Plymouth, Devon: Bomb Damage 1941

 During World War II, the Lufftwaffe dropped bombs on Plymouth on 59 occasions, killing 1,172 civilians, and injuring a further 4,448.

The air raids started on Saturday 6 July 1940, when three people died at North Prospect. Five bombing raids in 1941 reduced much of the city to rubble. Two attacks in May 1944 marked the end of this terrifying ordeal.

In 1941, families evacuated their children out to live with relatives and complete strangers far from the city. During air raids, large sections of the remaining population - which had dropped to 220,000 to as low as 127,000 people - would flee to the countryside in lorries.

The royal dockyards at HMNB Devonport remained open, despite being the target of the air attacks.

This newsreel records the visit of Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the ruins of Plymouth in the deadliest year, 1941.

Churchill Visits Plymouth (1941) - British Pathé on YouTube