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- latest update 15th April 2008
Pre blitz, 1940 to 1942 Exeter
The High Street
looking east from the Cornish's building on the corner of North Street.
St Petroc's Church is
in the middle of the photo.
The Saxon, St Lawrence Church on the
right had a statue of Elizabeth I over the entrance. Destroyed in 1942
along with everything else in that part of the High Street.
HMS Exeter was sunk by a torpedo in the Sunda Straight 1st March 1942.
Walt Disneys film Bambi played at the Exeter Savoy in 1942.
Danny La Rue, the entertainer started his first job at Colsons, as a window dresser in 1942.
Pikes Garage of Alphington Street, Greenslades Coaches and the Devon General Garage were all used to repair Spitfires for the RAF during the war in their workshops.
A letter home to his parents in
Exeter from Gilbert Bell 23rd April 1940. Gilbert served in the RAF as
a Flight Lieutenant and was killed in 1944
in a bombing raid over Germany. He won the DFC.
"I hope the budget will not affect
you, Big moan among our
chaps, one
shilling & four pence half penny for 20 cigarettes, When the BEF can get them for 6 pence. We are fighting the war as much as
any one. Fancy twopence half
penny to send a
letter !"
An advert for Deller's Cafe in Bedford Street.
Many have reminisced about Deller's as a meeting place amongst a
magnificent baroque interior. A light lunch or tea were accompanied by
Gwen Master and her Orchestra. Destroyed in 1942.
An advert
for Brock's, the furniture store. The 'art deco' style of the 30's is
still prevalent. There is no sign of utility furniture, although the
1942 guide that the advert appeared in, would have been prepared and
printed in late 1941.
The quay as a working port in the early 1940's.
German documents, recovered after the war rated the port as 3rd grade
for usefulness in the event of an invasion.
Registering for the meat ration -
Exeter houswives are registering for the meat ration
at J.Lethbridge
&
Sons at 183 Cowick Street. On the 8th
January 1940, limits were imposed on the sale of bacon, butter and
sugar. On the 11th March 1940 meat rationing was introduced based on a
limit of 1 shilling per week per person. Courtesy of Tony
Lethbridge
In 1942, P Pike and Co promote the Austin -
wonder if they were related to Private Pike of 'Dad's Army'. Pikes were involved
in assembling Spitfires at Exeter airport during the war.
The Blitz - May 1942 and aftermath
Also see
The Exeter Blitz
Casualties of the Blitz - a list
A photo showing firemen trying to
douse the flames as the store Colsons, in the High Street
burns during the raid of May 1942. © - Express and Echo
St Mary Arches Church
suffered severe damage during the May 1942 bombing. The church was
restored after the war, with the roof repaired using timbers from a US
landing craft from the Normandy invasion. © - Express and
Echo
The
Odeon Cinema
in Sidwell Street suffered damage from a bomb that dropped into the
street at the front. The facade of the cinema was hit by shrapnel and
the entrance porch was damaged. To this day, the steps still show
chunks knocked out, from the bomb blast.
The
fire service fighting the flames consuming Stones the
Chemist in Fore Street. Stones were situated where you will find
the Yorkshire Building Society at 165 Fore Street, next to Adams.
Stones relocated to Mary Arches Street, into what is now Butlers, the
public house.
NEW UXB at Culverland Road
- this unexploded bomb was disarmed and removed from Culverland
Road after one of the April 1942 raids. It was found by two children,
Nicky and his sister Caroline Parkin (now Cornish), who saw it poking
out of the ground. Their father who was one of the Parkin Foundry
family, evacuated the road before calling the authorities. This is
probably a 500kg general
demolition bomb filled with Amatol TNT. The fuse was the small hole in
the side that can be seen facing, while the fins seem to have been
removed. Courtesy of Tony Lethbridge
The front cover of the Express and Echo, dated 8th May 1942.
The main story is the visit of the King and Queen to Exeter to see the
bomb damage. The King was shown a piece of shrapnel from a bomb that
fell on the Cathedral. He said "Send
it for scrap" and the Queen remarked "That's right, let us send it back to the
Germans". © - Express and Echo
Two photographs, never published before, of Exeter taken in July 1943
by a US soldier of the 29th Infantry Division. The right hand photo is,
I think, looking up towards Southernhay
from near the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. The left hand photo
shows on the left, the Savoy Cinema in London Inn Square and
Sidwell Street and Paris Street ahead. Courtesy of Gordon
Golding.
The
sad remains of Dellers Cafe
photographed from Bedford Circus. The curved pavement of the circus can
be seen on the left. The entrance to the cafe was from Bedford Street.
Although some thought the cafe could have been saved, it was demolished
on the orders of the town clerk C J Newman. Newman, it was said, had
tried to requisition dynamite, immediately after the bombing raid, to
quickly demolish many buildings, before the historic buildings
experts had a chance to evaluate the damage. Courtesy Express
and Echo.
NEW Winston Churchill visited Exeter
after the May 1942 blitz. This photo is probably taken in Northernhay
Park. Courtesy Express
and Echo.
NEW St Stephen's Church escaped
destruction but was quite badly damaged. A fire caused the bells to
fall to
the floor, shattering them, but the bronze from their remains were
recast into a new bell. In 2007, contractors who had
stripped the roof tiles in preparation for restoring the roof found the
roof timbers had been fire
damaged, and in some places, were mostly charcoal. After the bombing of
May 1942, the roof had caught
fire, unbeknown to anyone, and smouldered for many months before
naturally burning out. The truck is parked just in front of St
Stephen's Bow.
During the raid of May 4th, 1942, seven members of the Home Guard were killed by a direct hit at their headquaters at Bedford Circus. Their Commanding Officer, Lt Col Hunter was also killed at West Avenue while fire watching.
During the raid, 10,000 incendiary bombs and 75 tons of high explosives dropped on the city. That night, 1400 houses, were destroyed, of which 700 were in Newtown.
After the blitz - 1942 to 1945
On the left are quonset huts at the US Navy
Camp, Exeter
Golf and Country Club and right, a view of the clubhouse,
during 1943/44. The US Navy arrived in September 1943 to build the
largest stores in Britain to supply the D-Day landing fleet. They
constructed 85 warehouses, 198 huts and 7 miles of road on the golf
course, and handled 19,600 railway wagons at the sidings at
Exeter.
Also see the Exeter Story by John Moon. Photo on the right courtesy Robin
Bastin
NEW
Mayoress meets children of the blitz
1942 - after the blitz, attempts were made to look after the
children who were made homeless by the bombing of April and May 1942.
Here, the Mayoress, Mrs Glave Saunders attends a party put on for the
blitz affected children of Exeter. Photo Jane Hoad.
A
cartoon book by Still, a local cartoonist, published in Exeter,
in 1944, giving a humorous view of Anglo-American relationships during
the build-up to D-day. Click Sample Cartoons
for some examples from the book. Thanks to John Moon for the
book.
Parts for the floating Mulberry Harbour that was used to land supplies on the Normandy beaches were fabricated by Willeys in St Thomas.
In 1942, Clyst Honiton children collected 510 eggs for the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital Egg Week.
The Clock Tower with the Osborne Hotel behind in 1944. John
Moon purchased a camera on his way through London for 2 guineas - US
personnel could afford such a sum, but it was beyond most British
servicemen. Photo John Moon
A 2 penny programme from the
summer of 1942 for the Theatre Royal. It consisted of only four
pages because of paper shortages. Two plays were: "Young Woodley" on 17th August 1942
with Paul Scofield in an early stage appearance, and "Pymalion" on 21st September for
one week starring Ellen Pollock, Vernon Masters and Charles Quatermaine.
Two 101st Airborne Division
paratroopers on the 5th June preparing
to embark on a C-47 from the Exeter airfield, for the drop zone at
Carentan, Normandy. Other US Divisions in Exeter were the US 29th
Infantry Division known as the 'Blue and Gray' who replaced the 55th
British Division, at Topsham Barracks when they arrived on 1 June 1943.
They were moved down to Cornwall after three months. At D-Day they
landed on Omaha Beach. The US 4th Division or 'Ivy League' replaced
them at Topsham. On D-Day, they landed on Utah Beach, sustaining heavy
casualties.
On May 16th 1943, at a ceremony on the County Ground, St Thomas the 1st (Loyal City of Exeter) Battalion Devon Home Guards was presented with its own flag by the City Corporation. They were the first Home Guard unit in the country to have its own flag. The flag now hangs in St Mary Arches Church.
On
D-Day 6th June 1944, Exeter Airport
was used as a base for 47 C-47
Skytrains to carry paratroopers of the US 101st Airbourne
Division. They were dropped near Carentan on the Cotentin peninsular.
Three Skytrains failed to return. The next day they returned to
Normandy to drop supplies. Photo Courtesy of Wings of Silver
On 21st May 1944, under great secrecy, the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry used the two swing bridges at Countess Wear to practice attacking Pegasus bridge on the Orne canal on D-Day. The manoeuvres lasted for three days and nights.
Post-war Exeter - 1945 to 1949
VE Day
in Exe
Island on the 8th May 1945 was welcomed by these residents with a
street party. Although rationing was still in force, local residents
pooled their meagre food supply to bake cakes and provide drinks for
adults and children alike, to celebrate the end of hostilities in
Europe. The party is thought to have been held close to the Exe Bridge,
by Bonhay Road. The photo is courtesy of Jane Hope whose
grandmother is fourth from left, back row.
VE Day in Hoker Road The residents
of Hoker Road also celebrated VE Day with a street party. Included in
the photo are vicar of Heavitree, the Rev. Johnson, and Richard
Hinchcliffe and Tony Marks, who later played rugby for Exeter and Hull
Kingston Rovers. A cake was cut by Sheila Mairs who later became a
police telephonist at Heavitree. A young Tony Ward of the builders A D
Ward, is behind the knife.
Exeter's
Victory procession to mark the end of the war started in the bus
station car park at Paul Street. Here, Britannia, Uncle Sam, the Statue
of Liberty and probably, Joan of Arc are turning up North Street from
Paul Street. The Statue of Liberty, between Britannia and Uncle Sam,
was played by Hazel Bowden who would become W G Hoskins sister-in-law. Photo
courtesy of Angela Marks.
Unexploded
bomb sign - Signs like this were seen all over Exeter's bomb
sites to warn the public of UXB's. It is not known where this one came
from, apart from Exeter - it is an enamelled sign which may well have
been produced in the Vulcan Works, Haven Banks. Butterfly bombs were a
German anti-personnel device containing 225 gms of TNT, which was
more than enough to remove a leg, or kill; they were dropped in a
container holding between 6 and 108 bombs. They were the first cluster
bombs to be used in warfare.
NEW Exwick
Speedway 1945 This was the European Victory Meeting for
charity on Whit Monday 21st May
1945.
Held on Exwick Fields, the hangar type building is part of W T J (Bill)
Eastmond's yard which was beside the Thatched House Inn. Eastmond was
responsible for providing 242 tops off redundant Morrison
shelters for
safety barriers at the speedway track at the County Ground. He
later
became a director of Exeter Falcons. The programme for the event is
right. Photo
left Tony Lethbridge and program right courtesy Speedway Swap Shop
NEW
Shepherd's Garage
was Exeter's first to install petrol pumps in 1920. This photo, taken
in the middle 40's shows that the garage still has the same pumps out
the front. The building was demolished in 2007. To the right, on the
site of King Billy's is the old Horse and Groom, demolished and rebuilt
in 1967. Photo Ian Hartnell of Hartnell's Fresh Food
The
winter of 1947/8 was one of the coldest for years. Coal was in
short supply and transport was severely hit. This photo shows the
gardens in front of Bystock Terrace covered in snow, and not a tyre
mark in site. An area that is now a busy car park, was a garden. Photo
courtesy of Pam Salzman.
The Cathedral in 1947 was still
undergoing repairs after the May 1942 bombing. The great West Window
was still boarded up to prevent damage from bomb blast. Photo -
Maurice Swansborough
This photograph is a rather fine
detailed study of the Exe Bridge and
the bottom of Bridge Street. Thought to have been taken in the
late 1940's, it could have been taken 50 years earlier, so little is
the change. By 1967 the buildings on the left had been demolished as
work started on the northern Exe crossing. Photo courtesy
of Pam Salzman.
The Odeon Cinema
was confronted by this waste ground in 1949. The opposite side of
Sidwell Street had been destroyed in 1942, and by 1949, the rubble had
been cleared and nature was taking over. If you look carefully when
entering the cinema, you will still find chips knocked out of the
steps, due to shrapnel. Photo - Maurice Swansborough
The
first Exeter built Chrislea Super Ace light aircraft flew for
the first time in February 1948 at Exeter Airport. Seventeen were
eventually produced. They had an innovative control system that some
considered to be dangerous. The only surviving Chrislea Skyjeep, a
later variant, is now based at Eggesford Airfield,
and is airworthy. After her 1hr 20mins test flight at Exeter in the
early fifties she ended up in Australia. Hopefully, she may be flown
back to Exeter in 2007. The photo is of the earlier Super Ace. Photo
Courtesy of Ed Coates Collection
NEW Charity
Railway dogs - This memorial was on land
adjacent to Central Station.
It marks the burial site of two dogs that raised money for running
the London & South Western Railway Servants Orphanage, now known as
Woking Grange. There was a third dog, named Kim used for the charity
which was run by John Bovett, a railway guard. The dogs, collected
£25,000 over 26 years. The memorial board was vandalised beyond
repair in 2003. The photo on the left shows Sandy collecting on the
platform in 1946 with Janet and Rita Phillips. Photo - David
Cornforth
Thomas Sharp's plans and a scale model for the rebuilding of post war Exeter were put on display at an exhibition in 1946, in the city.
H R H Princess Elizabeth opened the Princesshay Commemorative Feature on 21st October 1949.The feature marked the start of the rebuilding of Exeter after the war.
The River Exe froze over during the bad winter of 1947.
NEW The Olympic Torch arrived at the Guildhall on Monday 2nd August 1948 on the way to the Olympic Yachting venue at Torquay. Runner Bill Courteney took the torch at Heavitree, from Alan Andrews, who had run from Honiton Clyst, and carried it down the High Street to be met by Mayor W T Slader and Sheriff Mr A J Bovey. The torch, which weighed 2½ lbs, was used by the Mayor to kindle the torch for the next stage to Alphington, carried by G F Roberts of the Plymouth Spartans.
Knitted bathing costumes were released from rationing in 1948 - it was hoped tourism would be boosted by the move.