Norfolk remembers the Great Yarmouth bombing - 80 years on
26 women were killed in May 1943, the biggest recorded loss of female army life, to date
Last updated 15th May 2023
A memorial is being held in Norfolk this afternoon to remember those who lost their lives in the Great Yarmouth bombing, 80 years on.
26 women were killed in May 1943, the biggest recorded loss of female army life, to date. With most of those killed being in their early twenties.
The period of reflection is taking place at 2pm on Great Yarmouth War Memorial.
"People will have their own memories"
Lyn Hatch is from the Women's Royal Army Corps Association. She's helping to organise the event:
"Planes could just come over the North Sea, drop the bombs and just go off again. It does bring home the danger they were in.
"I read another letter from a lady that said, she was really worried about where she was posted and she had to try and put that out of her mind so she could do her job".
"On the actual day there wasn't just the women that were killed. There was 46 people killed in total, there were some soldiers and civilians killed as well.
"The whole area around the imperial hotel where the bomb site was affected. People will have their own memories".
"There was quite a lot of remorse from Anne"
She told us about Lillian Grimmer from Great Yarmouth, who was one of the victims:
"She was 19 at the time, she had swapped duties with Anne Allen who had been in the same hostel and would like to have gone home to celebrate her 21st birthday with her family. There was quite a lot of remorse from Anne and I've got a copy of the letter that says she likes like to spend the 11th May (the anniversary day), every year alone with her thoughts".