Accidental Bombing of Newhaven 11th December 1940?

Thank you Andy, I thought there might be something somewhere. Looks like there was little chance of surviving that. have set up my plans to go to the site and try and get some photographs this week, will try and place this one as best I can.

Rgds FB

This is the only image I have ever been able to find of this incident.

Hope it helps.

Weather on night of 11-12 December 1940

So far as I can see from the on-line Met Office Daily Weather Report (DWR) (See http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/archive/9348), there was a NW’ly airstream over southern England, with visibility mostly over 6 miles and less than 4/10 of cloud at varying heights, mostly above 2500-3000 ft; in fact there was hardly any cloud over southeast England. At 0100 GMT on the 12th, Calshot, Manston, Croyden and S Farnborough were reporting clear skies; Boscombe Down 3/10 at 3000 ft and Manston 4-6/10 of thin medium cloud. Unfortunately there was no 0100 GMT observation for Birmingham, but at 1800 GMT on the 11th there was 2-3/10 at 1500 ft, and the sky was clear at 0700 GMT the next morning.

Isn’t it strange – never heard from them, and yet, I live between Brighton and Arundle. I regularly go out to Lewes area, and most years I leave from Newhaven to go down to the LeMans 24hr race. I’ve got a Sonex to paint next week, so between primers and topcoat, I think I’ll take a wander down that way. am going to hunt out a few maps of various places in the UK, working on the histories of a number of relatives at the moment and trying to find their old houses. With a slight bit of thread creep, three of my relatives on my mothers side were in WW1, one of whom served with the AIF from 1914 – 1917.turns out he was on the 1st Convey that sailed from Sydney to Albany, then left with the entire fleet on the 1st November 1914 for England, but ended up in Egypt. As it so happens, I was in Albany this year for the 100 year Commemorations of that sailing, totally unaware my Great Uncle had sailed as part of that convoy from that very town.

Its good this researching lark!

FB

If and when you’re next down that way, Fournier Boy, a visit to the Keep (ESRO, Sussex University Special Archives and Brighton & Hove Museum Services) in Moulescoomb, Brighton; Newhaven Library, in the High Street; and Newhaven Museum, in Avis Road, might be rewarding.

Would help if I linked to it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/11/a7489911.shtml

I read on BBC memories web site a mine fell on new haven could this be the “large type bomb”

Ah ha! Yes, by accidental I meant that presumably Newhaven posed little threat to the Germans, as surely any port on the south coast would wish to be preserved in need of potential future invasion? I was presuming that potentially a lone bomber might have unloaded its payload from a failed attack on either London or Birmingham that night? Still awaiting my login verification on the Luftwaffe forum for more info!

Strangely, the Folly Fields site is now covered with new housing and a partial industrial estate, an industrial estate I recently visited to survey a taylorcraft for restoration.

FB

See http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7971.new;topicseen#new.

No pictures that I’ve seen. A crater outside a town heads that previous article. Also found!

Sussex Express and County Herald, Friday, December 27, 1940, Page 8 of 9.

Report of a funeral of a son who lived at 9 Folly Fields. He lost his Mother, Father and two sisters in ‘tragic circumstances’. Other named mourners may confirm your family research. The leader story names the 11 victims, their funerals and mourners. I have just noticed one of my uncles attended one funeral.

Are you signed up to ‘find my past’, if so browse the newspapers you can filter them right down to these papers.

Bob

Thank you Bob, do you know if that paper would hold any pictures, or more likely to be police files?

FB

A quick precis of:

Sussex Express and County Herald, Friday, December 13, 1940, Page 10 of 10.

A single bomb fell on a South East Coast Town, completely shattered one house and seriously damaged another two. Several people, including children were killed.

Thank you cabbage, that’s interesting. Was trying to find newspaper reports for the time but I guess that if there was particularly bad news, it might not have been a good moral move to broadcast it. I’ll keep looking

FB

Ths may not be of much help, but “THE BLITZ, THEN AND NOW” volume 2 page 334, has this to say.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11-12 : “Incidents reported at Newhaven (where 11 people died)”

It appears the weather that night was better than the previous night, allowing “Major attack on Birmingham”.