Belfast Blitz remembered at St Anne’s
St Anne’s Cathedral is hosting a special service on Sunday April 17 as part of a weekend of events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz.
On the night of Tuesday April 15 1941, almost 200 Luftwaffe bombers undertook the second, and biggest, of four raids on the city. More than 900 people were killed, in the biggest loss of life in any night raid outside London, with a further 1,500 injured. Another 150 people were killed in a subsequent raid on the night of May 4–5 1941.
The ecumenical service of commemoration on April 17 will be held at 3.30 pm. It has been organised by St Anne’s in conjunction with St Patrick’s Church, Donegall Street. The service will be led by the Dean, the Very Rev John Mann, and Fr Michael Sheehan, Administrator of St Patrick’s.
During the service candles will be lit to offer symbolic reflection for those who lost their lives in the Blitz.
The service, which is open to the public, will mark the end of a weekend of commemorations, beginning with the unveiling of the first in a series of memorial plaques at St George’s Market – which was used as a temporary mortuary during the Blitz – at 10.30 am on Friday April 15.
Other events over the weekend will include:
A lecture by Dr Brian Barton, author of ‘The Belfast Blitz: The City in the War Years’, in the Bobbin coffee shop in Belfast City Hall (Friday from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm);
A ‘sound and light’ presentation in the City Hall grounds, accompanied by the names of all who lost their lives being listed on the Big Screen (Friday 8.00 pm);
A Blitz–themed family open day in the Northern Ireland War Memorial gallery in Talbot Street (Saturday 10.30 am to 2.30 pm);
A special Blitz commemorative exhibition in the City Hall;
A 1940’s–themed tea dance will also be held at the Ulster Hall on May 2.
Pictured: Buildings around St Anne’s Cathedral smoulder in the aftermath of the Blitz. (Photo: Belfast Telegraph)