Newbury bombing victims remembered

A short service was held on Sunday at 4pm, the same time the bombs were dropped 70 years earlier which killed 15 people, injured 25 and flattened buildings.
The mayor of Newbury, Arthur Johnson, unveiled the marble plaque with the names of the victims engraved on it at St John’s Memorial Gardens, off Newtown Road, close to St John’s Church, marking the spot where the first bomb landed.
Residents affected by the bombs who still live in the area, those who have moved away, local dignitaries, historians and Newbury MP, Richard Benyon, all attended the ceremony to pay their respects.
Local historian David Clow, who helped to arrange the memorial with Newbury Town Council, said it would provide a place of remembrance for the town, adding: “This was a major event relating to the history of Newbury; it’s vivid in a lot of people’s memories.”
Mary Grant (then Wakefield), aged 83, who lives in Kingsclere, was a 13-year-old school pupil when the bombs were dropped.
Attending the unveiling, Mrs Grant said she had been at school late for shorthand and typing lessons on the day.
She said the memorial was a good idea to remember an important part of the town’s history, but that it had brought back nightmarish memories for her.
She knew two of the people who died and added: “It was scary, but it all happened so quickly.”
For more, see Thursday’s Newbury Weekly News.