Bombing raid on Boston 12 Sep 1940

[Redroger]

You are quite right Pam, it was and I believe still is!

[An65]

glad to hear the Lovely girls situation lived on. Apparently they wouldnt go into the shelter, and got a direct hit (or near enough).

Not sure abt Baptist Church, do know that there is or was a burial Grd on Sleaford Rd somewhere, where my grt aunt Bertha Howard was buried. It may or may not involve this baptist church.

Mum says there was def a searchlight station out Wyberton way, she lived in Ingelow at the time, but a mate of hers Joan lived down Wyberton WR way, and she says if it wasnt on WWR it was in the fields behind it somewhere, cos she used to see the light while she saw her mate home.

[Redroger]

High St. Baptist Church is still there, next to \burroughs and Marshalls shop one one side and the Robin Hood on the other. The stone in the front says 1837, but there is also an older building 16something which was a sunday school when I went there nearly 60 years ago.Neither my father nor my wife's grandfather who never met so far as I know would ever go into shelters, my Dad said they were useless, and reading a book about his regiment in WW1 I think I understand why.

[Graham Whitehead]

I was interested to read of the Bombing raid on Boston in Sept 1940 because my mother, brother and I experienced one on a visit to my great-aunt in Grantham sometime after the November 1940 raid on Coventry. Escaping from bomb-torn Coventry by bus to stay in Grantham, on alighting with the pushchair[modern baby buggy]( with me inside) and my elder brother aged seven my mother rushed the short distance under the railway viaduct at the town end of Harlaxton Road to nearby Rutland St where my gt-aunts were sheltering from the raid in their cellar.  Frantic knocking on the door was at first ignored as it was thought to be shrapnel. There was a train waiting to go into Grantham station and the German fighter was firing at it presumably on the way back from a raid of the Lincs airfields.  If anyone can confirm this Grantham raid I would be very pleased to know.

[Redroger]

I can't confirm the raid on Grantham Graham, but my source about the Boston raid is "Boston at War" by Martin Middlebrook; perhaps there is a similar work on Grantham?

[tup1]

Hi


I have a book titled GRANTHAM.THE WAR YEARS 1939-1945 A PICTORIAL INSIGHT.Author Malcolm Knapp.Sadly is now out of print but Grantham Library and Lincoln Archives have copies.There are lots of photos in it taken throughout the war years by local photographer Walter Lee.

On the 23 October 1940 it mentions a raid that hit South Parade/Albert Street and Spittlegate Bridge one man was killed and 9 injured.It was this raid that very nearly blocked both the main road and the main railway line between London and the North.

Also on the 3rd December 1940 there was a raid on B.MARCO and the railway station.One bomb near to the station and on LNER property failed to explode and bomb disposal were called in and tragically exploded the next afternoon 4th december and killed Lt Gilkes the officer working on it.So Graham I think this is the raid you are talking about when you came to Grantham.

Kathy

[Redroger]

That sounds like the one Graham, perhaps you could get a copy of the book on the web.

[Graham Whitehead]

Thank you Red Roger and Thank you Kath.  I agree I think it would have been the Dec raid and perhaps this was the one where the shots were fired at the train waiting to go into Grantham station.  I suppose there would be no newspaper account of this raid.  I think some were hushed up to avoid lowering morale.

[Redroger]

I believe that they were not hushed up Graeme, more "sanitized" for instance, locations were not specified, after the heavy raids on Hull the BBC referred to some damage to an east coast town, so though it was probably reported no or only a very gernal location would be given.e.g. East Midlands.