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Plymouth Blitz: A people's project?


"Where the bombs fell"

Seven nights in late March and late April 1941 were among the worst Plymouth has ever seen
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In recent nights I tried to give an "as live" account of the events of March 20th and 21st 1941 under the hash-tag #PlymBlitzLive via @PlymouthHistor1 on Twitter. It's not easy trying to convey the stories of damage, destruction and loss of life that was wrought on the city in 140 characters or less, and even less so to do justice to the bravery and heartbreak of the people who lived, and died, during the Luftwaffe attacks. I do feel that it is still a worthwhile exercise, and something that I would like to continue for the April 1941 raids.

There are a wealth of published research resources available which record the Plymouth Blitz, and all are worth reading. In particular I would recommend Gerald Wasley's "Blitz" and it's big brother "Plymouth: A Shattered City", and Chris Robinson's revised edition of H.P.Twyfords's "It Came To Our Door", as well as a multitude of websites such as Brian Moseley's hugely informative website Plymouth Data and the magnificent chaos of Steve Johnson's image rich Cyber-heritage. Deserving of recognition, too, is the work of groups such as Hidden Plymouth and their blogs and photographs.

One thing that seems in short supply is the individual stories that are handed down the generations; we all have relations and ancestors that have or had a story to tell of their time in the Blitz.  There are some websites which attempt to do this, for example the BBC WW2 People's War site, as well as plenty of location specific publications touching on the subject; and of course there are the many stories that have featured in Chris Robinson's (and others) columns in the Plymouth Herald over the years. However, as we approach the 75th Anniversary of the attacks on Plymouth (in 2016), I think it would be wonderful to have a single place where these stories can be read, where they are not subject to an editors pen, and where everyone can share their family stories of courage and of loss (and, perhaps, photos of the people who lived through it). Simply put, stories that encompass the "Blitz spirit". Every Plymouth family surely has at least one!

To that end I have opened a Facebook page as a starting point, in the hope that we can start sharing our Blitz stories straight away, and who knows, by the time of the 75th Anniversary of the Plymouth Blitz, we may have an archive of stories, serving as a memorial to our relatives and ancestors, and their lives in this, the most traumatic period of our history.

Please visit and "like" the page:-Plymouth: The Peoples Blitz and start adding your stories.

Thanks!




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