War Damage During all the many air raids on Merseyside from August 1940 until the enemy made most determined effort to cripple Britain's main war port in the early days of May 1941, India Buildings received only superficial damage. The raids in May, 1941, proved to be the last real attacks on Merseyside. Unfortunately they were disastrous to this building, which at the time fully occupied by firms whose staff numbered three thousand, nearly all engaged in the war effort. In the early hours of Saturday 3rd May, the enemy attacked the business centre of Liverpool with land mines. In the bright moonlight three of these were observed at different times to be drifting towards the building on a strong south-easterly wind. The first two landed short of the property but the third hit the front of the Com Exchange Building, which collapsed and left its debris piled against India Buildings, completely closing Brunswick Street. The blast of the third mine shook India Buildings and smashed nearly all the windows on the main elevations and in both light courts as well as the fanlights in the corridors. Many of the internal walls were displaced and structural damage was extensive throughout the building. All the buildings to the south and west of India Buildings were also damaged in varying degrees. In the evening of the same day the enemy directed a new attack on the business centre with incendiary and flame bombs. The damaged and now unguarded properties to the south of India Buildings were easy victims. In view of the vulnerable state of the building, the strength of the India Buildings fire fighting party on duty that night had been more than doubled and the one incendiary bomb which hit the building was quickly extinguished. One by one the buildings in the neighborhood were set on fire and the strong wind which was still, unfortunately, blowing from the south east fanned the flames and they rapidly engulfed the greater part of the properties extending from James Street to Brunswick Street. Embers of burning wood were carried by the wind into the windowless building and caused a multitude of small fires on all floors above street level. During the first few hours the buildings fire fighters extinguished these fires as fast as they occurred. Meanwhile, the Corn Exchange and other buildings were ablaze from top to bottom and the flames from the roof of the Corn Exchange, driven by the wind and pulled by the natural draught into the shattered and windowless building, formed a complete bower of flame across Brunswick Street. The only possible counter to this new threat was to us the hydrants provided on each floor, but the pressure of the supply became so low that water was no longer available and the fire fighters were rendered helpless. The second floor was soon gutted and the other floors followed quickly. The fires spread from the Brunswick Street frontage along the Fenwick Street side of the building with remarkable rapidity. The wind then changed direction from south east to east and carried the fires along the length of Water Street frontage and into the West side to complete the destruction of the greater part of India Buildings. Burning material from India Buildings was blown into the damaged buildings on the other side of Water Street and into those to the west and they in turn took fire and were burnt out. The strong wind, the draught up the light courts, stairways and lift shafts, and the dryness of the internal fittings and furnishings towards the end of a season of central heating all contributed to the rapid gutting of the upper eight floors of India Buildings The basement shops in Brunswick Street and Drury Lane and the south west section of the ground floor and mezzanine were also for the most part burnt out. The remainder of the building was damaged by blast but the garage in the basement, apart from the loss of the doors by fire, suffered no fire damage and the cars which the proprietors had been advised to keep at the back of the premises away from the doors were intact. On account of the poor pressure of the water, little could be done above street level and attention was directed to the ground floor premises. These had been protected by internal partition walls from the fall effect of blast and the danger from drifting embers. These premises were, however, menaced by burning debris falling down the light courts and through the sky lights into the ground floor. The saving of Lloyds Bank premises and of the other ground floor offices were the only successes that fell to the fire fighters on the night of trial. For the most part their highly meritorious efforts were made in vain. Their failure to save the upper floors was due to the circumstances over which they had no control - the failure of the water supply. In this, fate treated them unkindly. The India Buildings fire fighting organization had commenced its duties three days before war broke out and the members never let up day or night until the disaster of the 4 May.
Reconstruction Prior to the outbreak of war in 1939 India Buildings was practically fully let and became fully occupied during 1940. This satisfactory position continued until the building was to a large extent destroyed by enemy action on the 4th May, 1941.
These factors concern the lifts, affecting the accessibility of offices on the upper floors, the inefficiency of the wells as lights courts, resulting in very appreciable loss of natural lighting in the inside premises and the impossibility of adjusting the heating in the various sections of the building to different conditions of temperature and wind. The opportunity was therefore taken to make such alterations in the design, planning and equipment of the building which once again make it a comfortable and up-to-date business centre, cable of competing successfully with the new commercial buildings. Reconstruction of the building was finally completed early in 1953.
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