The night of 29 December/30 December 1940 was one of the most destructive air raids of the London Blitz, destroying many Livery Halls and gutting the medieval Great Hall of the City's Guildhall.
This night was quickly dubbed The Second Great Fire of London and destroyed an area arguably greater than that of the Great Fire of London of 1666. Some 1500 fires were started, including three major conflagrations. Whereas in 1666 the devastation was overwhelmingly within the City proper, in 1940 it extended far beyond. The largest continuous area of Blitz destruction anywhere in Britain occurred on this night, stretching south from Islington to the very edge of St Paul's Churchyard. St Paul's Cathedral itself was only saved by the dedication of the London firemen who kept the fire away from the Cathedral and the volunteer firewatchers of the St Paul's Watch who fought to keep the flames from firebombs on its roof from spreading.
The 'Second Great Fire of London' is commemorated in a famous photograph taken from the roof of the Daily Mail building by Herbert Mason, in which the dome of St Paul's Cathedral rises above clouds of black smoke.
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