Relic of a Bombing Raid

21 Charlotte Street, Leamington Spa was the family home. My mother Lillian and father Alexander lived in the first-floor flat. At about 11.40 am on 23 August 1940 six bombs fell on the area between Charlotte Street and Ranelagh Terrace which was occupied by Pattenden's plant nursery. This destroyed about 9 greenhouses and damaged houses in Ranelagh Terrace. My father entered the bombed area, with many others, and found the exhibit, a piece of metal with a misshaped hook. My father concluded that it was the hook from a bomb.

This bombing raid was the first in the area and may have been intended to hit Flavels, Lockheed or the Gas Works. Accuracy of bombing improved during the war and Lockheed's factory was hit several times. I have seen a German military map with Lockheeds highlighted. The bombs were probably 500 lbs each and hung from hooks in the plane. Reference to images online shows a "lug" on the top of each bomb. It is possible that this lug was reshaped by the effects of the explosion. The book "Bombing of Royal Leamington Spa" by Allan Jennings (2015) has more detail about this raid.