Bristol Blitz
Bristol was the fifth most heavily bombed British city of World War II. The presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company made it a target for bombing by the Nazi German Luftwaffe who were able to trace a course up the River Avon from Avonmouth using reflected moonlight on the waters into the heart of the city.
Between 24 November 1940 and 11 April 1941 there were six major bombing raids. In total Bristol received 548 air raid alerts and 77 air raids with:
- 919 tons of high-explosive bombs and myriad incendiary bombs
- 1299 people killed, 1303 seriously injured, 697 rescued from debris
- 89,080 buildings damaged including 81,830 houses destroyed and over 3000 later demolished.
Read more about Bristol Blitz: First Raids, Following Raids, Decoys
Famous quotes containing the words bristol and/or blitz:
“Through the port comes the moon-shine astray!
It tips the guard’s cutlass and silvers this nook;
But ‘twill die in the dawning of Billy’s last day.
A jewel-block they’ll make of me to-morrow,
Pendant pearl from the yard-arm-end
Like the ear-drop I gave to Bristol Molly—
O, ‘tis me, not the sentence they’ll suspend.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Timothy Winters comes to school
With eyes as wide as a football-pool,
Ears like bombs and teeth like splinters:
A blitz of a boy is Timothy Winters.”
—Charles Causley (b. 1917)