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Isadore Goldman & Son: Weathering the WWII Blitz : Part Four

Posted on23 May 2024

The outbreak of World War II in 1939 disrupted the London legal practice of Isadore Goldman & Son. Founder Isadore Goldman had already retired to Harrogate with his wife, leaving his son Joseph “Joe” Goldman to steer the firm through the tumultuous war years.

Joe Goldman valiantly kept operations going through the height of the London Blitz. However in 1943, after damage from bombings, he moved the office to his own home at Burgess Hill in Hampstead. With a skeletal staff, Joe worked tirelessly amidst air raid sirens and nights spent fire watching.

Young articled clerk Alfred Goldman had his legal training interrupted when he enlisted with the Territorial Army in 1939. He served abroad throughout the war, returning when demobilised in 1946 allowing him to qualify as a solicitor.

In 1944, a flying bomb exploded behind Burgess Hill, blowing clerks’ papers onto the lawn and trapping an office boy. Undeterred, Joe Goldman moved the practice to his residence at Finchley Road.

Throughout the chaos and destruction, Isadore Goldman & Son displayed the typical British “stiff upper lip” mentality. Clerk Charles Orwell recalled with amusement how the firm would blame “enemy aircraft” when unable to locate files for 20 years after the war ended!

Joe Goldman’s resilience and dedication enabled Isadore Goldman & Son to stand firm through WWII. After weathering both German bombs and bureaucracy, the legal practice emerged intact in 1946 - ready to rebuild in a postwar world.

Next up Part Five; Isadore Goldman & Son: A Century of Law

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