History
Wartime stories
The building, initially called Bromyard House, is something of a local landmark. It was built in the early 1920s as a home for the rapidly expanding Ministry of Pensions and its 6000 office workers, who moved out to Acton from Whitehall. A party in the summer of 1922, to which Great War veterans were invited, marked its opening.
In its former life, the building was used for many different Ministry offices. It played a role in the Second World War, as HQ for the Canadian Military, the Royal Air Force Police and the Chief Paymaster. It often served as an overnight safe house for VIPs - Churchill included - before they departed on special missions. Another important role was the storage of all war film footage.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the building did not escape enemy action. It was bombed in November 1940 and was hit by a V1 rocket on the night of 20th December 1944 - fortunately, there were no casualties.
