books for Salvage – a munition of War

Your Country Needs YOUR Books NOW!

Space given to the Nation by Messrs REFFELLS BEXLEY BREWERY LTD.

 

© Lambeth [ref: LBL/DTP/UD/6/1/1/p.115]
Advert for the Dartford Bok Recovery Drive

Source:
Bromley & District Times, 21st May 1943 (pg 3)
List of libraries damaged during WW2 – Wikipedia
Image of Lambeth Town Hall Book Recovery Drive – Borough Photos

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