Virtual reality to teach about horrors of the Blitz
THE Telegraph and Coventry University are using virtual reality to teach a new generation about the horrors of the Coventry Blitz.
We have collaborated to create a virtual reality experience to tell the story of the devastating attack on the city on November 14 1940 in a completely new way.
Coventry Blitz in VR is a fully immersive experience using the Telegraph’s vast archive of photos and articles from that awful night, 360 degree video and the latest VR technology, brought together in an app thanks to funding secured from digital giant Google .
The free app will be available on the Google Play app store ahead of the 77th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz tomorrow and we are taking virtual reality headsets into two Coventry schools this week – Cardinal Newman and St Thomas More Catholic Primary School – to allow pupils to learn all about the blitz in VR.
We also want our readers who haven’t got headsets of their own to share in the experience so we are holding an open event at our former office, the CET Building in Corporation Street, on Tuesday from 11am to 4pm.
Lasting hours, the Coventry Blitz was a period of sustained attack which killed hundreds of people and had ramifications on our city for decades as Coventry changed beyond all recognition. 500 German bombers took part in the events of that dark November night. Nicknamed Operation Mondscheinsonate (‘Moonlight Sonata’), the Luftwaffe flew over Coventry with the sole intention of crippling the city’s utilities, factories and infrastructure. It was the biggest test of British resolve for centuries, if not ever. Hundreds of people died in the raid and much of the city centre was left in ruins, with harrowing images documenting the night serving as a stark reminder of all that was given and lost for this city in the war effort.
To experience Coventry Blitz in VR yourself, come along to our former office in Corporation Street between 11am and 4pm on Tuesday November 14. University staff and students will be on hand to help you with the headsets and game, and will want to ask you a few questions afterwards.
We chose the CET Building to hold the open event as it has been reborn as an arts venue helping to tell the story of Coventry, last month hosting the inaugural Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art.
The 1950s building is to be converted into a boutique hotel at the end of 2018 but until then it is being is operated as a community venue by The Historic Coventry Trust (HCT) - and has been created entirely by local Coventry volunteers, with the help of a small donation from Historic England/Coventry Heritage Action Zone.
It is open for self-guided tours every day from noon to 6pm, with lots of memorabilia from the half a century that it was home to the Telegraph.
Admission is free with a suggested donation of £3 for the tour, with free parking in the rear service yard on Chapel Street.
It now has its own cafe, Urban Cafe, serving hot food made freshly in the refurbished third floor 1950s kitchen. A ramp has been added in the rear display area so that wheelchair users can see the upper ground floor foundry and old press hall areas as well as the front entrance gallery.