Situated in the Midlands, Birmingham, the most populous British city outside London, was considered an important industrial and manufacturing location.

[1] There was also significant bombing of towns in the neighbouring Black Country, particularly in Dudley, Tipton, Smethwick and West Bromwich, where there were hundreds of casualties.

Wartime censorship meant that Birmingham was not mentioned by name in contemporary news reports about the bombing, being referred to instead as a "Midland Town".

[5] The first air raid on the city took place on 9 August 1940, carried out by a single aircraft which dropped its bombs on Erdington.

[7][8] Birmingham Small Arms plant at Small Heath, the sole producer of service rifle barrels and main aircraft machine guns, was first bombed on the same day, resulting in one high explosive bomb and a shower of incendiaries hitting the main barrel mill.

The Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) factory was badly damaged, causing loss of production and trapping hundreds of workers.

A member of the Home Guard and one of the company's electricians were later awarded the George Medal for their bravery in helping the trapped workers.

[12] The following night 200 bombers returned for another heavy raid, dropping 118 tonnes of explosives and 9,500 incendiaries, causing widespread damage.

[2] All but the fine tower and classical west portico of St Thomas' Church on Bath Row was destroyed in the raid.

On the second night, 245 bombers dropped 245 tonnes of explosives and 43,000 incendiaries, causing major damage in Solihull, Hall Green and Erdington.

They include: On October 8, 2005, a memorial sculpture, named 'The Tree of Life' sculpted by Lorenzo Quinn, dedicated to the victims of the Blitz was unveiled adjacent to St Martin's Church.

[21] The massive bomb damage on civilian housing in Birmingham contributed to the development of many large council estates across the city for some 20 years after the Second World War.

Some of the bomb-damaged inner city areas such as Ladywood and Highgate were redeveloped with modern housing after the war, although these were mostly less densely populated than before.