Coventry 14/15 November 1940 by joybert, on Flickr
Coventry 14th/15th November 1940
Casualties, Awards and Accounts
By Trevor Harkin
The Blitz of 14/15 November 1940 is very well documented. Some excellent books have been published such as Moonlight Sonata by Tim Lewis but up until now none has focused mainly on the victims. Local author Trevor Harkin has put this right. This book details the casualties of the Blitz and equally importantly details are given of the victims who died in air raids prior to the Blitz - people who are often overlooked. Add to this eyewitness accounts from over 40 survivors and it all adds up to a very welcome addition to the collection of Coventry Blitz literature.
The book opens with a small section on air raid precautions and details the procedures for burials and mass burials. The instructions for burials / mass burials came from the government - Circular 1779 - issued in February 1939. Amendments were made and it was sent to the Coventry Corporation (Council) in April 1940. So although people think the Corporation came up with the idea of mass burials in communal graves at London Road cemetery it seems they were following instructions laid down by the government. This is something I wasn't aware of and Trevor has done well to highlight this.
The next section lists the casualties of air raids prior to the 14/15 November. The street / location is provided followed by brief details of the victims. For example, four people died at 3 Dalton Road on 21 October 1940 and on 28 October 1940, Albert Baldock died at his home - 97 Broomfield Road. The last entry for this section is dated 5 November 1940 and remembers Violet Grensill who died aged 22 at Foleshill Road.
We then come to the main part of the book detailing the victims of the infamous air raid which began at 7:10pm on 14 November 1940. Trevor has split the accounts into the different areas of the city affected - City Centre, Coventry North East, Coventry South East, Coventry South West, Coventry North West and Coventry North. The descriptions are more detailed and accompanied where possible with photographs. This section also contains the survivors accounts of that terrible night. Of particular interest to Earlsdon residents is the section on Coventry North West. Here we read about Frederick Yeomans who died at 8 Palmerston Road. Ann Yardley who died at 25 Bristol Road. Sarah Ann Toney who died at 26 Kensington Road. Harold Harrison who died at 8 Kenilworth Road. Albert & Ada Lockett who died at 224 Earlsdon Avenue. Herbert Marley and his daughters Iris and Olive Lily perished at 111 Broomfield Road. Five members of the Witcomb family were killed at 111 Beechwood Avenue. Simon William Heynes, aged just 3, died at 167 Beechwood Avenue. Sergeant Lionel Scott of the Home Guard was injured at Albany Road and died in hospital two days later. At 147 Albany Road, Anne Elizabeth Wright was injured and died the next day. Beatrice Mansfield and John Jones died at 158 Albany Road. At 53 Mickleton Road Frances and Peter Robinson lost their lives. A number of eye witness accounts are included. Richard Aldridge (who was 9) and Tony Duffy (who was 8) both lived in Coniston Road and share their memories of that night. The sections on each district conclude with details of the number of injuries recorded and where they were treated. For example, one person from 89 Berkeley Road and one from 10 Stoneleigh Avenue were detained in Warwick Hospital. Four people from 2 Newcombe Road were treated at a first aid post.
Next comes a section called 'Citations and Awards' which gives a good insight into the bravery and courage shown that night. This is followed by a few pages concerning newspaper headlines about the raid, minutes from a Council meeting, some reports from newspapers after the raid and a reproduction and translation of a German propaganda booklet called "Bombs on Coventry".
The book runs to 266 pages and easily succeeds in its main objective - humanising the cold statistics of almost 600 killed and nearly 1000 injured. One of the people Trevor thanks in the acknowledgements is Jane Hewitt. Her website includes http://familyresearcher.co.uk/Blitz-Victims/Coventry-Blitz-Resource-Centre.html (The Coventry Blitz Resource Centre) which no doubt provided Trevor with a lot of information. We should be grateful to both of them for all the hard work and research they have put into ensuring the victims are not forgotten.
Antiques of Earlsdon are selling the book for £12.95. It is also available from a number of City Centre outlets including the Tourist Information Centre in the old Cathedral tower. It should also be available via Trevor's http://www.warmemorialpark.co.uk/ (War Memorial Park) website.
