Edwin Miles (1864 - 1933) & William Kaye (1869 - 1941) worked for several years in the photographic industry before forming a partnership, Miles & Kaye, in 1908 which occupied a series of studios in and around the City of London until 1963. They were on hand to photograph the damage caused by the First World War German Zeppelin raids shown in this series of photographs.
The photographs concern two of the nine airship attacks on London between May 1915 and October 1917. The first documented in this collection took place on the night of 8/9 September 1915. A total of sixty two high explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped killing seventeen people, injuring seventy eight others and causing damage. Forty nine of the photographs show damage to buildings and property within the City of London caused by this raid.
The second raid in this collection took place on the night of 13/14 October 1915. The attack is sometimes known as the 'Theatreland' raid as the first bombs landed around the Strand and theatres in the area. Over 120 people were killed and injured between the West End and Woolwich during this raid. There are eight photographs of the raid showing damage within the City of London only.