The Bombardment Of Bath April 25, 26, 27, 1942 (1942)
 
The cover to a booklet produced by the Bath Chronicle detailing the raids of 25th to 27th April 1942 that became known as the Bath Blitz. The cover features an image of the Assembly Rooms in flames. It was designed by Mr. Arthur C. Fare R.W.A. A.R.I.B.A.
 
Over the weekend of 25–27 April 1942, Bath suffered three raids from 80 Luftwaffe aircraft which took off from Nazi-occupied northern France.
 
As the city sirens wailed, few citizens took cover, even when the first pathfinder flares fell. The people of Bath still believed the attack was destined for nearby Bristol. During the previous four months, Bristol had been hit almost every night, so the people of Bath did not expect the bombs to fall on them.
 
The first raid struck just before 11 pm on the Saturday night and lasted until 1 am. The German aircraft then returned to France, refuelled, rearmed and returned at 4.35 am. Bath was still on fire from the first raid, making it easier for the German bombers to pick out their targets. The third raid, which only lasted two hours but caused extensive damage, commenced in the early hours of Monday morning. The bombers flew low to drop their high explosives and incendiaries, and then returned to rake the streets with machine-gun fire.
 
The Effects of the Blitz were 417 people were killed, another 1,000 injured. Over 19,000 buildings were affected, of which 1,100 were seriously damaged or destroyed, including 218 of architectural or historic interest. Houses in the Royal Crescent, Circus and Paragon were destroyed and the Assembly Rooms were burnt out. A 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) high explosive bomb landed on the south side of Queen Square, resulting in houses on the south side being damaged. The Francis Hotel lost 24 metres (79 ft) of its hotel frontage, and most of the buildings on Queen Square suffered some level of shrapnel damage. Casualties on the Square were low, considering the devastation, with the majority of hotel guests and staff having taken shelter in the hotel's basement. The majority of Bath's churches were greatly damaged, including St James Church on Stall Street and St Andrew's Church, both of which had to be demolished; the St James site is now a retail building and the St Andrew's site is now a park.
 
Many buildings have subsequently been restored, or otherwise have been replaced by different buildings or a new land use (such as a park), although there are still some signs of the bombing.
 
Soft Cover
In Good Condition