Leamington History Group remembers the 13 townspeople who were killed in 1940s bombing raids

Members of the Leamington History Group have remembered the townspeople who were killed during bombing raids on the town during the Second World War.

A total of 13 townspeople were killed and a further 39 were injured during the seven air raids which took place between 1940 and 1942.

In 2015, the group raised funds for a plaque which was dedicated in 2017 at the Leamington war memorial where members laid a wreath on Remembrance Sunday (November 12).

The group said: “We believe it is important to remember not just military personnel but also the ordinary people in the town who were affected by the war.”

The wreath was laid by group members David Brown and Patrick Fitzgerald, both of whom served in the RAF.

David, now the oldest member of the group, served for two and a half years at the end of the Second World War

For 24 years, Patrick was flying the Lockheed Hercules Tactical Transport aircraft world-wide, culminating with 5 years flying the Lockheed Tristar during Gulf War 1.

In Leamington, Hilda Wormell was the first fatality of the Second World War.

She was injured in her car on October 19 1940 when a bomb devastated All Saints’ Parish churchyard.

At the onset of the Coventry Blitz, on November 14 1940, German bombs started to hit a number of places around Leamington, killing 7 people.

On this night, father and son, Edward Antrobus and George Antrobus were at their home in York Road, when they were

hit.

Frederick Bray and Stafford Hammond in nearby Dormer Place.

Thomas Landles and Charles William Welch, both Serjeants in the Army Pioneer Corps, were outside Liptons (now A Plan Insurance) in The Parade.

Whilst, Annie Freeman lost her life in her home at Kinross Road.

Today, there is still evidence of these on our landscape, where new houses have been rebuilt or repaired.

This was followed by two air raids in 1942 on the Lockheed factory - a major town employer targeted due to its production of aircraft for the war – which led to the deaths of Walter Williams, Robert Baskott, Reginald Kitchener, Frederick Pike and Ronald Smith.

For more information visit www.leamingtonhistory.co.uk