Miniature houses will soon be dotted around Burgess Park in memory of those who died during a WWI Zeppelin bombing raid.
The ten houses, designed by artist Sally Hogarth, will represent each of the lives cut short after a bomb landed in Calmington Road – where the park now sits – on October 19, 1917.
They come as part of a Friends of Burgess Park project commemorating 100 years since the Zeppelin attack.
A further 24 people were injured in the raid, and a fish and chip shop, doctor’s surgery and homes were destroyed.
Speaking to the News, Sally said the artwork was “more about the domestic face of war”.
“When you walk through the park, you’ve just got no sense of the houses and the lives that were there,” said the 31-year-old.
“When I started doing the research and revisiting the site, that was something that was really sticking with me.
“The Friends managed to get the names and ages of everyone who died in the bombing.
“That brought me to the idea of creating ten houses – one for each life lost and there are small, medium and large houses to represent man, woman and child.”
Hogarth explained the houses will vary in colour depending on how close they are to the spot where the bomb hit.
“Researching Southwark archives we found old records of bomb damage in the area,” she said.
“They had this colour gradient that marked out the bomb damages which was a pale pink to red.
“The houses will be scattered around the park and especially concentrated where Calmington Road was and the darker they are, the closer to the spot of the bomb they were.”
“No one was exactly sure where the road was so that was part of our research – finding out exactly where it was,” she added.
“There’s a post box on the road next to the park which is the same spot where there was a post box in Calmington Road.”
The houses will stand at just one metre high at their tallest and will be made of jesmonite.
They are expected to be installed within the next few months and will be a permanent feature in the park.