Surrey Heritage: Creating an interactive World War Two Bomb Incident Map for Surrey - Case Study Archive Volunteering Award 2026
Surrey Heritage, part of Surrey County Council, is based at Surrey History Centre (SHC), Woking, and incorporates the county archive service, local studies library, archaeological unit and museums advisory service for Surrey. They worked with local archives, museums and individuals on data sharing. The project was funded by the Surrey History Trust. The project started in 2023 and is ongoing, with Phase 1 due to complete in June 2026. The project has one lead volunteer and 12 remote working volunteers plus two members of staff.
www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/bombsites
The Surrey World War Two Bomb Incident Map is a wholly volunteer-led project to create an interactive map pinpointing all known bomb incidents and aircraft crashes from a variety of sources. The team of volunteers is managed by a lead volunteer who facilitates remote working and co-ordinates a huge team effort to identify and log the precise locations of bomb incidents in Surrey and to collate detailed, qualitative information about each incident enabling map users to learn about the human impact of each event. This interactive bomb map is, as far as Surrey History Centre is aware, the first of its kind in the UK. Other web-based projects such as this cover just a borough or town and are generally carried out by one person. This is very much a team effort.
The project had two main aims: to support a wholly volunteer-led team to create and develop their own project; and to create a unique online resource by bringing together an array of source material relating to bomb incidents in Surrey throughout the Second World War and create an interactive map displaying not only the locations of the incidents but narrative information about the time and date, type of bomb and description of damage and casualties where these existed. There is much public interest in this information as those with childhood memories of this time become older, and the online map has already elicited sharing of many memories amongst users. Surrey schools too are finding the map tremendously useful in studying the history of their local areas.
Process:
The project began by identifying and consulting a wide range of surviving WW2 bomb-incident sources from the 38 Surrey local authorities in existence in 1939-45, including archival records, maps, local histories, and datasets provided by local museums, archives, and individual researchers. The Lead Volunteer coordinated and distributed work to a team of remote volunteers, each allocated a defined geographical area - often chosen for personal relevance - to strengthen motivation and ownership. Volunteers received clear guidance, standardised templates, and support from Surrey Heritage staff, enabling them to work independently while maintaining consistency and accuracy.
Regular check-ins between the Lead Volunteer and Surrey History Centre staff ensured quality control, resolved discrepancies in the documentary evidence, and supported problem-solving when sources were incomplete or contradictory. Data was transcribed, verified, and consolidated into a unified dataset, which was then transformed into the interactive map using MapTiler and Surrey County Council’s digital tools.Evaluation was ongoing throughout: volunteer feedback, public engagement with the live map, and feedback from schools and local historians shaped improvements. What makes this project stand out is its county-wide scope, collaborative volunteer-led model, and the creation of what is believed to be the first comprehensive WW2 bomb incident map for any UK county.
Impact and outcome of the project:
Although the project has not yet been officially launched or widely promoted, engagement online has been steadily increasing with over 7,000 page views in 2025 and 24 comments from users sharing their family memories of bomb incidents.
The Surrey WW2 Bomb Map project is achieving major benefits for volunteers, who form the core of the project team. Over three years, 12 volunteers gained substantial skills in historical research, transcription, interpreting complex wartime evidence, and using digital tools. Many deepened their understanding of local history and grew in confidence as they uncovered new or contradictory findings. Feedback reflects this growth:
“I think it’s improved my research skills. I’d like to do some research into my family history and I now feel a bit better equipped to do that”;
“I also learnt a lot more than I expected to, especially about local history and what goes on at some of the local museums. I found some of the work difficult and frustrating at times but worth it as it was so rewarding. The team leading the project were very knowledgeable and supportive.”
“I didn’t know how badly Surrey had been bombed, intentionally or otherwise, or that the ARP Wardens had the job of recording incidents in order to help establish the bomb damage.”
Allocating volunteers areas of personal relevance fostered ownership, motivation, and pride in contributing to a public resource.
The project’s wider impact is significant. It has created the first known county-wide WW2 bomb map in the UK, transforming 38 authorities’ surviving documents held by a number of repositories and museums across Surrey and outer London, supplemented by sources in The National Archives and The London Archives, into a permanent, publicly searchable digital resource and safeguarding material at risk of being lost.
The map has generated new insights into Surrey’s wartime experience, correcting myths and identifying unexpected patterns in bomb distribution. Public talks and online engagement have strengthened community interest, while schools have used the map to support curriculum learning. The project also demonstrates a sustainable, scalable model for volunteer-led heritage research, with Phase 2 continuing this collaborative approach.
Evaluation:
Several aspects of the project did not go as expected. Surviving wartime records proved far more inconsistent and widely dispersed than anticipated, with some authorities holding only partial documents and others - such as Dorking Rural District Council - having none. This significantly complicated data collection and slowed progress. The Lead Volunteer role also became more demanding than initially planned, requiring near-continuous availability and advanced IT skills to support volunteers and prepare data for MapTiler. Technical development took longer than expected, with multiple editing and prototype mapping stages needed to maintain accuracy and momentum.
Despite these challenges, key factors contributed to the project’s success. A hands-off but responsive volunteer-management approach helped maintain motivation, supported by clear guidance, regular contact and monthly updates. Uploading data to the interactive map as soon as it was ready increased public engagement and gave volunteers visible evidence of progress, strengthening commitment. Using accessible tools such as Excel and Word ensured consistency across a diverse volunteer group.
Evidence of positive impact includes feedback from teachers, users, and collaborating local historians. Volunteers developed substantial research skills and helped correct long-standing local myths. The project will continue and expand after its June 2026 relaunch, with Phase 2 enhancing data, functionality and community contributions.
Tips:
Looking back over the project, several aspects could have been approached differently. Early expectations that most wartime bomb-incident records had survived proved overly optimistic, and the team could have anticipated greater inconsistency and dispersal of source material across local authorities. Beginning the project with a more detailed audit of surviving records might have reduced delays and helped plan workloads more effectively.
The role of the Lead Volunteer ultimately required far more time, availability, and technical skill than originally envisaged. Identifying and recruiting an additional volunteer with strong IT expertise earlier in the project would have eased pressure, improved resilience, and accelerated data preparation for the mapping software.
While the hands-off approach to volunteer management proved successful, some volunteers struggled or withdrew because the task was more demanding than expected. Introducing clearer initial skill-assessments or providing optional early training sessions could have helped set expectations and supported volunteer retention.
Finally, although efforts were made to shield volunteers from complex technical steps, some stages of data conversion and prototype mapping still created bottlenecks. Exploring simplified workflows or additional automation earlier might have reduced turnaround time for uploading datasets to the interactive map.
Future Developments:
The Surrey WW2 Bomb Map will continue to grow and evolve beyond its initial three-year research phase. A major public relaunch is scheduled for June 2026 at Surrey History Centre, where volunteers and members of the public will be able to explore the map and learn about its findings.
Following this event, Phase 2 of the project will begin, focusing on enhancing and supplementing existing data, incorporating new historical discoveries, and revisiting areas where records may previously have been overlooked or incomplete. Volunteers and local historians will be invited to search again for missing wartime documents to strengthen the accuracy and completeness of the dataset.
In addition to expanding the historical content, future development aims to improve the map’s technical functionality. The project hopes to secure funding to add new interactive features - particularly a date-search tool that would allow users to filter incidents by day or event, helping researchers, schools, and local communities explore patterns and specific wartime episodes more effectively.
The project will remain volunteer-supported and community-driven, ensuring continued public engagement and ongoing contribution to Surrey’s digital heritage resource.