Norwich played host to members of
The International Guild of Battlefield Guides last Saturday 16th
March. The group from the Guild spent an enjoyable day walking in the city
centre looking at the history of Norwich in both the Great War and the Second
World War.
The Battlefield Guides were
primarily interested in the events related to the Baedeker raids of 1942,
generally referred to as the Norwich Blitz. The group looked at Norwich’s
preparations for war and the effects of the raids which took place on the 27th
and 29th April 1942, killing 231 people and injuring 689. They also
discussed the effects of the Zeppelin war over Norfolk during the First World War.
The Blitz Walk was led by East Anglian
based Battlefield Guides, Jo Hook from Kenninghall, Mike Peters from Little
Stonham, Steve Smith from Great Yarmouth and Robb Webb of Diss. The day in
Norwich was enjoyed by everybody who attended and it is almost certain that the
Guild will return to Norwich in the future.
.jpg)
Steve Smith:
I just wanted to thank Jo and Mike
for arranging a really interesting tour of Norwich and for asking me to talk
about the Zeppelin war over Norfolk in WWI. It really was good to catch up with
fellow members socially and to meet some new members for the first time. I
loved the fact that we were also able share information between each other.
That is, to me, what the Guild is all about!
Rob Webb:
Thirteen guild members and friends enjoyed a highly informative
and entertaining tour of Norwich on Saturday 16 March led by Jo Hook, Mike
Peters and Steve Smith that looked at the impact of the Baedeker raids on
Norwich in 1942. Despite a cold and blusterly day we all came away with
the impression that Norwich as a location had a lot to offer the GBG and
that it would make an excellent venue for a possible GBG weekend in 2014.
Charmian Griffiths:
May I add that Mike and Jo, along
with all their other hard work, offered an amazingly comprehensive battlefield
tour of the Baedeker Raids in Norwich yesterday, with contributions from
Stephen Smith on the First World War Zeppelin raids, which attacked King's Lynn
and Great Yarmouth, fortunately without too much destruction or loss of life.
The tour began at 11.00 rather than 10.30, because of delays on trains with
replacement bus services, in the Magdelen Street Car Park. Brett and I made it
the excuse for a most enjoyable week end catch up with very old friends in
their lovely big house at the entry to Norwich, on Christchurch Road. They
learnt a mass about their home city of 35 years!
We learnt of and experienced
Norwich's "lazy winds" - which instead of going round, go straight
through you! As a result of these, we had several breaks, the first at the
splendid new "host'ry" opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, in a
spectacular 21C 2-storey glass building abutting onto the 11C masonry wall of
the beautiful cathedral, passing the monument to Edith Cavell as we went in.
Later came The Murderers pub, in place of the Edith Cavell, then finally lunch
at the Wig and Pen mid-afternoon. We learnt of the Hit and Run Raids, which
caused considerable damage and a number of deaths, then they endured a kind of
phoney war, so did not erect barrage balloons, and so suffered horrendous
destruction when hit by several days of heavy raids. Mike and Jo had put an
enormous amount of preparation into the walk, excellently illustrated with
photographs. At 4am on Friday Jo had found online a description written by a
schoolboy, who had walked virtually the same itinerary as us, describing in the
greatest detail the loss of each little shop and business and home along the
route through the charming winding cobbled mediaeval streets of Norwich.
May I add that Mike and Jo, along
with all their other hard work, offered an amazingly comprehensive battlefield
tour of the Baedeker Raids in Norwich yesterday, with contributions from
Stephen Smith on the First World War Zeppelin raids, which attacked King's Lynn
and Great Yarmouth, fortunately without too much destruction or loss of life.
The tour began at 11.00 rather than 10.30, because of delays on trains with
replacement bus services, in the Magdelen Street Car Park. Brett and I made it
the excuse for a most enjoyable week end catch up with very old friends in
their lovely big house at the entry to Norwich, on Christchurch Road. They
learnt a mass about their home city of 35 years!
We learnt of and experienced
Norwich's "lazy winds" - which instead of going round, go straight
through you! As a result of these, we had several breaks, the first at the
splendid new "host'ry" opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, in a
spectacular 21C 2-storey glass building abutting onto the 11C masonry wall of
the beautiful cathedral, passing the monument to Edith Cavell as we went in.
Later came The Murderers pub, in place of the Edith Cavell, then finally lunch
at the Wig and Pen mid-afternoon. We learnt of the Hit and Run Raids, which
caused considerable damage and a number of deaths, then they endured a kind of
phoney war, so did not erect barrage balloons, and so suffered horrendous
destruction when hit by several days of heavy raids. Mike and Jo had put an
enormous amount of preparation into the walk, excellently illustrated with
photographs. At 4am on Friday Jo had found online a description written by a
schoolboy, who had walked virtually the same itinerary as us, describing in the
greatest detail the loss of each little shop and business and home along the
route through the charming winding cobbled mediaeval streets of Norwich.
Posts
