History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

  Barrage balloon over  Kilburn, The Sphere, 11 March 1939   The crowd standing outside J. Salter’s a dentist at No.178 Kilburn High Road are looking across the main road in amazement, as a barrage balloon is launched from the car park of the Gaumont State cinema. The Midland Bank shown on the right is now the Spicy Basil Thai restaurant. At the end of February 1939, the Gaumont cinema group took part in an RAF campaign to recruit 2,000 people for the Balloon Squadrons. While they showed the George Formby film ‘It’s in the Air’, barrage balloons with coloured streamers were launched over cinemas in Kilburn, and other parts of London. During the War, more balloons were based in the Grange Park Kilburn along with a battery of AA guns. The balloons were designed to stop low flying aircraft. Filled with hydrogen and connected to steel cables, they were tethered to the ground often using large concrete blocks. They had been used in WWI, but as preparation for the next w...