Blitz victims are remembered

Aug 10 2007 By Lee Kenny, Birmingham Mail

THE names of a further 76 forgotten victims of the Nazi bombing of Birmingham during World War II are finally to be remembered and honoured.

More than 2,200 Brummies were killed during nightly air raids by the German Luftwaffe between August 1940 and April 1943 as the bombers targeted the city's munitions plants and Spitfire plane factory.

More than 60 years after the nightmare ended, their lives were honoured by members of Birmingham Air Raid Remembrance Association, who unveiled a commemorative monument in Edgbaston Street, near St Martin's Cathedral in 2005.

The Tree of Life was engraved with names obtained from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The list was thought to be conclusive, but further research has identified another 76 Birmingham people who lost their lives in the horrific bombing.

Their names will now be added when the statue is removed for refurbishment work and returned in time for a memorial service on Saturday, October 6.

Jean Frier, 78, who grew up in Birmingham during the war, is a member of the local Remembrance Association.

She said the reason some names were not included on the original memorial was because many Brummies were taken to hospitals outside of the city.

"During the war, because the hospitals were so full, a lot of people were taken to other areas, like Bromsgrove, for treatment and if they died there they were added to the list of deaths in those areas," she said.

"When we unveiled the memorial in June 2005, alot of people said they had relatives who died and could they be included on the list.

"The statue will now be temporarily removed to be refurbished and will have the new names added."

Birmingham was the second most heavily bombed city in the country, and along with Merseyside lost more people to enemy action than any other place outside London.

The Blitz killed 2,241 Brummies, and a total of 12,391 homes, 302 factories, 34 churches, halls and cinemas and 205 other buildings were destroyed.