Exactly 70 years ago today...

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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby Blitzkid » Fri May 06, 2022 9:51 am

Dutchman-Rebbonk
Seventy years plus a fortnight from today, ( april1952 ) I was in Vatican City trying to confirm if Leofric was as good as the book I had, made him out. A very wealthy Landlord, a scholar, diplomat, and much more. One of the top four men in England, the Vatican was trying to see if Leofric could convert the Pagan king of England "Canute" to Christianity.
Canute, a Viking had destroyed Coventry's Priory, and Leofric was urged by the Vatican to rebuild the priory, and establish Christianity.

Now I, brought up in strict religious life, had just spent two years in the Holy Land seeing everything there was to see, and everything pointed to Rome. So here I was.
Having no ties or responsibility free as a bird. At Ventimiigilia France /Italy I bought a train ticket for £5 and a few pence, that lasted 3months on a on-off basis, any station any where on Italian railways, and armed with a certificate signed by the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, that opened many doors, I set forth.
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby Blitzkid » Fri May 06, 2022 10:50 am

St Peters square in the Vatican was built to a slope that enabled everyone to see the Pope when he came on to the balcony to give his blessings every Sunday at twelve noon.
As I said my Pilgrims certificate opened many doors, and I found my answers.
But the Vatican and all Christian churches where built to the shape of the old Pagan cemetery, and believe it or not the shape of the old oval Chariot race tracks, and todays Dog tracks.
Tradition has it that St Peter was crucified in 64-7 ad. The Vatican is distinct from the Catholic church, but it took 18 centuries for Vatican city to develope. A small chapel was built on his tomb. and from there I just grew to what we now today.
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby Blitzkid » Fri May 06, 2022 5:20 pm

Dutchman, someone has asked the title of the Telgraph's book Coventry's Blitz £3-95 at that time, but I fail to know where I saw it please help. Blitz -kid. Thank -you
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby dutchman » Fri May 06, 2022 5:40 pm

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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby Blitzkid » Fri May 06, 2022 6:47 pm

Dutchman, yes that is the book, thank you. I have had my copy for over half a century.

To me D. McCrory's book is worthless, not one word of Smithford Street, not one bl--y word, although it was devastated, never to return, no mention people where dying from the Blitz some twenty years later. No I cannot see it as worth the money, sorry but that's my opinion.
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby dutchman » Fri May 06, 2022 7:28 pm

Growing up in Coventry after the war I never even knew Smithford Street ever existed! It wasn't until I read the book The Coventry We Have Lost I discovered it. It was like stepping into another world.
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby Blitzkid » Sat May 07, 2022 12:50 pm

Dutchman
Smithford street was Coventry's most popular shopping street, it had no factories, nothing to do with war, until 1902 it had Coventry's main Post office,(moved to Hertford st 1902) little alley's ways led off it into the Market place, it was an exciting place to be, every thing in Coventry seemed to stem from it. the oldest pubs, vaults, etc.

The Coventry blitz book tells us that that the Provost of Coventry Cathedral wrote a detailed report of it's destruction, he wrote The incendiary bomb above the organ had done what we feared most it had fallen through the lead and was blazing on the OAK ceiling below , another fell and burnt furiously on a beam across the inside ceiling, Re-printed through out the world.
Yet here we have the leading player of the Coventry Historic Forum telling us that she does not know what the ceiling of the Cathedral was made of. She also shows a map from the Vatican city Of Sacre coeur which means the Sacred heart of Jesus.in which all Cathedrals ( bar one ) are of some roman architecture. (The mind boggles)
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby Blitzkid » Fri May 13, 2022 10:05 am

Dutchman ? ?

The first Photo of the half-track Army Vehicle tells me that this Sat morn 16th of nov 1940, two days after the blitz, and the KING;s walk-about in the centre of Coventry, this vehicle pushed my father and I on to the rubble--- the second picture is of the military look-out in the Market Clock Tower. both were kind of Hush-Hush.

If you look at the rubble all-around you will see there is no black, no sign of fire or incendiary, that shows my theory that Smithford Street did not receive any incendiary's, as quoted to me by Firemen, of the time- the pathfinders found it unnecessary as the light from the moon was good enough, on that part of the City. DO YOU AGREE ? May I dare ask, how did you come by these as I thought, Military pictures.
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby dutchman » Fri May 13, 2022 6:49 pm

I've no reason to disagree Blitzkid; pile of rubble = high explosive, burnt-out shell = incendiary. :thumbsup:

They have been posted many times by the Coventry Evening Telegraph, originally without any accompanying descriptions.
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Re: Exactly 70 years ago today...

Postby Blitzkid » Sun Nov 20, 2022 6:46 pm

The Coventry Blitz,----

BOOKS ON HISTORY OF THE BLITZ are mostly way out. They do not tell you of the missing the ones in later times dying from the trauma. A top fire chief suffered from bomb shock (like shell shock from the first war), the spaces were wider than in No Man's Land in WW1. The bomb craters were wider and deeper than the WW1, the main water and gas pipes were mainly under the pavements or road, so there were less breaches than they made out. Water failed when you had 6/7 fire engines drawing large amounts of water at the same time. Of the many photo’s of the Blitz, you see few craters, and few places suffered water shortage (see the king and councillors walking in Broadgate) what few there were nearly all were repaired within three days. Neither did civilians feed army with cheap food, it was the army that set up 17 hot meal kitchens for the bombed out people [see 18-12-1940 Midland Daily Telegraph].
Last edited by Blitzkid on Wed Dec 07, 2022 12:03 am, edited 2 times in total.
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