Only twice in the last 138 years has Wimbledon suffered a major delay, and both times there was a rather justifiable reason: World War. There was no tournament between 1915-1918, due to World War I, and similarly it was suspended between 1940-1945 due to the Second World War. During World War II the Centre Court was hit by a total of five bombs, which destroyed over a thousand seats, and the rebuilding work took nine years to complete.