Blitz Stories & Pictures\

Mr R Shuttleworth relating his wife’s memories of the Blitz.

My wife, who lived in the City during these times, spoke of the rumour about many dead in a large shelter near Broadgate. This arose because of a terrible smell of rotting flesh which occurred during the clear-up. It was eventually traced to meat in a large underground cold-store.

There was another rumour at the time, that the noticeable slackening of anti-aircraft fire during the latter part of the attack was due to some perverse order from London.

Shortly after the event, my father-in-law gave a lift to one of the gunners who said that they had been unable to keep going because they were so exhausted after several hours of continuous firing, that they no longer had the strength to push the shells up into the breeches of their guns.

Enoch Thomas Sparkes

Tom was born in 1914 at Coventry. He was married to Phyllis Watson. They resided at 104 Arbury Avenue. Tom was killed in the April Raids 08/04/1941 at the Alvis Works Shelter, Holyhead Road Aged 26. He was buried in the Communal Grave at London Road Cemetery, Coventry.


Photo reproduced with the kind permission of Dulcie Free

Blitz Memories of L Brookes

My Uncle Oliver Twamley and Aunt Nellie lived at 84, Little Park Street (this was originally the house of my Brookes grandparents Lewis and Jane), with their children and Oliver was employed by Rootes Securities Ltd. On the 15th November 1940 Oliver was sheltering with his family in a shelter in one of the courts off Little Park Street. When all had been quiet for a while Oliver said he was going back to the house to put the kettle on, he set out with his brother in law John Taylor. As they were walking another bomb fell and Oliver was caught in the blast, this killed him but left no visible mark.

My Aunt Nellie was neighbour to my mothers cousin Lilly Daly and Lilly’s sister in law Jane Daly lived in Grosvenor Road, on 10th April 1941 Nellie decided to visit this elderly lady to see how she was keeping as she was confined to her bed. When the raid started she decided to stay and comfort the old lady rather than risk trying to get home. As she was unable to leave her bed Nellie shielded her as best she could by lying across her. Unfortunately the house received a direct hit and the roof collapsed upon them killing them both they were found 6 days later. Also killed in Grosvenor Road were Ethel Lucy Loveitt and her sister Janet Mabel both daughters of Thomas and Mary Rolfe Loveitt, they were listed as visiting a sick parishioner this could have been Jane Maria Lapworth Daly as I know there was some connection. Also killed was Lily Daly’s husband, brother of Jane who was in the Highlands Nursing Home at the time.

Wartime Memories of K Hill

During the Second World War we lived for a time in Burlington Road I think the number was 37. Our neighbours were my Aunt Annie and her family, most of my family were living in the same street as they were a very close. The house we were living in didn’t have a proper separate kitchen just a parlour kitchen so my father built a conservatory to give us more room. Dad brought back as a souvenir from the First World War a gun that he took from a German Officer who surrendered to him, but my mother was very worried about it as he still had ammunition so when they were working on the floor he placed the gun into the wet cement.

Some time after that my Gran decided to move back to Lower Ford Street so we moved to be near her. Unfortunately sometime later the house where we had been living was bombed, I think in the April raid and the old man and his daughter who were living there were killed. They did have an Anderson shelter in the garden but for some reason didn’t use it.

My Aunt and her family were still living next door but they were unhurt as they had gone to a local shelter. Sometime later they had a visit from the local police as the gun had been found in the clear up, but they said they didn’t know anything about it so what the police did with it is a mystery.

Blitz Letter

Nov 15th 1940

Dear All

Since posting the letter I wrote you last night I heard in the news dinner time that Coventry was badly bombed last night. I feel so worried about you all. Hope you are all alright & did not get injured, so please do drop us a line to let us know how you are, it must have been terrible. I hope Kathleen is alright, our kiddies are very concerned about her there first thoughts when they heard the news were of you & Alf. I the same. I shall be looking for a letter or card so please do write if you can. I do think bombing of civilians terrible poor people left homeless, it is a wicked war, will close now with love from us all. Pray you are all safe, from you loving sister & brother.

Clara & Alf

Letter and photo reproduced with the kind permission of M Smith

Proffit Ave
Bell Green
Coventry

Thursday 5th

Dear Mary and Tom,

Received your letter last week but I didn’t reply straight away because I wanted to get positive news of Tom Roberts. Well he is OK. I went to see Aunt Betty at the Angel, that was yesterday, with a letter from his brother-in-law Glyn Grant in Treherbert that was given to us by a woman who went down there to see her children who are billeted with Maud’s sister Doll. I took it in my dinner hour and Aunt Betty said she doesn’t know what’s wrong with Roberts, he is still carrying on at the club ‘midst the ruins’ because it appears the club is still serving.

She said to me that she had told Roberts he must be mad and why don’t he go home to his own people for a while, maybe start afresh away from here. Anyway I asked her to tell him to write to his mother, she said she would.

Well our little town is beginning to function again, the light gas and water are on but we are having to boil our drinking water. The syrons (sic) have gone and Nasty is up, so I may have to leave this letter and gather our tackle to get to the shelter. As you may guess we get out our things ready, Jerry is right over head now, I am listening and writing. He’s passed, the guns have opened up at Birmingham, poor devils their turn tonight, and last night. This is a little unnerving every night, because whenever he’s at the Midlands he must come over Coventry. But, let me whisper “touching wood” he hasn’t dropped anything here for over a week.

I have seen Joe once rushing by in his juggernaught(sic) There must be hundreds of Welsh people gone back down there for we hear on all sides of people we know that’s gone, not only Welsh people have gone, only one third of Coventry’s population are here now. Did you know that Jerry knocked down 31,000 dwelling houses in Coventry in that one night and the city is one mass of rubble..but don’t pass that on to the enemy, not much material damage.

There’s another Jerry over, he’s started some fires at Birmingham. Well, this isn’t a very nice letter, better next time.

Love

Maud and George

Memories of the Frost Family (Family history and Photo reproduced with the kind permission of Jenny Frost - Melbourne, Australia)

Ethel and Syd lived in Cross Road, directly behind what was to become a munitions factory during World War II. Syd worked in the factory as did John, the oldest son. During the war Syd also took on Warden’s duties and 21 year old John (known as Jack) was a member of the Home Guard. Eldest children Ellen and Sue had married and moved out of home, so on many of the fearful nights that Coventry endured during 1940, Ethel was left at home with Leonard jnr who was aged 12 years. On the night of the 14th of November, young Len was ill, so Ethel decided not to go into an air raid shelter, sheltering instead with Len under the stairs of their home. Whatever Ethel’s decision had been on that night, the outcome may not have been any different. Their home took a direct hit from the German bombers who sought to obliterate the munitions factories and manufacturing industry of Coventry in a series of raids known as ‘Moonlight Sonata’. Jack and Syd returned home that night to find their home razed and their loved ones gone.

After the war, the home was never rebuilt. A park now stands between the neighbouring houses as a silent reminder of the destruction. Syd remained in Coventry dying a few years later. Daughter Sue left for Canada and Jack went to Australia. Jack returned home for a short time, and although he was very close to his older sister Ellen, his life was unsettled and he returned to Australia where he married and where he died in 2005. Ellen remained in Coventry all her life and passed away in January 2007, remaining in contact with all her distant siblings, nieces and nephews until the end. Today the grandchildren of Ethel and Syd maintain contact across the globe with a bond that across the globe with a bond that is a silent tribute to the war time experiences of their parents and one which their grandmother Ethel would be proud of.

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Less than twenty years after Bablake School dedicated its War Memorial to the men who fell and those who served in the Great War, the Second World War had broken out. This war would be different: the inter-war years had seen the development of new weapons, priority was placed on the role of the RAF and home defence. During the war, 98 Old Boys would be killed and over 660 men would serve in various capacities with the Royal Navy, Merchant Navy, Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Army or Civil Defence. Bablake was represented in many of the major campaigns including the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Normandy landings, the fight for Cassino, El Alamein, the sinking of the Bismarck, the Battle of the Atlantic and the bombing of strategic objectives in Europe.

The outbreak of war meant that shelters had to be built in the school grounds and schooling was interrupted due to daylight raids and sleepless nights. The school escaped relatively unscathed until the night of the 14 th November 1940, when a massive air raid resulted in the loss of the library with all its treasures. The school shelters suffered a direct hit resulting in deaths to members of the surrounding community and causing extensive damage. With the Pioneer Corps commandeering the school, a chance encounter between Mr. Curt, a teacher at Bablake, and Mr. Hooton, the Director of Education at Lincoln, led to the school being evacuated to Lincoln where it stayed until 1943, although some of the boys remained in Coventry.

The school magazine 'The Wheatleyan' published accounts of the men's experiences, details of those taken as prisoners of war, the activities of the Comforts Fund and updates to the 'Roll Of Honour'. After the war a Memorial Fund raised enough money to perpetuate the memory of the Fallen with the installation in the assembly hall of a new school organ and a 'Book of Honour'. Over sixty years later, this book pays tribute to the Bablake Old Boys who died and those who served during the Second World War.

The story of Coventry’s war has often been told. This book is different. Turning the focus away from the city itself, these are the memories of 23 veterans, just a few of the thousands of Coventry men and women who served and fought in the Second World War. Their stories are recounted here in their own words, interspersed with letters documents, diary excerpts and photographs. We also discover what it was like to return to a devastated Coventry at the end of the war