Dan Snow's History Hit - Coventry's Blitz

Episode Date: November 14, 2020

David McGrory joined me on the podcast to discuss Coventry’s Blitz. On the night of 14 November 1940, a Luftwaffe air raid devastated the city of Coventry.Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' at checkout for your first month free and the following month for just £/€/$1.

Hi everybody, welcome to Dan Snow's History Hit. Today, in 1940, 80 years ago today, one of the most infamous aerial attacks of all time. An attack on the British city of Coventry that took place on the night of the 14th of November through to the morning of the 15th of November 1940. Over 4,000 homes were destroyed. A third of the city's factories were completely destroyed or severely damaged. The other two-thirds suffered damage ranging from slight to bad. Nearly 600 people were killed and over a thousand badly injured. This was an attack so severe, so dramatic, that

it represented a ratcheting up of the bombing of civilian areas by combatants in the Second World War. And indeed, it became a verb, to Coventry, meant to annihilate an enemy town or city. Joining me on the podcast to commemorate the 80th anniversary of this terrible event, I would like to have been in Coventry, but lockdown conditions here in the UK means I can't go. So joining me here on the podcast to do a virtual commemoration of this event is the historian and Coventry resident David McCrory. You'll hear that his father and mother were caught up in the bombing and he's got a comprehensive knowledge of what went on that night, both on the military side but also the impact for civilians

living in and near Coventry itself. If you want to go and watch our documentary that we filmed a few months ago, just before lockdown began, you can go to History Hit TV. We've got the Firebombing of Coventry documentary. It's one of many documentaries on our new TV station, History Hit TV. You'd use the code POD1, P-O-D-1, and you get a month for free and your second month for just one pound, euro or dollar. And it's a great honour to make films like this that other broadcasters just aren't making anymore, commemorating one of the saddest nights in British history. In the meantime, everyone, here's David McGrory. Enjoy. david thank you so much coming on the podcast explain to me what coventry was like in 1939 1940 country was busy it was an industrial city loads of factories building most of the cars it

was becoming one of the richest cities in the country mainly through its industries and that so you had this massive sort of industrial base in the city mainly car factories and that but lots of engineering works and places like that like alfred herbert's and that which was a world firm it was a busy place a lot of people and there was a beautiful medieval city center as well yeah country was said it was one of the best preserved medieval cities in europe basically and when you, it was one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe, basically. And when you actually look at some of the older pictures, there were the streets, it was absolutely chock-a-block full of timbered houses and that. But they started to make inroads into that from 1930 onward, where like in 1936, they knocked down Butcher Road, which was an absolutely beautiful medieval street going down

the hillside and they just knocked that down for easier access for the motor car into broadgate because they'd already got plans before the war to um rebuild they took on gibson back in the designer back 1935 36 that he was looking to um with the council looking to change everything their plans to knock half the city down basically even before the war yeah an important reminder that we can't blame the Luftwaffe for the reshaping and ruination of Britain's medieval architectural heritage but was it an important place for the war effort David oh yeah yeah without a doubt because it was it's like I say because the actual the actual amount of industry in the city.

It's like when the war broke out, they're instantly changing everything into war production. They're producing bombers. The first, the Whitley bomber, of course, was built in Contrier, Armstrong, Whitworth, just outside of Whitley and Bangington. That was the first major sort of workhorse of the RF from about 1936. And that was the first major sort of workhorse of the RF from about 1936. And it was used in those sort of early periods of the war, but fell out of use by that time and was used later on, mainly for dropping propaganda and parachutists and things like that. But initially, of course, it was the RF's main bomber. But of course, when that was superseded by Lancasters, Manchesters and all sorts. And all those were built in country as well. And mosquitoes, there was thousands of mosquito bombers built by the standard.

And stuff for Spitfires, parts, you know, firing mechanisms, wheels built by the Dunlop for bombers, for Spitfires, firing mechanisms for Spitfires, military vehicles, anything, everything you think of, basically. And tell me about this week, 80 years ago. Do we know why the Germans singled out Coventry for this gigantic assault? What happened effectively was Hitler was giving the speech at the birthplace of the Nazi party, effectively, in Munich. And the RAF actually bombed them. And Hitler had to be bundled off into, I don't know, into a cellar or sort of bunker or something to get out of the way. And of course, he was really annoyed about this. We know this because of the Nuremberg war trials, from what Goering said.

And Hitler wanted retribution, effectively, and he suggested that they hit London. this is what Hitler wanted to hit London back but Goering said there's no point in hitting London you hit London and you it gets lost it's such a big city it gets lost and if Goering suggested that they hit Coventry because it's all within a tight centre and you can in that way you can actually literally burn it out create a firestorm and burn the city out so it was actually Goering's idea and that came out of the war trials basically that's what he actually said so we do know why they did it they didn't do it purely because of industry and that and it became a double whammy because they could hit industry but only that night they hit 35 factories basically

but the actual directions for the attack says contrary that all of the city is a target although they did single out and on factory, all of the city, by the German directive, was the hit, was the target. Tell me about that raid that began on the 14th of November 1940. It started off, of course, in France and that. It was at Vannes with the Pathfinder Squadron. That was sent over first. The thing was, that day as well, Vannes and about 24 other German bases were bombed

because they knew there was going to be an attack in england but they didn't know exactly where it was they thought it was going to be on london and it was go over as far as graves end and places and they sent over they started operation cold water and hit at least 24 german bases and radar stations including vans which is the squadron's base and despite that of course it still went ahead there's a sort of mix of numbers strangely the Germans didn't seem to have keep a proper amount of numbers on this which is usually they're pretty good at numbers they keep their numbers but on this they don't they never seem to be sure and it's between 400, 4500, 500

bombers but they sort of started the evening by sending off Kangaroo for 100, which was following what they call the ex-Gerat system, which is basically a single beam. They're following a single beam, which was at the time directed over Coventry. Then you get two intercepting beams that are sent from different places that intercept the single beam. If you're following that beam, when you sort of start to leave it of course it starts to break up so you get in it again so you always follow the beam

so when you reach the first cross beam it actually starts off it is telling you you're nearing the target then the second beam is crossed and that is supposed to they said at the time that it's supposed to have started these crewed-board computers to start the actual bombing raid on these Pathfinders and then these whole crude computers and so on and that actually started the bomber so they followed this system basically over contrary the first ones over contrary for the Pathfinders there was about 13 of them but they were actually coming about 10,000 in centuries and about 200 bombs. And also, of course, loads of flares as well. Like great bloody, like chandeliers, basically, dropping into the sky.

People always remember these flares dropping like chandeliers. So the pass finders are coming over the city. Just after seven o'clock, they start coming over the city. finders are coming over the city just after seven o'clock they start coming over the city and with that funny droning that german planes make they have this all broken sound that they make it's in and out like that and then of course the flares are dropped and they're all like say described like chandeliers in the sky people saying they're not huge chandeliers in the sky basically and amongst the flares are incendiaries start falling at the odd

bombs and this group is coming over for the first hour basically and starting to set the target they're actually they're laying the target start off your fires basically so when all the other ones are going to come over which is soon after which is literally 20 within 20 minutes of the last pathfinder coming over the other groups of bombers came over you had dauniers and all sorts of stuff junkers they all followed in waves literally about every 15 to 20 minutes there'd be about 20 planes crossing in different directions they were crisscrossing over the city sort of lacing it with bombs and incendiaries and of course that was the first time they used the exploding incendiary as well during that raid which of course caught a lot of

people out because people have been shown how to deal with normal incendiary bombs which don't blow up in your face people were told just to put abag, go with a sandbag and drop it on the incendiary. And afterwards they realised that these things can flare up in your face. So they told you to go with a sandbag in front of your face and drop it on the ball. But to be quite honest, you'd have a job doing that anyway because they would send phosphorus in the air all over the place. So you've had these sort of first group comes over they lay the target

within probably three quarters of an hour you've got over 300 incidents the fire station is being sort of overwhelmed with calls and there's over 300 incidents going on then within the hour you've literally got it's one incident half the you know the city is on fire everywhere effectively the firemen get out and they get into the streets they end up having to call in firemen from all over the areas districts but the problem was the city has been blown to pieces and burning that is leading more bombers because then the bombers that came over afterwards they could literally cross the channel and you could see this is what they said you could see the light crossing the channel and all you had to do was follow that light and head to it they could see their target effectively but i'll say the farmer were getting out into the streets

bombs going everywhere they're setting up hoses all over the place it's dante's inferno effectively the vicar of holy trinity church described it as Dante's Inferno. Every time they managed to set up something, another bomb hits, the water supply goes, or their pipes get blown to pieces, and of course they get killed as well. There's a lot of firemen killed as well. But it's like when the cathedral started. The cathedral, basically you had the fire watch there,

they were there at seven o'clock, including the vicar that the stonemason job forms what was happening was effectively these incendiaries would drop always swishing down they swish as they fall and they drop and they just punch a hole straight through the lead the roof so michael's had like uh the outer roof then you had an 18 inchinch gap between the inner roof. So what they would do, they would punch through the lead of the roof, fall inside and roll down inside. So if you were trying to find an incendiary in the roof, you're looking for a hole with smoke coming out of it effectively,

and that incendiary is rolled down to the end, so it's not exactly where the hole is either. So they're busy ripping up the roof on one side, trying to control it. They've only got sand and water they've actually stored up there. Some incendiaries had taken hold of the Girdler's Chapel, and of course they tried to deal with that as well afterwards,

and it just got out of hand, and they couldn't deal with it. There was too many coming over, and the smoke was starting to pour up the staircase to the roof which was obviously showing that their exit was cut off so they had to sort of climb off down a set of ladders to get off the roof and uh within a short time fire crew arrived and they said that the lead off the roof it was pouring off the roof like a river the lead basically they're playing the hoses on it for a very short

time and of course water dies again no water so it had to be left to his fate effectively they couldn't do anything they went in to save what they could and that was the end of it the whole building just went up in flames they said there were 60 70 foot high flames bronze flames roaring up into the sky and at a certain time it sounded like there was an earthquake because what happened back in the 1880s when they'd restored the roof they put these massive iron bands across the church to brace it effectively and when the building was burning the roof burning, it was twisting these bands and it literally pulled the whole thing in with the actual main pillars.

So it just fell in and the people within the area said it sounded like it was an earthquake as the actual church collapsed in on itself. Yeah. Land a Viking longship on island shores, scramble over the dunes of ancient egypt and avoid the poisoner's cup in renaissance florence each week on echoes of history we uncover the epic stories that inspire assassin's creed we're stepping into feudal japan in our special series chasing shadows where samurai warlords and shinobi spies

teach us the tactics and skills needed not only to survive, but to conquer. Whether you're preparing for Assassin's Creed Shadows or fascinated by history and great stories, listen to Echoes of History, a Ubisoft podcast brought to you by History Hits. There are new episodes every week. What about normal civilians? Were there bomb shelters in Coventry?

So there was a programme in 1938 of building bomb shelters around the city. Initially, probably about 40, 40, 50 bomb shelters, you know, small capacities up to about five, 600 capacity shelters. And they built around the city. Some of the original shelters were a bit like trenches, really. And of course, later on, they realised that these weren't strong enough and lined them in concrete. People were literally moving from one shelter to another because, you know, the raid was going on. And it was 11 hours, constant bombing, bombing effectively and sometimes it was getting dangerous the bomb shelter on grey fries green that was about 300 capacity they had a time when they'd got an unexploded bomb outside the entrance and they and it was flooded starting to flood and the boiler in there was in danger of exploding as well it's quite unbelievable really you know all time outside, all they can hear and feel

are these bombs coming down and the ground shaking and everything. It's been absolutely terrifying, really. But they got through it. Well, some did, of course. What about the RAF? Was there any way of breaking up these raids? The night fighters were out. Only a couple of them actually said they saw anything.

One German said he had a night fighter on his tail over country and he had to almost go vertical to avoid it but of course the problem was with night fighters up to that point they hadn't fixed the radar properly the radar on the night fighter is being shot out from the front of the plane effectively but it couldn't um zero in on anything because it didn't have a triangle which was later added and the actual night fighters effectively up until november the 19th were propaganda because it was something that to tell people that we were doing something we got planes up there trying but there's the night fighting guys themselves said when're up there, you couldn't see any things. There could be a couple of hundred planes there, but you can't see them.

And the first hit of a night fighter was on November the 19th over Birmingham. And the pilot said, my God, there is something up there. Yeah. What happened effectively with them was they talk about getting to certain times of the night, of course, when they actually seem to run out of ammo. And some of them were, they literally run out of ammo. But other ones, they said, I always remember a chap told me that his dad picked up a couple of guys from one of these anti-aircraft sites on the night. And he asked him about how come he stopped firing. And he says he couldn't effectively

pick up the shells he says none of us have the strength to ram another shell into the gun effectively because you know they're just at it bang bang bang like this and they were just too tired to lift the shells on but other sort of crews just ran out of shells but uh you had other silly things around the city. Memorial Park, there was a rocket launcher, which were absolutely useless things. They looked good. They looked quite impressive, you know,

because a lot of sparks and stuff were absolutely useless for taking planes out there. What was left in Coventry? What had been destroyed? And what were the casualties? The last bombs were dropped at about 6.20 in the morning. There was a bunch of about four or five 200-pounders came down, and that was the sort of end of it, I'd say just non-stop all night.

Then the people sort of came out, and the city centre was just devastated, effectively, all the main centre of the city. There was a chap called Smith who was a town clerk who'd also written a history of the city, and he was a fire-watcher, and he was a fire watcher. And he said that morning he left the council house amid all this devastation. Because it was quite, it wasn't clear.

It was all smoke and there was dust in the air, floating in the air, gas, plaster dust, everything. It was like a mist. And it was drizzling as well by that time. And he said, amongst all this devastation i always remember this one he says i heard a starling singing which gave me hope for the future and he said that's quite lovely little sort of thing something that my dad went out the next day and wandered around the rooms he ended up pulling an incendiary bomb from between two walls and took it home with him in fact my dad was blown up by

a landmine that night he was just going home and he actually popped into the Radford pub to have a half he wasn't really a drinker but he just had an half a maccasin and he and he popped in there when the race started and they all went in the cellar and he never used to really bother going into the shelters so after a while he went back out and he and he stood outside the pub watching all the bombers going over and the bombs going off and then he suddenly saw over the church opposite he suddenly saw this parachute coming down and he thought a geriatric belt out and he was just said he's just seen the back going after it and he realized it was a big can had bowed out and he was just said he's just seen the bat going after it and he realized it was a big canister attached to it and of course it was a landmine parachute one

it came down above the church and just blew and of course those things just blow and they blow down and outwards they flatten things dad was blown off his feet blown unconscious the church was blown down to its first course of stones, effectively. When Dad came to, he actually went over to the church and pulling the rocks away because he knew there was people underneath. So he spent the actual night during all the bombing, helping, well, dragging people out from underneath the church. There was about two dead, I think.

He dragged them and they stopped a car. And between him and this other chap, they ferried them backwards and forwards to this relief station during all the bombing dodging around all the holes in the road and everything basically yeah so we had a busy night How is the bombing remembered today by the people of Coventry?

It's always remembered because to be quite honest it's part of the city it's not just part of its history, it's part of the city's it's not just part of its history it's part of what the city is now Coventry is what it is now because of what happened that night the city looks like what it is now because of what happened that night do you know what I mean it changed the city it was like it was almost as if it was the death of old Coventry in the beginning of a new version of Coventry. Did your dad ever forget that night? Dad was in 41 Commando. He saw a lot of action.

He was on Salerno, he was on Sword Beach, and he even got machine gunned by a Stuka bomber one time. He never really talked much about it, to be honest. It's one of those things you sort of always think about. Though I did talk to him about it I didn't talk enough about it we should always talk more to our parents to find out these sort of details because they just go they disappear with them dad never even claimed his medals in the end because he says well I was only doing what had to be done effectively so I don't see the point in

medals David thank you so much for coming on the podcast what is your book called oh that one is country's blitz that one is i did one country at war and his country blitz as well country's blitz anything you want about coventry people go david mcgrory thank you very much indeed for joining us this very special week all right cheers dan All right. Cheers, Dan. Hi, everybody. Just a quick message at the end of this podcast. I'm currently sheltering in a small windswept building on a piece of rock in the Bristol Channel called Lundy. I'm here to make a podcast. I'm here enduring weather that, frankly, is apocalyptic because I want to get some great podcast material for you guys. In return, I've

got a little tiny favour to ask. If you could go to wherever you get your podcasts, if you could give it a five-star rating, if you could share it, if you could give it a review, I really appreciate that. Then from the comfort of your own homes, you'll be doing me a massive favour. Then more people will listen to the podcast. We can do more and more ambitious things, and I can spend more of my time getting pummeled. Thank you.