Introduction

I was under two years old when the Second World War broke out and I cannot remember the early days. Momentous events such as the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in Hawaii (which happened on my fourth birthday) passed me by. My family lived in Bath, Somerset, and as we had a spare bedroom we always had a lodger, usually someone from the Admiralty. I do remember one chap in particular who was a Major in the Catering Corps so we ate very well for that time!

Bath was bombed during Easter 1942 (See next column), I think. In those days we usually took very little notice of the air-raid warnings as we assumed that the German planes were heading for Bristol. That city (about ten miles away) was a strategic target because of its manufacturing and its docks. My father was a gas engineer and on that night his boss appeared on the doorstep wearing a suit and tie pulled over his striped pyjamas. He also had two grips in his hair. My father, Frank Craxford, had to go and help turn off the gas supplies. We did not see him for two days, and we had no gas for ages. Our neighbour with the electric oven was very popular!

I well remember D-Day (June 6th 1944) My parents were very excited about it although my mother kept calling it “the Day”. Franklin D Rooseveldt (we knew him as FDR) was the 32nd President of the United States of America; who was first elected in 1933 and won an historic fourth term in 1945. He was born on 30th January 1882 and died in April 1945 just three weeks before Germany surrendered. Rooseveldt’s (2) death was a big shock and no one had heard of Harry Truman, his successor.

As the end of the war approached we were given letters to take home to our parents telling them that school would close for three days when peace was declared. Naturally we could not wait! When it was declared we had an impromptu street party, burnt an effigy of Hitler and then went into central Bath in the evening. There was a Caledonian Society Ball on that particular night at the Pump Room. Everyone wanted to join in the dancing but there wasn’t enough room. However one of our ex-lodgers was there and I was lifted into the Pump Room through a window to dance with his daughter. I enjoyed it even if I hadn’t a clue what to do.

We were on holiday in Southsea when VJ Day came and I remember a big service in Portsmouth Cathedral with all the civic dignitaries in their ceremonial get-ups. There was also a huge naval salute from the ships in port. I only knew about the A-bomb much later.

Continued in column 2...

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The bombing of Bath

Bath is a unique city renouned for its hot springs, Roman Baths, splendid Abbey and Georgian stone crescents. It has attracted visitors for centuries. Set in rolling Somerset countryside, just over 100 miles west of London, it is a beautiful and unforgettable place to visit.(3)

During the second World War Bath was not considered to be a target. However in April 1942, Bath suffered enormous devastation at the hands of the Luftwaffe. More than 19,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged and over 400 people killed, many of them women and children. Yet contemporary Bath bears almost no sign of this destructive period in its recent history -- it appears to be an elegant and intact Georgian city.

The damage inflicted and the casualties suffered during this period are commemorated in a fascinating web site (The Bath Blitz Memorial Project (1). As well as providing a detailed photographic record, including the two pictures above, there is a thorough examination of the historical background from contemporary British and German archives.

On April 27th 2003, the sixty-first anniversary of the last bombing raid on Bath, a ceremony was held to unveil and dedicate a memorial to those residents and visitors in Bath who died as a result of the air raids.

The Baedeker Raids

At the beginning of 1942, Britain bombed a number of German cities which were building up supplies for the invasion of Russia. Of these targets Lübeck and Rostock were both beautiful heritage cities with many old buildings, some over 500 years old. The bombing destroyed much of these historic cities.

In revenge, Germany bombed a number of English historical cities which had been starred in Baedeker's Guides as of special interest to tourists (Bath, Canterbury, Exeter, Norwich and York). These night raids on Britain, took place between the end of April and the beginning of June 1942. The Germans justified this bombing of non-military objectives on the grounds that the R.A.F. had done likewise in bombing the ancient German Hansa cities, omitting to mention that these were also reinforcing bases for the Russian front.

On the first night of the raid on Bath a two phase attack was proposed. The plan was to check, refuel and rearm the aircraft as soon as they returned from the first raid so that they could go back and bomb the same target twice in one night. In this way, the relatively small force of just over 80 bombers available became a total of 163 planes that took off heading for Bath, of which 151 arrived over the city. On the first night, the planes arrived about an hour before midnight and left just after midnight to return to France. There they received more fuel and a new bomb load, and were back over Bath at about half past four in the morning. They left again just before dawn. The following night, they were back again for the third and final raid, arriving shortly after midnight. These planes did not return for a further attack. Indeed, after the third raid, Bath was not attacked again for the rest of the war.

"Blitzed! War Artists in Bath"

In 2005 the British Council organised an exhibition in the Victoria Gallery (4), Bath bringing together the work of 23 wartime artists and those who experienced the bombing of Bath in April 1942. Their paintings and drawings record the work done following Bath's Blitz: rescuing the injured, salvaging belongings, removing unexploded bombs, clearing bomb sites and repairing homes.

References

1. The bombing of Bath: The Bath Memorial Project
2. Franklin Delano Rooseveldt: Spartacus Educational
3. Bath, England: Visit Bath - Guidebook
4. "Blitzed! War Artists In Bath": Exhibitions: The British Council

Added: February 14th 2006
Updated: March 17th 2012

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