Plymouth to come together to remember victims of the Blitz
This year marks the 80th anniversary that 1,172 people died after 59 bomb attacks
The 80th anniversary of the Plymouth Blitz is being marked through a programme of events.
The city will come together to remember the 1,172 people who died and the 4,448 who were injured during the 59 bombing attacks in 1941.
Plymouth was targeted by the Luftwaffe as a major naval port, home to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines and as a base to units of the Army and the Royal Air Force.
It is being led by local Labour MP Luke Pollard and the events will include:
- The Box will be sharing pages of the Bomb Book marking every raid on Plymouth during World War Two alongside other exhibits from our city's wartime past
- A special remembrance service will be held for the 76 people lost in the bombing of the Portland Square air raid shelter organised by the University of Plymouth
- The Fire Brigades Union will be unveiling a new memorial to the 41 firefighters who died during the Plymouth Blitz in a special online service
- CityBus will be publishing photographs of the bomb damage to their Milehouse depot that included buses blown onto the roof of the depot by the force of the blast
- St Andrew's Church will be holding a special livestreamed service to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing of the Minister Church and the placing of the "Resurgam" inscription outside the church the day after
The Marine Biological Association on Plymouth Hoe that was hit by bombs will also be publishing photos and diary entries from staff at the time recounting the raids.
The Lord Mayor will also be leading the city in a moment of remembrance. Babcock, the Royal Navy and the Royal British Legion will all be participating in events. As will those organisations who remember those civilians who fell including Ford Park Cemetery Trust whose chapel is engraved with the names of every victim of the Plymouth Blitz.
"During this time of national crisis, it is more important than ever to remember the Plymouth Blitz and the spirit that saw our city through that dark time. 80 years on we are faced with an invisible foe in the form of Coronavirus and the same spirit of rising again. Just as Plymouth got through the Blitz and the horrors of war, to rebuild, we will do that with this virus.
"As a proud military city, we remember those in uniform who served and gave their lives for our freedom, and during the 80th anniversary of the Plymouth Blitz I hope the stories of our city's civilian population can be retold and rediscovered. I invite everyone in Plymouth to remember this anniversary, be proud of our city's past and hopeful about the future true to the essence familiar to Plymothians eighty years ago embodied in the resurgam spirit."
Luke Pollard - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP
Hundreds of high explosive bombs were dropped on Plymouth during air raids by the Luftwaffe.
The Town Clerk's department recorded the locations of known drops in the 'bomb book', hoping to minimise the risk to the public from unexploded bombs.
After every major raid the map was marked to show where the devices had been found. Not all the bombs that were dropped were recorded.
These fell in protected locations such as the Dockyard, or outlying districts such as Plympton and Plymstock.