Bombing aftermath

Thinking this may be Jordan Well. Is that the cupola on corner of Whitefriars St in RH background?

Cross Cheaping, over the road from Owen Owen - Broadgate in the distance

Many thanks MR

In the mayhem and aftermath of destruction one thing stands out for me. Take a look at that street lamp, such a work of art and functional at the same time.

The building on the left, behind the bus is (I think) the non identical twin to the Wetherspoons, built on the other side (south) of Holy Trinity. Not long finished before the war. The photographer was pointing towards the NatWest Bank (as it was last time I looked).

You mean this one Helen ?

That's the one Anne. It looks very different in the bombing photo because all the detailing has burnt off and only the steel and brick shell remains. You can even see the slots in the brickwork where the fake jettying would have slotted in.

Two more views of the bus

If I zoom in, you can see the wide windows, the tiers, the section that steps out from the rest of the building. It's built out of steel and brick. None of the other buildings in Broadgate had those features.

Just another view from the CET book Coventry's Blitz 1990. The rear of the bus, but the buildings either side look different, but you can see it is the Keresley bus stop.

Another one from the same book, the Prudential after the bombing. Sorry, Helen, but it does not look like the same building.

Good photo, Anne, but that one looks at the left side of the building while the other covers the right hand side. The leaning white post is there as is the dark lamppost. Forget the gables, they went along with the roof and the chimney. The second picture is later, after they've pulled out the bricks, which would have been in danger of falling out. All that is left is the metal frame. The building is on the left of this photo - see, nothing similar along the east side of Broadgate. Note the wide windows. You can even see the white post and the lamp post at the bottom, middle of the photo. The photographer was stood on Owen Owen.

The following is how I can establish where the bus was. 1. A view taken shortly after the bombing - NO bus anywhere and it shows a lot of the area (it's hidden behind the plume of white smoke centre left) however it does show the end gable (top right). 2. This shows the layout pre-war with old style lamp posts in the Burges and new style in the more modern Trinity Street (see the bus parked next to the old lamp post). 3. This shows the end gable, a new style lamp post (on the island) and white pole in front of the wrecked building in relation to the bus. 4 This shows the area after a clean up - the end gable has gone but the modern lamp post is still there (on the island), also the white pole where the building stood. 5. This shows the back of the bus looking down the Burges, you can make out the old style lamp post by the bus (in the rubble is a sign) - does it say Coventry? Perhaps a look in a street directory might find the shop. 6. This is looking towards Broadgate and the old style street lamp and bus stop is clear. Image 106 shows more detail, the old style lamp standard, the white pole and the modern lamp standard on the island.

Thanks Moriarty. I reckon the bus is in front of Swears and Wells. Again it's the only window frame that fits the first photo, as far as I can see. This photo direction is an almost identical to the Getty image.

On Saturday morning after the raid they damped down the heated debris before the King was allowed to enter the Cathedral and burn his feet. An unexploded bomb exploded around the time the photo was taken. In Annewiggy's photo the big house on the corner of the churchyard did take a battering, but the Prudential had put in steel girders, so was gutted but for the girders.