In the Track of the Zepps (1915) | Leyton Midland Road

On 17th August 1915, Zeppelin L 10 commander Oberleutnant-zur-See Friedrich Wenke, turned inland near Sizewell and mistook the Lea Valley for the Thames. Dropping a series of bombs on Leyton and Leytonstone, along the railway line leading to Leyton Midland Road station, ten people were killed and forty-eight were injured. The first victim was Moses Mayers, a seventy-three year old nightwatchman sitting in his railway hut. The first cluster of bombs Wenke released also destroyed the ticket office. Two weeks later, L 10 was hit by lightning and destroyed, losing all of its crew.

Watch ‘In the Track of the Zepps’ for free on the BFI player.