WW2 ‘ghost sign’ painted over in error
♦ The faded remnants of a Second World War bomb shelter sign has been obliterated by workmen who painted over it in error.
The sign in Deptford, south-east London, survived the Blitz, but was covered over with black and white paint last week by contractors working for property developer U+I.
The “ghost sign” – a name given to faded signs – was in Deptford Market Yard, and was believed to be one of just a handful of bomb shelter signs still in existence.
The sign had recently been restored by Lewisham council after it was “tagged” with red paint by vandals.
Peter Collins, chairman of the Deptford Society, a local group working to preserve the area’s heritage, said: “We are truly dismayed at finding… that the sign has been fully repainted as if new, rather than a treasured piece of local history.”
A spokesman for U+I said: “This is clearly an unfortunate mistake by the work crew in question and we will be rectifying this as a priority.”
Sean Patterson, a local historian, said he accepted that in order to preserve history, “we need to restore sometimes”.
“The problem here,” he said, “is that it’s been done rather clumsily.”