IRA Broadgate Bomb 1939

Kaga - Your description of Jordan and his cronies is spot on. They were just small fry who tried to stir up trouble around the area. Generally people recognised them for what they were, and just ignored them. Occasionally they did go a bit too far, or they picked on the wrong people. In the early 60's they painted racist slogans on walls and bridges in Leamington Spa - the locals were not amused. In the late 70's they upset the big Scotsmen in Corby just at the time they been told that they were losing their jobs in the steel industry. These same men had moved to the new town of Corby only a few years before to escape unemployment in Scotland. The Corby people were adamant they would fight their own fight with the government of the day and they gave that message very robustly to Mr Jordan's lot, to those who had come only to oppose the right wing, and in fact to everybody who was not from Corby.

As I understand, but didn't mention it in my previous post, the same happened at the Cov. G&T with the noose and everyone threatened to clasp their hand around the rope so the authorities couldn't charge hundreds with murder!

Wearethemods, Are you sure he was in the Royal Warwicks? I knew him as in the Medical Corps, an escape route for some people who had sympathy with the other side, so they did not have to fight against them - half-way house to being a true believer of Conscientious Objector as was Oswald Mosley.

Kaga - It was Enoch Powell who was a Brigadier in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment during World War Two.

Never met him, but can still picture him from the papers - thin, slightly-built, short black hair, glasses - quite a harmless looking chap.

Non-Local. Yes I was aware of that, but thanks anyway. My cousin was a Lt in the Warwicks, they were a very hardened Infantry Reg't - had I failed the Paras I would have been sent there too, it was my parent Reg't.

After the IRA bomb exploded.

On behalf of member Inyoni I'm posting his memories of that dreadful day: "In the afternoon of Friday August 25 1939, I and two or three young friends were playing in between the then undeveloped area of Sadler and Burnaby Roads and today's Beake Avenue, which then terminated at Links and Wallace Roads. We were approximately central to the city side of Berwin Avenue, the Whitmore Park School area was then an Oat field awaiting harvesting. The Scotchill depression from us towards the city was vacant of

Great insight Rob/Inyoni - these are the things that would never be known about if it was not for the forum. Must have had some force to have been noticeable from Radford/Keresley

I forgot to say thanks to Inyoni for sharing that memory

The August bombing is referred to as the "forgotten" one but I've just found out about this event reported in the Coventry Herald of 6th May 1939: I've just found this while looking into the Priory Gate building (The Flying Standard). This event took place during the IRA bombings of 5th May 1939. The bombs were left in the early hours of the morning and no one was injured. 5 stores were targeted - Messrs Goodlys, furniture store in Earl Street, Corporation Electricity Showrooms in Corporation Street, Messrs Rhodes, china shop in Trinity Street (7 Trinity Street part of the Priory gate building) and Messrs Anslows, furnishers in High Street. A fifth bomb was successfully removed by police officers from the Co-operative Society's stores in Smithford Street. I see that the police officer in the report is P.C. Rollins!

To Rob Orland At the beginning of the 20th century, there were scores of Irish families living and working peacefully alongside Coventry families. Early in 1919 Eamon de Valera, one of the foremost in Irish politics, escaped with two other prominent leaders from Lincoln gaol, where they had been imprisoned for attempting to organise a Sinn Fein rising in Ireland. He and his followers had become extremely active, adding to the problems of the Government. Smuggled back to Ireland, in a muddy path in a ploughed field, he took the salute to about thirty Irish Sinn Feiners, who filed past him. The very start of the IRA. 1939, with so many Irish in Coventry, it was passed over for a bomb explosion. To impress Nazi Fascists they could do damage anywhere in Britain, for money, arms and support, they set explosives in Leicester Railway Station to time when train with schoolchildren arrived. The train was late, the explosives went off, little damage or injury, the schoolchildren unhurt. A hurried bomb was built, placed in Coventry's main shopping area. It exploded killing many (you know the story), but being hurried it was easy to trace, and people were arrested.

Thank you Kaga. This background information is of interest to many of us, not just me, though. For those who haven't yet seen it, however, this marvellous article "Not Forgotten, the 1939 IRA bomb attack" by Simon Shaw, might be of some relevance.