Wartime mystery scene

MR - thanks. I was just concerned that Kaga might want to know a bit more detail than I was prepared to publish on this forum. He certainly knew the people concerned. Roger

Annewiggy. You just beat me to it - I would have said there are not enough overcoats for mid-Nov 1940. Compare their dress to the King and councillors standing around in the Cathedral. And no doubt you know the weather in April wasn't good either. But it's not in July either. The handkerchief to the nose could be an old toilet destroyed. What makes you think it is bodies behind the sheets? Looks like a recent shed in the garden, not damaged, that loose bricks have fallen on, so an old bomb scene, with something new added. I knew of a similar scene. Black market petrol in a shed, bottom of garden, that was mysteriously blown up; nothing looks like recent air-raid. An old broken table that looks thrown out long ago, derelict houses in the background. No tattered shreds of curtains. Nothing about the debris looks freshly moved. Nothing to me looks like a recent air raid. Annewiggy, would old newspapers give you any details?

Non Local, Thank you, but I think we will let him be, he was like a brother to me, but you did well to trace his details. The only reason I mentioned was because of the difficulty you had. Midland Red, didn't work in the search box for me, but like above, let him be.

I think there is reason to debate the timing of the scene but the location is almost certainly Spon Street. The buildings and electricity pole were still there in 1949 but the debris from the Plough Hotel had been removed. There are too many similarities for it logically to be anywhere else. It's entirely possible that the scene was taken some weeks after the bombing, maybe even a few months later. Although the leaves aren't on the trees so it's not post spring. At first glance there doesn't seem enough bricks for the size of the hotel but I suppose it depends how far wide the building was blown. So, it might be a bunch of labourers clearing debris who found remains. The blankets were a common way of screening a distressing scene and maybe the gap between the bombing and discovery explain why normal practices had resumed and/or more discretion was needed. The late discovery of the poor person might be because it was a hotel, with nobody left alive to tell how many had been in the hotel at the time it was destroyed.

Helen, Your reasoning about later demolition makes sense to me, but you would expect the news of a body being found would be in the local paper. However heavy censorship might have prevented that.

Kaga - I respect your sentiments in this matter. Argon - Possibly people did not really want to hear about even more fatalities so it would not have been reported in the newspapers. I remember talking to an older Irishman during the 70's. He told me that he had been operating a digger during the rebuilding work in the city centre in the early 50's. He said that there were two things that they came across, that is bombs and bodies. His solution he said was drink Guinness, plenty of it, and before he went to work. He told me that no sober man would do that work. It must have been unnerving to wonder if the next bucketful of rubble was going to contain a bomb or the remains of some unfortunate soul.

Good point Not Local but I think we have both overlooked the fact that the photo appears to be from a newspaper and so negates my suggestion.

Argon - Thanks. Not the first time in my life that I have ignored the obvious.

Annewiggy, fair dinkum. Right from first glance the photo looked screwy, as barmy as a Courtaulds Shipyard. Threw us right off track from the start. How often do you get a summer photo on a winter scene? Explains the standing around, the clothes, undamaged shed, untorn sheets, no rescuers, a one-off London photo - all we need now is the story, from both Mirror and CET. Like I said, if we go back to the photo, when and why it was taken, to get the answers. Many thanks again. Kaga.

Annewiggy, Surely there was a story with the picture? What did they find?

Sorry Kaga, I did not post the original picture. It is on the Mirrorpix site as the 15th November 1940. I have searched on the newspaper achives around that date and beyond but can't see that the picture was ever published. I have also looked at the date when the hotel was bombed but again no luck. I think we have to accept that this is just one of thousands of stories at that time.

It could of course have been 15th November 1940 (the day after the infamous raid), and 1941 is a typo.

Hi, I certainly think you have the right location. The top image is for unobliterated viewing. The rest is to help see where we are. Hope it helps. One more.

Sorry Wearethemods, my typo, I have changed it but the Plough was actually destroyed in April 1941

Coloured lines to clarify the features. The green line is a roof closer to the camera and not a continuation of the roof in pink. The same building from the other side. You can see why I didn't spot it immediately. The styling is very different. Additional - I've contacted the Coventry Telegraph and all their old photos are with the Mirror.