In the course of the German bombing of London during the Second World War, the Palace of Westminster was hit by bombs on fourteen separate occasions. One bomb fell into Old Palace Yard on 26th September 1940 and severely damaged the south wall of St Stephen's Porch and the west front. The statue of Richard the Lionheart (pictured here) was lifted from its pedestal by the force of the blast, and its upheld sword bent, an image that was used as a symbol of the strength of democracy, "which would bend but not break under attack".