Novembre 30th 1936: The Crystal Palace destroyed by fire

 The Crystal Palace was an iron and glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, in London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its 990,000 square feet (92,000 m²) exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the Industrial Revolution.

On 30 November 1936 came the final catastrophe – fire^. That night, Buckland was walking his dog near the palace, with his daughter (Crystal Buckland, named after the palace) when they noticed a red glow within. Inside, he found two of his employees fighting a small office fire, that had started after an explosion in the women's cloakroom.Realising that it was a serious fire, they called the Penge fire brigade. Even though400 firemen arrived, they were unable to extinguish it.