Associated Press Photo, “A boy sits amid the ruins of a London bookshop following an air raid on October 8, 1940″

“A young boy sits to read, a month into the Blitz, amid the ruins of a London bookshop after an air raid hit the area. The photograph gives few clues as to the location or the identity of the boy, and he doesn’t appear in any subsequent images in the set of photographs from the locale. 

Many variations of the picture have appeared since, with differing historical details and accuracy around what he may have been reading and who he was, but in truth we know little about this remarkable wartime scene. The original caption speculates that he may have been reading a book on London’s history whilst experiencing what was to become such a large part of it, likely unaware of the photographer immortalising his moment of concentration amongst the chaos. 

The image bears striking parallels to one of a bombed library at Holland House, with readers apparently choosing books regardless of the damage around them. This image, held by English Heritage, has attracted speculation that it could have been a staged morale boosting exercise but, as with many visual artefacts of the time, it’s difficult to know more.”

The Times (October 8, 2013), https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/on-this-day-in-1940-a-boy-reads-amid-ruins-of-the-blitz-v5q0srh26tp