Features / Blitz
21 photos of the devastation caused by the Bristol Blitz
Episode four of BBC Two’s Blitz: The Bombs that Changed Britain looks at Bristol and specifically at the deadly impact of an incendiary bomb that set fire to St Peter’s Church in the historic heart of the city – what is now Castle Park.
Before November 1940, the Castle Street area was full of shops, businesses and homes all served by St Peter’s. But everything changed on the night of Sunday, November 24 1940 when the German bomber aircraft arrived.
The episode follows the stories of several people caught up in the chaos that evening, including Geoffrey Serle and his father who had been attending church when the raid began; Bill Hares who was a tobacconist in nearby Merchant Street; and Bev Reynolds telling the story of his father, a police driver who tried to help the firefighting effort.
is needed now More than ever
Courtesy of Bristol Archives, here are some photos showing the devastation wrought across Bristol on that fateful night:
City centre panorama from Bristol Bridge to St Peter’s Church
St Mary-le-Port church from Bridge Street
City centre from the Pithay
The Dutch House
St Phillip’s Bridge
A bombed bus in Broadweir
Regent Street, Clifton
Owen Street, Easton
Willway Street, Bedminster
Near Mill Lane, Bedminster
John Wright, publishers and printers (opposite Electricity House)
St Clement, Newfoundland Road
Victoria Street
Junction of Peter Street and Dolphin Street
Easton Road
Cheriton Place, Henleaze
West Street, Bedminster
Llandoger Trow
Newfoundland Road
Palmyra Road, Bedminster
Visit more records from Bristol Archives online at www.archives.bristol.gov.uk or by visiting the Create Centre.
Main photo shows Castle Street from Old Market Street
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
