The Island was under attack. Heavy aerial bombardment by waves of enemy bombers levelled Island infrastructure rendering normal methods of communication inoperative. Military and civil control centres were targeted, and fell, one by one. The first parties of Home Guardsmen to bear arms and deploy to pre-arranged positions reported waves of aircraft releasing enemy paratroopers across wide swathes of farmland. Well-equipped and fanatical Fallschirmjäger swept aside all before them, storming towards the centre of the Island as night fell. Forming a near impregnable ring the enemy prepared for the final assault and as the morning sun peeked over the eastern horizon they moved in, neutralising all defensive points, sweeping into the town. Newport fell, centres of control were stormed, committees and leading officials, both civil and military were held hostage at the barrel of a gun while, to the abject horror of the shell-shocked people of Newport, a Swastika appeared above the Guild Hall.

Thankfully the large-scale anti-invasion exercise concluded later the same weekend with a more favourable turn of events.

By Spring 1943 the island's coastal towns had been steadily battered, mainly by fighter-bombers, but the centre of the county had rarely attracted enemy attention. Ten days after the anti-invasion exercise the reality of war was to visit Newport in all its unimaginable horror.

Please read Ministry of Home Security - The R&E Files, before continuing.

7 April 1943, Newport

Early in the morning of 7 April 1943 Newport, Isle of Wight, came under direct and deliberate attack conducted by the pilots of eight Focke Wulf 190s of Luftwaffe Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (SKG 10), the Red Foxes, led by Staffelfuhrer Leopold Wenger (The Enemy of the People).

What follows describes the event through a combination of facts recorded by R.A. Francis, Flying Squad Officer in Charge, Region 6, represented in the Ministry of Home Security, Research and Experiments (R&E) Dept., report RE/B16/29/1, and from contemporary newspaper reports, post-raid photographs and first-hand eyewitness accounts.

‘Come on you nippers, it’s time to get up’, shouted the father of the late Pat Ledicott, a long-serving member of the Island’s fire service who was a teenager at the time of the raid. Pat and his brother rolled over hoping for five minutes grace. In Caesars Road, 9-year-old Peter Montgomery was out of bed and drew the curtains open on a ‘calm, grey dawn’. At 36 Orchard Street, my grandmother Hilda Corr, then 37 years old, married with two children, busied herself with the early chores of a bustling household that included her parents, while her husband, my grandfather, was absent being in service at one of the Royal Artillery coastal batteries.

R.A. Francis of the Flying Squad, Officer in Charge of Region 6, who was despatched to the Island to carry out the post-raid investigation, expressed in the R&E report that local police assured him a Red Warning was issued at 07:27, a full four-minutes before raiding aircraft appeared over the town, but no eyewitness accounts mention hearing it. Peter Montgomery stated ‘I heard a bang, I knew what it meant’ – it was a Totter or Snowflake rocket (Fig.1), launched by the men of the Royal Observer Corps post on Mount Joy after seeing another of the devices sent skywards by their comrades at the Sandown ROC when the raiders we seen approaching the coast. Pat Ledicott’s snooze was disturbed by – ‘one hell of a bang’. What  both Peter and Pat heard would have been the sound of the cartridge in the breech of the launch device that sent the parachute flare soaring skywards to a height of 1,200ft.

Below the level of the illuminating flare, Wenger and his seven airmen flew their FWs tight to the foot of the Yar valley, tracking the railway line towards Newport, showing themselves as they emerged from the valley over Shide. Peter Montgomery knew instinctively that this was an attack – ‘I was out of bed and through the bedroom door, shouting a warning to my parents. As I ran along the landing the Bofors guns opened fire, machine guns on the nearby roof hammered and were answered by the deep roar of German cannon.’ The raid was in its opening second – ‘As I reached the head of the stairs the raid reached its height; a terrifying aural kaleidoscope of roaring motors, flak, aircraft cannon and bomb bursts.’

The enemy planes came in from the sea skimming the cliffs and opened up with their cannon as they approached the town, still flying very low – reported the IW County Press – Swinging around in a half circle each dropped a bomb and then raced away for the coast.

 In all, the aircraft were over the town for no more than an estimated 25 seconds.

Bomb No.1 - High Street

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

An FW190 bore down on the town from the east with the presumed intention of striking the railway bridge at the bottom of the High Street, but missed the target.

A party of Fire Watchers, who’d spent the night overseeing the town on the roof of the Medina Cinema (Fig.2) in the High Street, were gathered in an upper floor room as the misaimed bomb passed through the roof above them, causing slight injuries from debris but without detonating. It continued through the cinema building into the neighbouring drapery, exploding with devastating consequences. The drapery was demolished. The Guild Hall suffered substantial damage, so too the neighbouring Crown and Sceptre public house which was never to re-open. Next door to the drapery the blast wiped out the offices occupied by the Electric Light Co., above which was a flat tenanted by Mrs Salter, who was in bed as the building collapsed from beneath and around her. A responding ARP Rescue Squad were amazed to find her crawling from the debris with cuts and bruises. 

Further on, the offices of the IW County Press suffered substantial damage. Caretaker Mrs E. Blee had been in bed on an upper floor when awakened by cannon fire. With the intention of going downstairs she moved towards the bedroom door just as a 1cwt card printing machine came crashing through the ceiling onto the bed with sufficient force to push it into the floorboards.

Francis’s report summarised – Bomb made point of impact by passing through Medina Cinema from east to west, entering the building through roof just above eaves and passing out through west wall about 10’ below eaves, and exploding in adjoining properties, Nos. 27 and 28 High Street. These were two shop premises, No.27 Electricity showrooms, and No.28 a milliners – both ‘A’ damage. The cinema is ‘C’ damage, extensive to roof and west flank wall. It was ascertained from the local resident manager Mr A. Francis, that the cinema is owned by The Medina Cinema Ltd., whose registered office is at 36 Kingsway, London, W.C.2. It is a well-constructed building with a seating capacity of 1,000 and was built about 7 years ago.

The report makes no mention of damage to the Guild Hall or Crown and Sceptre public house which is evidenced in contemporary photography (Fig.3). No photographs were included in the R&E report.

Bomb No.2 - Pyle Street

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

Extract from the R&E report – Bomb made direct hit on shop premises known as 108 Pyle Street, being a corn handlers. ‘A’ damage done to Nos. 107, 108 and 109, total frontage 84ft. ‘B’ done to old Vectis Garage at rear in occupation of military Light Aid Detachment as a repair shop. ‘B’ to further shop properties.

…109 Pyle Street was an empty garage, within which had been built an ARP Post, of the usual 14” solid brick construction . It was observed that the Post was quite undamaged, with the exception of a slight crack showing where the roof had evidently ‘jumped’ a little. This shelter was only 34 feet from the point of the explosion but it should be mentioned that, between this and the Post, were the party walls between Nos. 108 and 109 Pyle Street.

Image from the south.

Taken from the west, showing the ARP Post.

Close-up of the ARP Post.

A view of the western end of the old Southern Vectis garage behind the demolished property.

Bomb No.3 - Jordan & Stanley's, Nodehill

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

Of this bomb, the IW County Press remarked – Another bomb hit a garage, passed out through the open doors, and is believed to have travelled another 150 yards before it completely demolished and set fire to a large grocer’s and provision merchants shop and store.

R&E report – Bomb made direct hit on warehouse and shop in occupation of Jordan & Stanley, retail and wholesale grocers. ‘A’ to warehouse, shop, and garage fronting South Street.

Referring to two of the Nodehill air raid shelters near the front of the store, the R&E report continued – Two surface shelters of the usual brick type and design were observed to be undamaged. They were built in the roadway only some 25 feet in front of the demolished grocer’s shop.

At 19:40, NFS Divisional Control at The Grange, Staplers Road, received a message that one fire appliance, which had been on patrol during the raid, was in attendance at Jordan & Stanley where a major conflagration had developed after the explosion. Eleven minutes later, a messenger arrived at Station 14DZ1 (Newport Fire Station) requesting the despatch of more appliances and firemen. With notification sent to the Mobilising Room at Divisional HQ, just one additional appliance was sent, as calls were being received requesting fire service attendance at multiple sites simultaneously. Pat Ledicott recalled that in addition to the serious damage done to the properties cited in the R&E report, substantial damage was sustained by the smaller premises on the opposite side of Pyle Street.

Making specific reference to the fire, Mr Francis report to R&E included the following under the heading ‘Damage by Fire’ – In addition to the extensive damage caused by the H.E. explosion, the contents of the grocery warehouse and retail shop caught fire. It is very difficult to state with certainty the cause of the fire, but, after consultation with the D.C.O. of the NFS, it was established that the fire was instantaneous with the H.E. explosion. The buildings, of course, had completely collapsed, due to the blast, but within a very few minutes the whole of the buried commodities seemed to be well alight, the flames being well up to the gable of the adjoining property, probably some 25 feet. There does seem to be a distinct possibility that the cause of the fire was a dust explosion, bearing in mind the type of commodity stored and the fact that the fire was instantaneous and enveloped the whole building within such a short period of time. Efforts were made to ascertain if there was any fire alight in the building at the time of the incident but it was not possible to clear up this point before completing this report.

Image from the west, looking across the point of explosion to the demolished grocery warehouse beyond. Francis noted that the fire could still be seen smouldering when he took this photograph.

Image from the north-west, taken 53 hours after the attack.

General view of damage looking across the point of the explosion from the north-east.

Such an unusual occurrence was precisely the reason that R&E were encumbered with post-raid investigations. R&E in London were concerned the Luftwaffe had deployed a previously unknown type of bomb. Further investigation was compelled and the incident allocated a sub-reference to the original (RE/B16/29/2). On 1 June Francis’ report landed on the desk of G.M. Dadds of R&E’s ‘F’ Division at Horseferry House, Westminster. Dadds wasn’t satisfied to accept the NFS officers estimation without further investigation and immediately despatched a demand for more information – cause of fire and contributory factors, combustible elements of the building, exact quantities of materials stored and destroyed, how the commodities were stacked, over what surface area were sacks of material torn open, was the premises sprinklered and how was the fire eventually extinguished. Francis returned to the Isle of Wight to dig deeper into the ruins of Jordan and Stanley.

By reply Dadds learned that the store contained 7 tons of sugar, 2 tons of fat, and a large quantity of flour. It was this that led to a fire officers estimation that a dust explosion had occurred. Satisfied that no secret weapon had been the cause, Dadds called off the investigation by telephoning Francis at three o’clock in the afternoon of 15 June.

Image from the east, showing the two undamaged surface shelters in the street. In the foreground is a discarded fireman's helmet and a length of hose.

Image from the south-east.

Image from the north-east.

Bomb No. 4 - Bradley Lodge, Medina Avenue

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

From the IW County Press – The most complete example of devastation was at a doctor’s residence in the southern part of the town which received a direct hit. Hardly one brick of the large house remained on another, and unfortunately the doctor and a maid were killed. The doctor had been in practice in the town for some 25 years. His devotion to his noble calling, his outstanding skill, and unfailing kindness and sympathy had won the affectionate esteem of a very large number of residents in the district who were his grateful patients. He had also done splendid work as one of the consulting staff of the County Hospital. His death is an irreparable loss to the community. His wife was rescued from the ruins with serious injuries. Their only son, an Army officer, has been missing since Dunkirk.

Extract from the 1942 UK and Ireland Medical Directory.

Dr Arthur Arbuthnot Straton, husband to Mabel, was accomplished not only in his professional field, which included First World War service with the Royal Army Medical Corps, but in many others besides. At the time of his death he was listed as a member of the towns Fire Guard service and in 2023 information emerged that suggested he may have been fulfilling a clandestine role as communications specialist with the secret Auxiliary Unit organisation, the little-known British Resistance*. Their only son, 2/Lt. Robert Alexander Straton, was later identified as killed in action with the 2nd Hampshire Regt., on 30 May 1940 aged 20.

My grandmother, living nearby in Orchard Street, was familiar with Dr Straton and had known his maid, Cissy Draper. Many years ago she described to me the horrific discovery of the doctors body in the adjacent schoolyard and that of poor Miss Draper suspended in a tree.

*EDIT - more recently, information has emerged that Dr. Straton was not operating in the Auxiliary Units, but may have been a communications operator within the shadowy Secret Intelligence Service organisation known only as Section VII. Following the destruction of his home allegedly MI5 operatives were sent to trawl through the debris to recover the wireless set issued to him. The same source alleges that a second Isle of Wight doctor was operating for Section VII while publicly acting in Home Guard capacity. Source - https://www.mwatkin.com/sect-7 

The destruction of Bradley Lodge being complete, the land upon which it sat now forms part of Church Litten park where a memorial to those who lost their lives that day was established in 2013.

In comparison to the horror and tragedy caused by Bomb No.4, from an investigatory perspective it offered little interest, compelling Mr Francis to limit his comment to the following – Bomb made direct hit on large residence known as ‘Bradley Lodge’ after passing through a poorly constructed garage. ‘A’ to Bradley Lodge.

Although Pat Ledicott’s memoire suggested, incorrectly, that Mabel Straton had also perished in the blast, he elaborated on the reference to a garage – Another one had dropped on Westmore’s garage, hit the concrete floor, bounced out through the wooden door and landed on Dr Straton’s house.

No photographs accompanied this element of the report.

Elizabeth Grace 'Cissy' Draper

Bomb No.5 - Mill Street

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

One of the FW190s bore down on the part of the town where Pat Ledicott and the family were huddling in whatever cover they could find. He expressed the feeling that – I think the most frightening thing was the cannon fire, not the bomb, as it peppered the road and buildings in Crocker Street and Mill Street, leaving big holes in the roadway. However it was followed by the release of a 500kg S.C. bomb, which Pat recalled – landed on a coal dump used by the Army only three feet from the house and where the Me 109 (sic) aircraft were so low, it didn’t strike its nose on the ground, but hit flat on, bounced on the coal, left its fins behind, and went over the top of the house and landed 100 yards away on Home Mill, blowing in the rear of our house and destroying the Mill. The National Fire Service turned up, but as there was no fire or any person injured they left to attend other incidents in the town.

Francis’s R&E report referred to the Mill, as Old Arnall Mill, a reference I have not been able to verify. The north-east wing suffered category ‘A’ damage. Francis noted – The old mill which was struck by this bomb formed part of the properties of the Isle of Wight Creameries Ltd. The destroyed section of the Mill, however, is leased by them to the Ministry of Food for storage purposes.

With little investigatory interest no photographs were taken of this incident site.

Bomb No.6 - Clarence Road

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

Violet Lily Dudley

Valerie Lilian Dudley

Pat Ledicott remembered this bomb, listed as No.6 by R&E – The last, number eight, landed at Clarence Road and hit houses in the top end of the road killing a few people. Peter Montgomery provided further detail – In Clarence Road, a bomb crashed into the base of a tree in a spinney at the driveway entrance to Mount Pleasant flats and bounced towards a row of terraced houses. In one of these, Ken Boon was awakened by the sound of aero engines and automatic gunfire, followed by a loud ‘pop’ like a balloon bursting. This was an 1100-pound bomb exploding in his grandparents garden, two doors away. He had a sensation of flying through the air and landed upside down. In that instant he realised he was buried. Vera Boon was on the stairs when the bomb burst and saw that the rear of her house was now a pile of rubble, out of which protruded her son’s legs. She began to dig him out with her bare hands.

The IW County Press reported – Most of the casualties occurred when terraces of houses in Clarence Road and Chapel Street were hit. In Clarence Road four houses were demolished and five occupants killed, including Mrs Dudley, wife of a munition worker who had just left for work, and her six-year-old daughter Valerie, and Mr and Mrs Mundell and their grandson Master H. Ablitt. Mr Mundell’s body was not recovered until the afternoon. Mr D. Abraham was seriously injured here, but his wife and daughter were rescued from the ruins with minor injuries.

From the R&E perspective this event, despite occasioning substantial loss of life, was of little value. Francis recorded – Bomb made direct hit on No.14 Clarence Road, causing ‘A’ to Nos. 13, 14, and 15, frontage 47ft., being the usual type of terraced villas. ‘B’ to four, 83ft. frontage.

No photographs were taken of this site.

Bomb No.7 - Chapel Street

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

In Chapel Street five houses were wrecked and there were more fatal casualties including two widowed sisters – began the IW County Press remarks on the effect of Bomb No.7 – Mrs Flux and Mrs Buckler, living together, and a young airman A.C. Carlton and his wife, who were spending a short holiday with Mrs Carlton’s father (Mr Mitchell), who was so badly injured that he died in hospital. In one of the shattered houses here a man of 85 (Mr H. Porter) was rescued almost uninjured. He had been saved by a piano, which took the weight of falling debris.

Another bomb fell in Chapel Street, killing seven people – was Peter Montgomery’s reference to this bomb. Pat Ledicott’s remark was equally succinct, adding that the space recognised today as access to the car park was the precise site of the houses destroyed by the blast.

Mr Francis had some interest in the effect of the explosion – Bomb made direct hit on terrace of houses. ‘A’ to Nos. 23, 24, 25, and 26, frontage 56ft. ‘B’ to 3 other houses. A surface shelter was observed in the gardens to the rear of these properties, only some 33 feet from the point of explosion. Of the usual brick type, it appeared to be undamaged with the exception of the blast wall in front of the entrance which, hinging at its base, was leaning over at angle of 30o across the entrance. A small fire was reported amongst the debris about 1 ½ hours after the incident. It was thought that this was caused by an ordinary domestic fire which must have been burning at the time of the raid and had smouldered under the debris.

Harold Mitchell

Nellie Carlton

Norman Douglas Carlton

Eva Mary Palmer

NFS records at Station 14DZ1 (Newport Fire Station) state that smoke was seen by ARP personnel and reported to the NFS at 09:11. At 09:18 a Major Pump was despatched, the Officer in Charge requested a make-up of a second Major Pump nine minutes later. NFS personnel contained the outbreak while ARP Rescue Squads continued in their tireless hope of recovering survivors amid the smoke. Among their successes was the recovery of nine-year-old Christine Pascoe, unconscious but alive beneath a bed and mattress within the rubble in the back gardens.

Image from the north-west.

Image from the north.

Image from the north-east.

The surface shelter located in the gardens, note the blast wall leaning into the shelter.

Bomb No.8 - Terrace Road, H.W. Morey & Sons

Type - 500kg S.C. Time - 07:30

Above - the map shows the point of impact in addition to an estimation of the bomb's low-level trajectory estimated from available information.

Six 190s attacked Morey’s sawmill – stated Peter Montgomery – where the tall chimney and white, six-feet high word ‘MOREY’ on the roof of the main building made for easy identification. One 1100 pounder struck the main factory, causing severe damage and killing five staff. A pilot swept down Terrace Road towards the main mill gate and raked the yard and mill with cannon fire. Connie Shepherd, looking out of her window, saw tracer shells streaking past the end of her road ‘like electric light bulbs’! At that moment the hail of exploding shells mortally wounded her husband, Cecil, who had reached the main gate. An unexploded bomb lying close to St. Johns Church, near the mill, added to the chaos.

The reference to an unexploded bomb is unknown and not referred to elsewhere. Eight fighter-bombers conducted the raid, each carrying a single 500kg S.C. bomb, all of which detonated and are accounted for.

The IW County Press report describes the startling effect of bombs being dropped by low-level high-speed aircraft – A bomb which fell in a timber yard and killed three men, bounced at least 300 yards after first hitting the ground. It passed through the roof of the residence of Mrs J.H. Flux, while she was in bed in the room immediately below, bringing down debris on her bed, but she escaped injury. It then struck the ground in the garden of a Baptist minister’s house next door, ploughed up the soil for about three yards, passed through a concrete wall between the gardens, and ricocheted over two roads and several houses before exploding in the timber yard. The men killed here were Messrs. E.H. Tully, F.C. Burt, and W. O’Donnell.

The Bandmill, taken from the north-west. 

The Bandmill, from the west.

Bomb made point of impact by passing through private house known as No.9 Avondale Road – recorded Francis to R&E – entering through roof and passing out through eaves, and ricocheted some 870’ from garden of adjoining house before exploding on striking house at north end of terrace on west side of Terrace Road, adjoining H.W. Morey’s Sawmills. ‘A’ to one, ‘B’ to 8, all terrace type cottages.

In his Special Report, Francis added – This bomb caused fairly extensive damage to Messrs. H.W. Morey’s timber yard and sawmills and the more important buildings and their contents which were affected are listed briefly as follows.

  1. Bandmill – A steel framed building approximately 120ft. x 20ft. The east boundary wall, some 30’ from the point of explosion, had 4 ½ “ brickwork panels which were very little damaged, with the exception of the nearest panel, which was practically demolished. The remaining brickwork showed clear signs of fragmentation. The steel rafters on the east side (i.e. nearest the bomb) are twisted but capable of repair. The corrugated asbestos roof is totally destroyed. The corrugated galvanised iron sheets covering the west side of the building are also totally destroyed. This building contained a bandsaw and band rack mill and electrical gear. Various component parts have been damaged and need replacement. It is uncertain how long it will take to obtain these but the actual replacement work, once these parts are received will take about tend days.
  2. Rackmill – A steel framed building approximately 120ft. x 22ft., with corrugated asbestos roof and corrugated galvanised iron sides. The roof is totally destroyed and the rails and sides need to be straightened. This building contains horizontal log saw, bandsaw, large rack saw, circular saw, and electrical gear. Damage to the horizontal saw is not extensive but replacement of some parts of the counter shaft are required. The bandsaw is slightly damaged but workable. The rack saw is slightly damaged by repairable.
  3. Saw Mill and Joinery Shop – A two-storey brick structure with timber trusses and boarded and slated roof. The roof trusses have lifted and the gable on the east side will have to be pulled down to first floor level and rebuilt.

In case a technical brief is called for, it was ascertained that the architect to Messrs. H.W. Morey & Sons is Mr Frank Chiverton, of 122 S James’ Street, Newport (Telephone Newport 2044) who holds copies of all requisite plans.

Damage by Fire

A small fire occurred in the sawdust pit of the bandsaw. This was very quickly dealt with by the NFS and, apart from some sawdust being burnt, no damage whatsoever was occasioned. This fire does not seem to have been caused by the bomb but it seems possible that it was started by M/G or C/F.

At 07:45 Station 14DZ1 (Newport Fire Station) despatched appliance 14DZ1-2 to Morey’s, and placed a request to Divisional HQ for three reinforcement appliances to be sent to Newport from other sectors.

Image from the south-west.

The Rackmill, from the north-east.

Red Warning Controversy

Pat Ledicott was adamant that – this raid started before the Air Raid Warning had sounded. His claim is supported by the fact that no local eyewitness account or press report contradicts it. Peter Montgomery was awake and had opened his curtains, recognising the bang of the flare as first indication of an imminent attack, with just seconds to spare.

Mr Francis of the Flying Squad believed otherwise, based on the report provided to him by Chief Constable Spicer of the IW Police, inducing Francis to submit – contrary to first reports, ample warning of the attack was given. In fact, the hostile raiders were plotted when still some 20 miles out to sea and the four clear minutes warning given would appear to be exceptionally good considering the nearness of Newport to the coast.

One wonders why, if Red Warning was issued in good time, all shelters mentioned in the R&E report remained vacant?

However there is no conjecture over the reason for a lack of the White ‘All clear’ warning being issued – owing to a breakdown in the electricity supply. It was ascertained that this defect was occasioned by one of our own Light A.A. guns severing one of the main overhead supply cables.

Conclusion

The memorial at Church Litten.

The R&E report concluded with little of interest to national security. All ambiguous matters had been resolved and nothing out of the ordinary was identified to alter future plans for civil or military defence. An alleged lack of adequate (or any) Red Warning was smudged by an assurance of the Chief Constable – the same man whose implacability compelled his deputy, Supt. Albert Harwood, to shoot himself dead with a revolver at Newport Police Station in October 1941 – another matter that was neatly filed away with the conclusion that Harwood was weak of mind.

For those that did their duty the IW County Press expressed the deepest admiration and referred to the presence of mind of train driver Mr Humphries of Ryde. Inbound to Newport from Ryde, Humphries observed the aircraft over the town and calmly slowed his locomotive and carriages to a halt in the railway tunnel beneath Fairlee Road. Such understated acts of cool initiative are rarely recognised.

No words of praise can do adequate justice in commending the magnificent work of the Civil Defence Services and their military helpers who came so readily to their assistance, and of those responsible for the treatment of the injured and the comfort and feeding of the homeless and distressed. A special word of appreciation must be given to the WVS and the Church Army, whose vans and other means of providing tea and other refreshments for all in need, workers and sufferers alike, were a very bright gleam in a very sad picture. Once more these women voluntary workers showed a wonderful spirit of unselfishness, pluck, and unremitting concern for the unfortunate, and these qualities were also exhibited by the public generally, who were courageous and cheerful in a very trying ordeal.

This feature is submitted in respectful memory of the fallen.

  • Harold Frank Ablitt (12), of Maida Vale, Linden Road, Parkstone, Dorset, killed at 15 Clarence Road, Newport.
  • Donald Edwin Abraham (43), Fire Guard Service, injured at home 13 Clarence Road, Newport, died at St Mary’s Hospital, Newport, on 20th April 1943.
  • Frederick Cecil Burt (51), Fire Guard of 24 New Street, Newport, killed at Morey’s Timber Yard.
  • Amy Butler (74), of 8 Thornton Crescent, Old Coulsdon, Surrey, killed at 24 Chapel Street, Newport.
  • Nellie Carlton (30), of Woodlands Way, Waterbeach, Cambridge, killed at 25 Chapel Street, Newport.
  • Norman Douglas Carlton (28), Corporal of the RAF Volunteer Reserve, of Woodlands Way, Waterbeach, Cambridge, killed at 25 Chapel Street, Newport.
  • Elizabeth Grace Draper (19), of 27 Victoria Road, Newport, killed at Bradley Lodge, Medina Avenue, Newport.
  • Valerie Lilian Dudley (5), killed at home 14 Clarence Road, Newport.
  • Violet Lily Dudley (31), Women’s Voluntary Service, killed at home 14 Clarence Road, Newport.
  • Julia Mary Flux (90), killed at home, 24 Chapel Street, Newport.
  • Harold Mitchell (60), Fire Guard Service, injured at home 25 Chapel Street, Newport, died of his injuries later the same day at St Mary’s Hospital, Newport.
  • Celia Ann Mundell (66), killed at home 15 Clarence Road, Newport.
  • William Robert Mundell (67), killed at home 15 Clarence Road, Newport.
  • Eleanor Adelaide Murphy (76), of 274 East Barnet Road, East Barnet, Hertfordshire, killed at 23 Chapel Street, Newport.
  • William Thomas O’Donnell (54), of 1 Norfolk Cottages, Trafalgar Lane, Newport, killed at Morey’s Timber Yard.
  • Eva Mary Palmer (36), killed at home 22 Chapel Street, Newport.
  • Edward Harold Cecil Shepard (42), Fire Guard Service, injured at home 33 Albert Street, Newport, died of his injuries at St Mary’s Hospital on 9th April 1943.
  • Dr Arthur Arbuthnot Straton (59), Fire Guard Service, killed at home Bradley Lodge, Medina Avenue, Newport.
  • Edward James Trevett (62), of St Elmo, Yarmouth Road, injured at Terrace Road, Newport, died of his injuries later the same day at St Mary’s Hospital, Newport.
  • Ernest Harry Tulley (18), of Old Lodge, Gatcombe, killed at Morey’s Timber Yard.

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