Bournemouth raid 1943.

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This is a new one on me ...Strange how some battles are well covered and some are not ...Great read ...Other then a small pissing contest in there ...But that does happen around here at times......
 
Soren said:
What then ?
Click to expand...

Don't get me confused with those heroes that flew helicopters at low level in flying lead. I usually flew over Vietnam at 33k in a C-141, looking down at flares going off and guard calls to avoid certain tacan radials and DME, going or coming from Thailand. In 73-74, we were pulling troops and material out.
 
Thank you to Wilson for your homefront story.

My great-uncle was an RCAF pilot who was stationed at Bournemouth during that time, however, was in London on the specific day May 23, 1943. Upon return to Bournemouth on the 25th, he noted in his diary: "...saw the damage done on Sunday by 12 FW190s. Wrecked churches pubs full of people park with bombs mach. guns."

Jennifer
 

M8 could you send me the map with the inividual streets on as I now live part-time in Bournemouth and one of the bomb hits looks like its near Terrace Road (Where I live).....I'll also send you a PM too as I'm back down there 2moro for a few days.

My girlfriend was telling me about this last year when I was down there and looked it up on the Net: Interesting Thread folks 8)

If I have time I could take some pictures of what the area's looks like now for the Site.
 
I've just come across this thread while trying to find out a little more about this raid on a general 'Google' --fascinating stuff! Sorry I'm a bit late!

I've lived in Bournemouth all my life, and my family can trace their Bournemouth roots back to the 1870's. During WW2 Bournemouth was relatively lucky - that is compared to the nearby coastal ports of Southampton and Portsmouth, for example, but the 23rd May 1943 is still considered to be one of the major air raids on the town- and for many people locally certainly the most talked about!


As you can probably imagine, the anecdotal evidence of the stories from that day varies widely, and perhaps more so in recent times,as the eyewitnesses get fewer, and with ever fading memories.
What I can confirm , from a number of sources, is that the 23rd May 1943 definitely was a sunny day -at least here in Bournemouth!

In case anyone is interested, I've posted a few extracts and photos about the raid from a pamphlet published by a local historian, R.A. Edgington, in the 1990's. I appreciate that these snippets may still be copyright, but as far as I can ascertain the pamphlet is no longer published, and I'm hoping Mr.Edgington doesn't mind his information being relayed to genuinely interested folk.

Some details here:
Edgington Extract

and photos of the damage here:
Photos

Hope some of it may be of interest.

Roger Shore
 
Glad some of the information was useful!
I've edited the links to the information, and made it into two multipage documents -makes it easier to read.

Thanks to you guys too - I didn't know of the Chris Goss book, and am just on my way to collect my copy now. I'm looking forward to a good read!
 
Probably not important, but the quote below is almost right!


AFAIK there has never been a 'Kingsway Hotel' or a 'Congresstional Church' in Bournemouth.
The 'Central Hotel' and the adjacent 'Punshon Memorial Church' were damaged, the former being totally destroyed, and the latter damged badly enough to require subsequent demolition.

And although the 'Lansdowne' area does in fact have a circular roundabout at it's centre, I've never heard it referred to as the 'Lansdowne Circle', just the 'Lansdowne'. Maybe some of the billeted troops from Canada, Australia and the US did call it the 'Lansdowne Circle'?

I realise I'm probably being too pedantic, but as time goes by I kick myself more and more that I didn't ask more questions to those who witnessed these events first hand--- and now many have passed on, and it's too late to recover many of those 'fine' details. Got to keep trying to though!
 
Thanks Roger for the comments. My family, including me, moved to Bournemouth in 1936. That is when Father took over as Manager of the Metropole Hotel. We all lived there until it was taken over by the RCAF.
Please read my other comments.

It is now 66 years ago since that raid on 23rd. May 1943 and I still remember it clearly. We should never let it be forgotten, in memory of all those who gave their lives on that sunny Spring day and pray that it never happens again.

I now live in Australia but my two brothers still live in Bournemouth as do many of my friends.
 
My father was in the raid. He was in the 8th AF and on R/R and staying at a hotel - - wish I knew which one!

He bitterly recalled standing on the cliffs and watching German fighterbombers coming in at 100 feet. He was angry (this was 1987) that the germans would attack a non-military target of no strategic value; he mentioned the RCAF hospital there and the casualties.

My mother was in Michigan staying with her folks at the time. Her father saw the raid in the newspapers and knew my father was there so he hid the papers from my mother.

I wish I had pressed him for more details.
 
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