Exactly 70 years ago today (July 3) a flying Nazi bomb decimated the majority of an American army company stationed near Sloane Square.
Law student Alex Schneider has now dedicated a website to help remember those who served in the 130th Chemical Processing Company who were based in Sloane Court East, near the famous Royal Hospital Chelsea.
The 24-year-old American, of Newton, Massachusetts, started up londonmemorial.org after hearing stories of the horrific bombing from his grandfather, Samuel Edward Hatch, who was part of the company but managed to escape the fatal July 3, 1944 bomb by seconds.
The incident claimed 74 American military personnel and three civilians, making it the greatest loss of life for American servicemen during the Second World War due to a V-1 bomb - or buzz bomb attack.
Mr Schneider, who is studying law at George Washington University, said: "My grandfather used to always talk about the bombing but he's now suffering from dementia so I realised there wasn't much time to record everything.
"The company was actually there in case of chemical warfare which had been used in World War One. They were trained in chemical agents just in case but it never actually happened in World War Two. They'd only been in London two months when they were bombed.
"It was obviously a very big event for his company and it was by chance he survived. He made a pact with his friend, Theodore 'Teddy' Booras, to alternate the days they took the trash down to the cellar as they were on clean-up duty for the week. My grandfather was just about to board a truck taking the soldiers to their workstations when the buzz bomb went off and Teddy was killed. He's very matter-of-fact about the story but it must have affected those who survived."
Mr Hatch now lives in Longmeadow, Massachusetts having survived not just the Sloane Court bombing, but also a stint in France.
Mr Schneider added: "The bombing, without a doubt, had changed my grandfather's perspective on the value of every moment of life."
With the help of photos from his grandfather, he has managed to compile an impressive array of photos of the site after the bomb hit, which cannot be found in either the American or British national archives.
A plaque was erected in 1998 in Turks Row in memory of the 77 members of the 130th Chemical Processing Company who died on this fateful day 70 years ago.
There is another plaque in the pavement of Turks Row which incorrectly says 'almost 100 American GIs and WACs killed at Sloane Court by a German V-1 in 1944'.
- If anybody has relatives or friends or were in the company Alex would be grateful if you get in touch via his website
