Editing St Paul's Cathedral (section)

====War damage====
[[File:Stpaulsblitz.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and White photograph of the dome of St Paul's, starkly lit, appearing through billowing clouds of smoke|The iconic ''[[St Paul's Survives]]'', taken on 29 December 1940 of St Paul's during [[the Blitz]]]]
The cathedral survived [[the Blitz]] although it was struck by bombs on 10 October 1940 and 17 April 1941. The first strike destroyed the high altar, while the second strike on the north transept left a hole in the floor above the crypt.{{sfn|Jardine|2006}}<ref name=EI /> The latter bomb is believed to have detonated in the upper interior above the north transept, and the force was sufficient to shift the entire dome laterally by a small amount.{{sfn|The Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral|2014}}{{sfn|Geffen|2014}}

On 12 September 1940, a time-delayed bomb that had struck the cathedral was successfully defused and removed by a [[bomb disposal]] detachment of [[Royal Engineers]] under the command of Temporary Lieutenant [[Robert Davies (GC)|Robert Davies]]. Had this bomb detonated, it would have totally destroyed the cathedral; it left a {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} crater when later remotely detonated in a secure location.<ref name=33EngineerRegiment /> As a result of this action, Davies and [[Sapper]] [[George Cameron Wylie]] were each awarded the [[George Cross]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34956 |supp=y|pages=5767–5768|date=27 September 1940}}</ref> Davies' George Cross and other medals are on display at the [[Imperial War Museum]], London.

One of the best known images of London during the war was a photograph of St Paul's taken on 29 December 1940 during the "[[Second Great Fire of London]]" by photographer Herbert Mason,{{efn|Not to be confused with an identically named [[Herbert Mason|film director]].}} from the roof of a building in Tudor Street showing the cathedral shrouded in smoke. [[Lisa Jardine]] of [[Queen Mary, University of London]], has written:{{sfn|Jardine|2006}}

{{quote|Wreathed in billowing smoke, amidst the chaos and destruction of war, the pale dome stands proud and glorious—indomitable. At the height of that air-raid, Sir Winston Churchill telephoned the Guildhall to insist that all fire-fighting resources be directed at St Paul's. The cathedral must be saved, he said, damage to the fabric would sap the morale of the country.}}