During the Blitz West Ham was raided 194 times, many hundreds of people took shelter night after night in the crypt of St John's. The building was badly damaged by bombing: in particular all the windows were blown out. The churchyard railings were also removed for the war effort. Many of the faithful members were bombed out or evacuted during the war and others moved out as a result of demolition and new developments.

The Friends of St John's was formed in 1944 to keep members in touch with each other. The Friends contributed towards the cost of repairs to the building and St John's was finally restored from war damage in 1951, the new East Window being dedicated in 1955. Each year at St. John's we hold a 'Friends Service and Lunch' when all our past members are invited to join us in a special celebration and the vicar sends a special greeting and report to all of those absent friends.

The flags above represent the countries from which members of St. John's Friends come.