The original caption may contain language which is historic and which may no longer be considered appropriate. It has been retained in the record in the interest of historical accuracy.
The caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: “A Midland hospital. Picture shows the interior of the orthopaedic and fracture ward after the German air raid on Coventry.”
The air raid of 14th November 1940 was the most severe to hit Coventry during the Second World War, and is argued to be perhaps the most destructive single raid on a British city other than London during the war. The intention of the raid was to destroy factories and industrial infrastructure; one third of Coventry’s factories were destroyed and another third were badly damaged, but Coventry’s war industry was only “temporarily halted”. Additionally, 4,300 homes were destroyed, two-thirds of the city’s buildings were damaged, and two churches and a police station were damaged. Two hospitals – one of which was the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital – were also hit, despite the distinctive red cross, marking it as a hospital, painted on the roofs. The hospital was damaged again in a large air raid in April 1941. The Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital relocated from its site on Stoney Stanton Road, from which it had provided care since 1867, to a new University Hospital site at Walsgrave in 2006. See also MED01/01/1269-1274. High-resolution copies of this image are available for free for non-commercial use. Please Enquire to place an order.
This is part of the Series: MED01/01 Series of prints; within the Collection: MED01 Topical Press Agency Medical Collection
Source: Historic England Archive
Photographer: Topical Press Agency Limited
Photographer: Harrison, Norman Kingsley
Orthopaedic Department, Bomb Damage, Second World War, Health And Welfare
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