Thomas Norman Percy Anderson, was on duty as the Tower of London electrician during 1940, and went to post a letter to his family and was killed by a German Bomb at the West Gate 8 December 1940.

Thomas Norman Percy ANDERSON known as ‘Norman” was born on 15 December 1897 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, his father, John, was 29 and his mother, Nancy, was 28. He married Margaret Jane Nee Davies (Born 27 Mar 1899 died 9 June 1988) in June 1922 in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. 

Thomas and Margaret had three children

  1. Margaret Jean Anderson b 1923 – died 25 Feb 1925
  2. Norman John Anderson b 1926
  3. Joy Elizabeth Anderson b 1928

Norman moved down to London from the North East to find work. He was employed by the Ministry of Works as an electrician at the Tower of London. Margaret ran a corner shop in Walthamstow and they lived above the shop.  He was asked to live in the Tower with his family (7 Tower Green) and become the resident electrician for the Tower of London. Norman was on night duty on the night of December 7th/8th when there was heavy bombing. He wrote a letter home to his parents in Middlesbrough saying “Jerry is giving us merry hell tonight, I have had to take a dive to the floor once or twice. I hope Madge & the kids are okay.” Copies of these letters are in our records.

Later he went outside the Tower grounds to post the letter & was killed by the blast of a bomb.

The 8th December was the day Margaret was coming to view their new home at 7 The Tower Green.  She was expecting a knock on the door from someone from the Ministry of Works to collect her, but instead it was with devastating news she was now a widow.

Norman’s body was sent back to his parents in Middlesbrough & buried locally. Margaret sold her shop & moved out of London and took her children back to Middlesbrough to live.

The damage to the West Gate can still be seen