The Bournemouth Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bournemouth, Hampshire (but now in Dorset), England from 1940 to 1944, by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War.[1]
Bournemouth Blitz | |||||
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Part of the Strategic bombing campaign of World War II | |||||
![]() VE Day Memorial Stone in Bournemouth Gardens | |||||
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More than 2,200 bombs fell on Bournemouth and Poole during World War II, and 350 civilians and servicemen were killed.[2]
Events
1940
Robert Louis Stevenson's house Skerryvore, at the head of Alum Chine, was severely damaged by bombs during a destructive and lethal raid on the night of 15–16 November 1940. Despite a campaign to save it, the building was demolished.[3]
1941
On 27 March 1941, a lone German bomber hit the canteen at the Bourne Valley gasworks killing 33 people.[4][5] This was the deadliest air raid that Poole suffered.[6]
1943
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Bournemouth%2C_church_with_imminent_demolition_due_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001018.jpg/188px-Bournemouth%2C_church_with_imminent_demolition_due_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001018.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Bournemouth%2C_Royal_London_House_-_revamp_revealed_-_geograph.org.uk_-_959830.jpg/220px-Bournemouth%2C_Royal_London_House_-_revamp_revealed_-_geograph.org.uk_-_959830.jpg)
The biggest air raid was on 23 May 1943 in which many Focke-Wulf 190 planes dropped 25 bombs on the town.[7]
The buildings targeted that day included the Central Hotel at Richmond Hill; the Shamrock and Rambler coach station at Holdenhurst Road and Beales department store.[8] The Methodist Church on Exeter Road was destroyed and 77 people were killed.[9]
The biggest loss was the Metropole Hotel in Lansdowne, where many Allied servicemen were staying.[10] 22 Commonwealth airmen (mostly Canadian and Australian), and approximately 110 civilians were killed.[11] The hotel was demolished in 1955.[12]
Across Bournemouth Town Centre twenty-two buildings were destroyed and 3,354 were damaged.[13]
Legacy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Bournemouth%2C_Metropole_memorial_inscription_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3488415.jpg/192px-Bournemouth%2C_Metropole_memorial_inscription_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3488415.jpg)
In 2013, a memorial was unveiled on the 70th anniversary of the last air raid.[14][15]