Swansea Blitz
Encyclopedia
The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing
of Swansea
by the Luftwaffe
of Nazi Germany
on 19–21 February 1941.
Swansea was selected as a legitimate target due to its importance as a port and docks
and the oil refinery just beyond and its destruction was key to Nazi German war efforts as part of their strategic bombing campaign
aimed at crippling coal export and demoralising civilians and emergency services.
The first air raid on Swansea was early on the morning of 27 June 1940, at 3.30 am. On the last night of the '3 nights blitz', the air raid sirens sounded at 7.50 pm - the start of a raid that lasted for five hours.
Incendiary bombs
as well as high explosives were dropped
over Swansea and the town centre was engulfed in flames. The 17th century grammar school that had stood on Mount Pleasant Hill since 1851 and was the alma mater of Dylan Thomas, Roy Jenkins and Bryan Phillips, took a direct hit and was severely damaged. The science laboratories, gymnasium and workshops survived however and, in keeping with the spirit of the time, teaching was soon resumed for older boys by using rooms in what had been the headmaster's house. Younger boys were relocated to a nearby vacant 'deaf-and-dumb' school building which had evacuated its pupils to the country. This hurriedly improvised arrangement endured until 1949. The headmaster, J. Gray Morgan, was largely responsible for this effort to avoid disrupted schooling but never received appropriate recognition. Hundreds of residents were killed or injured that night and the glow of the fires was seen 75 miles way in Fishguard.
Under The Stairs is a folk song written by Huw Pudner and Chris Hastings .Its subject is the bombing raid on Swansea and the birth of a baby 'under the stairs' during the middle of the raid.
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
of Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
on 19–21 February 1941.
Swansea was selected as a legitimate target due to its importance as a port and docks
Swansea docks
Swansea Docks is the collective name for several docks in Swansea, Wales. The Swansea docks are located immediately south east of Swansea city centre. In the mid-19th century the port was exporting 60% of the world's copper from factories situated in the Tawe valley...
and the oil refinery just beyond and its destruction was key to Nazi German war efforts as part of their strategic bombing campaign
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
aimed at crippling coal export and demoralising civilians and emergency services.
The first air raid on Swansea was early on the morning of 27 June 1940, at 3.30 am. On the last night of the '3 nights blitz', the air raid sirens sounded at 7.50 pm - the start of a raid that lasted for five hours.
Incendiary bombs
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
as well as high explosives were dropped
Firebombing
Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs....
over Swansea and the town centre was engulfed in flames. The 17th century grammar school that had stood on Mount Pleasant Hill since 1851 and was the alma mater of Dylan Thomas, Roy Jenkins and Bryan Phillips, took a direct hit and was severely damaged. The science laboratories, gymnasium and workshops survived however and, in keeping with the spirit of the time, teaching was soon resumed for older boys by using rooms in what had been the headmaster's house. Younger boys were relocated to a nearby vacant 'deaf-and-dumb' school building which had evacuated its pupils to the country. This hurriedly improvised arrangement endured until 1949. The headmaster, J. Gray Morgan, was largely responsible for this effort to avoid disrupted schooling but never received appropriate recognition. Hundreds of residents were killed or injured that night and the glow of the fires was seen 75 miles way in Fishguard.
Under The Stairs is a folk song written by Huw Pudner and Chris Hastings .Its subject is the bombing raid on Swansea and the birth of a baby 'under the stairs' during the middle of the raid.
External links
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/local_history/pages/swansea_blitz.shtml
- Swansea Blitz feature on Youtube
- Memories of a female Warden of the blitz (BBC Wales)
- Scars of the blitz remain (BBC Wales)