Residents Memorial - Coventry, UK
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N 52° 23.719 W 001° 29.973
30U E 602093 N 5806067
This memorial commemorates the citizens of Coventry that died in the blitz. The white stone arc shaped memorial has eight faces each containing a double column of names. Four steps lead up to the memorial.
Waymark Code: WM8GB0
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/29/2010
Views: 3
The memorial is sited at the head of the fenced Resident's Memorial Garden which offers peace and tranquility to those who come and pay their respects. The Residents Memorial and Garden are sited within the newer part of London Road Cemetery. London Road Cemetery is cut in two by the West Coast Mainline railway track with the more modern section being south of the railway line. Both sections are on the west side of London Road in the Whitley area of Coventry.
Inscription:
This garden is dedicated to the memory of the residents of the City of Coventry who lost their lives through enemy action during the World War 1939 - 1945 and whose bodies are interred here.
The air raid on Coventry took place on Thursday 14th November 1940.
Before the raid, the government had instructed Coventry to cater for 800 casualties, and a mortuary was subsequently made near the gas works (in Gas Street) to hold 500 bodies - an astonishingly accurate figure.
It was obvious from the start that with such a high number of deaths in such a short space of time, hundreds of private burials would prove a huge burden on time and resources. After much deliberation about the popularity of such a thing, it was decided that Coventry was to be the first city of the war to hold a mass funeral.
There were several practical reasons for such a burial, not least of which was that the cost was paid for by the government, and wasn't a burden on each family. Another advantage of the mass burial was that it overcame the worrying problem of identifying individuals.
The first of these funerals was held on Wednesday 20th November, and the first 172 blitz victims were buried that day. By this time, not all the dead from the raid had yet been discovered, and on Saturday 23rd, 250 more were buried in the second mass funeral at the London Road Cemetery.
Reference: www.historiccoventry.co.uk
Date of Dedication: 11/15/1952
Property Permission: Public
Access instructions: Off the London Road when travelling north towards Coventry.
Website for Waymark: [Web Link]
Location of waymark:
London Road Cemetery
Coventry, West Midlands UK
CV1 2JT
Commemoration: The citizens of Coventry who died in WWII
Access times: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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