March 3, 1943: During World War II, the British government told its people that underground stations -- what Americans would call the subway -- were good places to provide safety from enemy attack. But, on this occasion, there was no enemy attack. It was still a disaster.
Bethnal Green was a neighborhood of East London, which had already been pounded by Nazi bombings for nearly 3 years. The name was given to an underground station that was still under construction when the war began, and had to stop. But it was still safe to use as an air-raid shelter -- or so they thought.
But on this date, an air-raid siren sounded at 8:17 PM local time -- 3:17 PM U.S. Eastern Time. People on the streets headed for the nearest shelters, and, at first, this progress was normal and orderly at Bethnal Green. But the lights had been cut out, to deny the presumed Luftwaffe planes visible targets. And a middle-aged woman and a child tripped and fell on a staircase. This caused others to fall on top of them, and 173 people, including 62 children, were crushed and asphyxiated to death. It is believed to be the largest loss of civilian life in Britain during The War, and the largest loss of life in the history of the London Underground.
News of the disaster was suppressed, for fear that the Nazis might use it to create similar panics. Details were not released to the general public until January 20, 1945.
The station finally opened for service on December 4, 1946, 1 year and 7 months after V-E Day put an end to Nazi bombings. Handrails, which might have made a difference in alleviating the disaster, had been installed. A memorial plaque for the victims was placed at one of the entrances.
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March 3, 1943 was a Wednesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And no games were scheduled for the NHL. So there were no scores on this historic day.
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