Book Review: War Memorial Park - The Second World War

[PoundShopPeter]

http://www.facebook.com/notes/we-love-earlsdon/book-review-war-memorial-park-the-second-world-war/146925075350471

I got my copy for £12.95 from Antiques of Earlsdon on Earlsdon Street. Waterstone's in town should have it - think it may be £1 dearer though. Fascinating read - nice to learn more about the people commemorated on the plaques even though the stories are obviously sad. I've just got the first "War Memorial Park" book direct from the author and look forward to reading it - he told me he is currently working on a book about the Coventry blitz victims.

[PoundShopPeter]

There's an online list of the victims of the blitz, and one particular bit that interested me was the number of victims from the same family - some of them infants and young children - that were kllled in the Stratford Street shelter. I lived on that street in the 1990s for a year or so... I think there was a 2 month old baby killed as well.

It will be interesting to see how he builds on Jane Hewitt's work. He said obtaining details of people who died in hospital's outside Coventry is the hardest part. Apparently they are often not recorded as 'Blitz victims' because of this. He may also have said that they were not allowed to be buried in the city if they didn't die here but I could have that muddled up. He also said the family of one victim didn't want their loved one buried in the mass grave so as a relative was an undertaker based in Bedworth he was buried in Bedworth and therefore is not recorded as a victim of the blitz.

I often wonder about the locations of air raid shelters - particularly ones that were unfortunate enough to be destroyed with loss of life.