Editing Hammersmith Bridge (section)

=== 20th century ===

Near midnight on 27 December 1919, Lieutenant Charles Campbell Wood, a [[South Africa]]n serving as an airman in the [[Royal Air Force]], dived from the upstream footway of the bridge into the Thames to rescue a drowning woman. Although Wood saved her life, he later died from [[tetanus]] as a consequence of his injuries. His act of bravery is commemorated by a plaque on the handrail, which reads: 
{{quote|Lieutenant Charles Campbell Wood RAF<br/>of Bloemfontein, South Africa dived from this spot into<br/>the Thames at midnight 27 Dec. 1919 and saved a woman's life.<br/>He died from the injuries received following the rescue.|}}

The Royal Commission on Cross-River Traffic in London, 1926 recorded that the limited headroom for navigation was considered unsatisfactory and that there was little room for any increase in traffic. It continued<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>Moreover the bridge is so constantly under repair that it is frequently available for only one line of vehicles and is the source of so much delay and congestion of traffic.

We regard it as essential that Hammersmith Bridge should be rebuilt as soon as possible and widened to take four lines of traffic, without restriction of weight.</blockquote>The first attempt by [[Irish republicans]] to destroy Hammersmith Bridge occurred on Wednesday 29 March 1939, when it was attacked by the [[Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)|IRA (of 1922–1969)]] as part of their [[S-Plan]].<ref name="Childs">Diary of London resident Norah Margaret Morris</ref><ref name="Shaking">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/772925.stm |title='The windows started shaking' |work=[[BBC News]] |date=1 June 2000 |access-date=28 April 2013}}</ref> Maurice Childs, a women's hairdresser from nearby [[Chiswick]], was walking home across the bridge at one o'clock in the morning when he noticed smoke and sparks coming from a suitcase that was lying on the walkway.<ref name="Childs" /> He opened it to find a bomb and quickly threw the bag into the river. The resulting explosion sent up a {{convert|60|ft|adj=on}} column of water. Moments later, a second device exploded causing some girders on the west side of the bridge to collapse and windows in nearby houses to shatter. Childs was later awarded an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] for his quick-thinking. Eddie Connell and William Browne were subsequently jailed for 20 and 10 years respectively for their involvement in the attack.<ref name="Shaking" />

On 1 April 1965, the bridge was transferred to the [[Greater London Council]] (GLC) when it took over from [[London County Council]].<ref name=lbhftimeline/>

In 1986 the GLC was abolished. The [[Local Government Act 1985]] transferred non-[[trunk road#United Kingdom|trunk road]] bridges in their entirety to one of the two London boroughs that each bridge lay within – the choice of borough to be decided between the two councils, or failing agreement, by the Secretary of State for Transport. In addition to the bridge, the London borough taking responsibility also gained 100 yards of approach road from the other borough. For Hammersmith Bridge, on 31 March 1986 the [[London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham]] took responsibility.<ref name=lbhftimeline>{{cite web |url=https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/hammersmith-bridge/hammersmith-bridge-timeline |title=Hammersmith Bridge timeline |website=London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|date=7 December 2020 }}</ref>

On 26 April 1996, the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] [[1996 Hammersmith Bridge bomb|attempted to destroy the bridge]] after installing two large [[Semtex]] devices on the south bank of the Thames. Though the detonators were activated, the bomb, the largest Semtex bomb ever found in Britain at the time,<ref name="Shaking"/> failed to ignite.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=373}}<ref name=lbhftimeline/>

At 4:30&nbsp;am on 1 June 2000, the bridge was damaged by a [[Real Irish Republican Army|Real IRA]] bomb planted underneath the Barnes span.<ref name=lbhftimeline/> Following two years of closure for repairs the bridge was reopened with further weight restrictions in place.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,2763,327159,00.html |title=Dissident republicans suspected in Hammersmith bombing |work=[[The Guardian]] |first=Mark |last=Tran |date=1 June 2000}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180>
File:Hammersmith Bridge 1, London, UK - April 2012.jpg|Hammersmith Bridge and riverside, seen from the Hammersmith bank
File:hammersmith.bridge.arp.jpg|Hammersmith Bridge, seen from the Westminster to Kew tourist boat
File:HORR 05.jpg|[[Sport rowing|Rowing]] crews racing under Hammersmith Bridge
File:Hammersmith Bridge, London 12.JPG|End details
File:Hammersmith Bridge, London 08.JPG|Tower
</gallery>