Exeter Blitz

The city was bombed in April and May 1942 as part of the so-called "Baedeker raids", in which targets were chosen for their cultural and historical, rather than their strategic or military, value.

Exeter was little affected during the Blitz, the German night-bombing offensive against Britain's cities, though nearby Plymouth was severely damaged in early 1941.

Seven bombs fell on the St Thomas and Marsh Barton areas: 200 houses were damaged and five people were killed, with eight injured.

In good visibility, and at low level in the absence of any AA defence, they hit the city, particularly the Pennsylvania area, killing 73 and injuring 54.

One bomb fell in Hoopern Fields close to the university Washington Singer laboratories, and the crater is still visible today.

[8] Despite this boast, however, the May 1942 air raid was the last suffered by the city; Germany's Baedeker blitz continued in desultory fashion for the next two years, but became increasingly ineffective in the face of the RAF's growing night fighter defences.

The ruins of St Catherine's Almshouses, preserved amongst modern buildings as a memorial of the Blitz
Remains of the Vicars Choral in South Street
Watercolour by Olive Wharry circa 1942 of St. Sidwell's Church, Exeter , after the Blitz. In the early hours of 4 May 1942, a 250 kg bomb fell directly on St Sidwells. The church tower was left standing but was so badly damaged that it was pulled down shortly after. A replacement church was built on the site.
St Lawrence Church, High St, Exeter painted by an unknown author. This painting depicts Exeter's High Street complete with people and horse-drawn carriages. St Lawrence Church is in the background. St Lawrence Church, which predated the thirteenth-century, was destroyed on 4 May 1942.
The Exeter Phoenix memorial in Princesshay, representing the reconstruction of the city after WWII