Lecture to mark 75th anniversary of Exeter Blitz

Next month marks the 75th Anniversary of the Exeter Blitz and to mark the occasion, a free illustrated lecture is being held at the Guildhall.

Local historian Dr Todd Gray, MBE, will be talking about the single most destructive event to hit the city. The lecture takes place at 11am and 2pm on Thursday 4 May, the day of the anniversary.

Dr Gray, an Honorary Research Fellow at Exeter University, said that before the Blitz, Exeter had experienced two other events when the city was heavily damaged, by the Vikings in 1003 and during the Civil War of the 1640s, but the scale of the damage then is unclear.  

“In contrast, exact details were recorded of the German bombing on 4 May 1942: 1,734 buildings were destroyed and another 18,849 were damaged. Many significant buildings, such as the Lower Market, Deller’s Café, Bedford Circus and the medieval church of St Lawrence, were among those which were lost. Reports of the number of deaths vary between 156 and 273.” 

Exeter was devastated by bombing on 4 May 1942

He added: “It is difficult for a modern generation to understand the scale of destruction: a considerable part of the city centre was destroyed.  The recent widespread sense of loss which was felt in Exeter following the destruction of the Royal Clarence Hotel is one means of understanding how shocked the people of Exeter were following the Blitz.  However, we have recently lost only a handful of buildings and there was no loss of life.  In contrast, on 4 May the commemoration will mark an event which fundamentally altered the city of Exeter in all aspects of life.”

Admittance to the lecture is free, but by a ticket which can be obtained from the Guildhall during normal opening hours. These tend to be from 10am to 2pm and 2pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday.