The city’s spirit was unbroken

The brave men who saved the cathedral

After the shock of the raid the people of Canterbury stood defiant alongside the surviving, symbolic structure of the cathedral, demonstrating that Hitler’s attempt to break civilian morale in the city was futile.

The combination of the new RAF offensive and the revenge bombing undertaken by the Luftwaffe represented a deliberate attempt to win the war by undermining civilian morale, bringing home to both populations the true meaning of total war. In this sense, the Canterbury raid signified the life and death struggle that enveloped Europe in the Second World War, the involvement of civilians and the pursuit of victory at any cost.

Canterbury Christ Church University’s Centre for Kent History and Heritage is commemorating the raids with a half-day conference and city walk on Saturday. For information visit www.canterbury.ac.uk. The survival of Canterbury Cathedral while fire raged across the city during the Baedeker raid was largely down to a small band of brave men.

The fire watchers were high up on the roof, picking up and putting out incendiaries as they fell on the historic landmark.

Their heroism has become legendary, and a campaign started by the Kentish Gazette, called Remember Our Blitz Fire Watchers, resulted in the unveiling of a carved stone memorial plaque to them in the cathedral in 2004.

In June 1942 the fire watchers on the roof were Tom Hoare, Alfred Burden, Joe Wanstall and Tom Shaw – all experienced men, some having served in the First World War.

Their leader, Mr Hoare, who died in 1957, was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1944 for his services in the Blitz and he was presented to the King and Queen during the royal visit in 1946.

In his diary he wrote: “In the event of an alert it was our duty to patrol the gutters and roofs of the cathedral.

“It was about midnight when the alert sounded and we said to one another that we were for it tonight.

“We could hear the roar of the plans overhead and when we looked up we saw flares shoot up into the sky from them and high explosives and incendiaries began to fall. They seemed to be coming down like hailstones.”

Miraculously, thanks to their bravery, the cathedral survived unscathed, despite 16 bombs landing nearby.

The Dean of Canterbury, Dr Hewlett Johnson, surveys the damage at the cathedral

Lady Woottons Green – the street name propped up on the pavement next to the wreckage of a home

The north side of St George’s Place

Rubble is all that remains of homes in Canterbury