Brunswick/Auckland Road air raid shelter being built in 1939 (Cambridgeshire Collection).
Although Cambridge did not suffer from anything like the Blitz in London, the threat of enemy air raids had remained a source of anxiety during the whole war. Victory in Europe (VE) Day did come as a great relief as the thought of planes circling the town to drop high explosive bombs must have been terrifying. An air warden report kept in the Cambridgeshire Collection offers an important insight into what the people of Cambridge had to endure during the war. Below is a transcript of the report of the event of 28th July 1942.
COPY No.1 Main Post, Market Yard, Cambridge
AIR RAID INCIDENTS – AREAS 6: 8: 9.
01.40 “Stand by” was received at Main Post, followed by ‘Red’ from Control Centre at 01.42 hours.
At 02.48 Hostile ‘plane flying very low made a circuit of centre of town. On its return flight still flying very low it passed over Jesus Green and dropped H.E [high explosive] and I.Bs [incendiary bombs] in Areas 6; 8; and 9.
AREA NO. 6.
Two 50 kilo bombs and incendiaries were dropped. One 50 kilo bomb dropped outside King and Harper’s, corner of Bridge Street and Jesus Lane, doing structural damage, etc. The other bomb entered the basement of No.4 Jesus Lane where it exploded. The I.Bs caused fire at Nos. 3 and 4 Jesus Lane which were reported to N.F.S. by Wardens. The fire at No. 3 was practically put out by the occupants. I arrived on the scene, followed by the N.F.S. at 03.08 hours.
A ladder had been placed against the wall and the occupants in rooms above helped down. The I.Bs had been put out by Wardens and helpers – those on the road – with sandbags. Messengers Bilton and Naylor dealt with some of the I.Bs; they think about six. No reports of any unexploded ones have been received.
The same time is given in all incident as the raid was a matter of seconds.
I was informed that a person was under the wreckage of No. 4, down the basement, and as no Rescue Party had arrived I decided to enter myself, and was accompanied by an Officer of Civil Defence. We removed a rafter and bedding and found a lady, who was partly on her legs, trapped by wreckage. I put my arms around her and the Officer held her head, and called for the assistance of a doctor who was present outside. The doctor managed to get in and after an examination pronounced life extinct. As nothing further could be done, until the Rescue Party arrived. I gently released her and we got out.
The N.F.S. very soon got the fire under control.
Fire Services arrived at 03.08 and 03.15 and left at 03.32 and 03.58.
Ambulance arrived at 03.32 and left at 0345.
The people concerned behaved very well and there was no signs of panic.
Ten Wardens on duty from sectors 6 & 7 on ‘Red’.
The stoicism of this report is striking and reflects the discipline and the “keep calm and carry on” attitude that characterises the war years. The woman killed had been extremely unlucky as she had taken shelter in the basement of number 4 Jesus Lane to protect herself but unfortunately the bomb, that first hit number 3, ricocheted off the opposite wall into the basement of her house.
This attack by a Junkers 88A German bomber at an altitude of only 100 feet was witnessed by school boy Michael Bowyer from outside the public bomb shelter near Auckland Road and Brunswick School. In all the bomber actually released 12 bombs. Two unexploded bombs were discovered later, one in the basement of 13 Portugal Place, another in the outbuildings of The Mitre. Another bomb hit and exploded in the first floor of the Cambridge Union.
You can find Michael’s vivid description of the attack can be found here:
https://capturingcambridge.org/centre/auckland-road/auckland-road-air-raid-shelter/