Blitz Remembered

It will include a big screen showing photos from 1940 of the loss and destruction of Coventry Cathedral and across the city and the aftermath of the air raids that devastated Coventry in November 1940, 85 years ago. Alongside these images will be a quartet of costumed interpreters telling the story of the Blitz and the roles of the citizens of the city at the time and the impact on the city.

Hear tales of the Blitz from the following characters:

Fireman - Coventry's Chief Fire Officer recorded the yellow alert at 7.05pm, the purple at 7.08pm and the red at 7.10pm when the sirens went off. Hear about the bombs that spread fire and fear causing so much destruction and how the Cathedral Tower and Holy Trinity Church next door survived.

ARP Warden - a civilian volunteer who helped protect the public during air raids. Their duties included enforcing blackout regulations, guiding people to shelters, providing first aid, and reporting bomb damage to the authorities. Wardens acted as the first line of defence and the "eyes and ears" of the civil defence system.

Factory Worker – a tea lady from the Triumph factory, one of the many manufacturing factories in the city that were devastated and also formed part of the targets for the bombs. The main Priory Street factory was destroyed on 14 November. The bombing resulted in the loss of the factory, machinery, and records, and also delayed the introduction of a new military model, the 3TW.

Civilian of the City. A housewife witnessing the devastation and the human cost of fatalities and those bombed out of their houses. But the citizens of Coventry persevered, and we saw the best of people as they came together to support and help each other in the aftermath.

The Blitz Remembered event is a drop-in event where the interpreters will be on hand within the ruins to tell those stories, life during wartime and the fateful night of the Blitz.

Admission to the ruins is free.

Note – Interpreters break 12pm to 1pm and 3pm to 3.30pm for The Litany of Reconciliation and “It Takes a City” by Talking Birds ticketed performance - www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/events/it-takes-a-city

On November 14, 1940, Luftwaffe bombers launched the most concentrated attack on a British city in World War II, known as Operation Moonlight Sonata. The raid lasted for 11 hours, killing 1,200 people and destroying or damaging 43,000 homes, including the medieval St Michael's Cathedral. The attack was so devastating that the Germans coined the term "coventrieren" to describe similar levels of destruction. 

The Blitz has been commemorated annually and is now part of an annual Peace Festival as the rebuilding, the connections to other war-torn cities and the focus on remembrance have taken stage. Whilst survivors have also played a part in those commemorations, the 2025 commemoration will focus on Coventry communities today and encourage young people to engage with remembrance and pride in the city.