History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

What began as a prank in the run up to Guy Fawkes Night, ended in tragedy a few minutes before midnight on 4 th November in 1961.   Alpha House, 1961 Thirty-seven year old Fred Burtenshaw had been the caretaker at Alpha House in Canterbury Road, South Kilburn, for over ten years. He had spent much of that evening trying to prevent youngsters from causing damage and setting off fireworks. Fred was relaxing in his armchair and watching television when suddenly there was a loud explosion and the window behind him shattered. A bomb inside an old car dynamo had been placed outside on the window sill and a piece of the casing hit Fred on the back of the head. His wife, who had been putting their son to bed, heard a terrifically loud bang and ran downstairs to see what had happened. She said: I found the lounge in darkness. Clouds of smoke and dust filled the whole room.  At first I couldn’t see, but then I found Fred sitting still on the settee. I shouted to him,...