Bombs fell like hailstones – but

On June 1, 1942, bombs rained down on Canterbury in a deadly act of revenge orchestrated by Hitler. Now, 75 years to the day, University of Kent modern history lecturer Dr Martin Watts and student Jordan Newton look back at how the city united in the face

It was a day which signalled an escalation in the air war between Britain and Germany and one the city will never forget.

On the night of June 1, 1942, the German Luftwaffe descended on Canterbury, carpeting with bombs everything beneath them in a savage act of retaliation.

Two days earlier the RAF, under Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, had destroyed 85% of Cologne following an intensive bombing campaign of German cities in the first six months of 1942, and Adolf Hitler was out for revenge.

This escalation, on the part of Germany, included the widening of targets from purely military and logistical objectives to those with significant cultural and historical importance.

Canterbury – along with other cities including Exeter, York, Bath and Norwich – was in the sights of Hitler, who hoped to avenge the raids on Germany by attacking civilian morale in Britain through these cultural targets.

As a basis for selection, the 1937 Baedeker guide for German tourists was used by the Luftwaffe to pick out the cities which most embodied British cultural history, hence the title given to the raids.

As a result of the bombing of Canterbury on June 1, 43 people lost their lives and almost 100 were wounded.

The physical damage to the city included 800 buildings destroyed, with 1,000 seriously damaged and a further 5,000 less so.

Thanks to the efforts of the emergency services and the many civilian volunteers in tackling the vast number of incendiaries dropped, damage to the cathedral was restricted to the loss of the library.

Tragedy came to Canterbury on June 1 1942, in the Baedeker raids. In the words of the Dean, “the calm of the people was wonderful”. This picture was taken when the houses were still burning. Butchery Lane is on the right, the Longmarket in the centre,...

Service personnel try to find survivors in the debris that once was Dashwood’s toy shop. Behind is the partially gutted remains of the Co-op store after the June 1942 attack on Canterbury. Both properties were in Lower Bridge Street