Eastbourne Bombing

[Exiled Mancunian]

Good morning

My mother was evacuated from London during the war. She used to tell us that she was sent first to Eastbourne and later to Wales. She said that shortly after she went to Wales the house in Eastbourne received a direct hit and all inside were killed.

Can anyone verify this or is it just my mothers imagination?

Any help, however small, greatly appreciated.

[kerryb]

Morning

What was the address of the house in Eastbourne?

Kerry

[Exiled Mancunian]

unfortunately she couldn't remember. She did once tell me the name of the lady she stayed with but I cannot locate it.

[kerryb]

Hi

this website has various air raids that occured over Eastbourne and details
http://www.btinternet.com/~williamenigma/areas.htm

Kerry

[Exiled Mancunian]

Thanks Kery, I'll give it a try. If I can find the name of the woman I will post it.

[forester]

If you can find the name of the woman, you should be able to locate her on the CWGC (Commonwealth War Grave Commission) website under Civilian War Dead.

Phil

[Dancing Master]

A similar thing happened to my mothers cousin, the family lived in Shooters Hill Road, in London and when the bombing was particularly bad  they were loaned a house by a business associate of my great uncle in  Bournemouth.  The first night there, that house had a  direct hit and one of my mothers cousins died in it.

[Roy G]

The back two pages of a book enitled "Wartime Eastbourne" (ISBN 1 871986 00 1) by George Humphrey and published in 1989, lists all the local residents killed in air raids.  There about 200 in all, but several were families of two or three all with the same surname.  Perhaps you might recall the family name if you read through it and even find a picture of the house in the book itself.
Roy G

[mnmilt]

There is a list of WWII casualties in Eastbourne on another part of the website that Kerry had mentioned (http://www.btinternet.com/~williamenigma/eb2ww0.htm).

In addition to the book that Roy G mentioned, there is another book, "Eastbourne at War" that was also published by George Humphrey.  This book was published in 1998 by SB Publications (ISBN 1-85770-158-5).  It also contains a list of those who died in Eastbourne.

However, the information may not be 100% accurate or complete.  The post inspired me to look into the bombing that destroyed some cottages in Firle Road.  The cottages were a few houses away from my maternal grandparents’ shop, so I guess that they had a close call.

According to the website that Kerry mentioned, the raid took place on 11 October 1940 and that Moses Ripley and William Glen were killed at 14 Firle Road. 

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website includes entries for William Glen (died 14 Sep 1940 at 14 Firle Road) and a Moses Ripley (died 14 Sep 1940 at 14 Firle Road).  The website lists Moses Ripley as being the son of Mark Ripley.

The book, “Eastbourne at War” that I mentioned above, describes a raid taking place on October 11, 1940 and that an UXB was dropped at the rear of 15 Firle Road.  There is an entry for a raid on 14 Sep 1940 that states that 4 bombs were dropped in the Firle Road area amongst other areas that day.  Among the dead for that day were a William Glen and a Mark Ripley.

As can be seen, the information that is available may not be totally accurate.

Regards

Mark