206017 WO2 Jack Leonard Westcott British Army Royal Signals from:41 Heyford Ave. Eastville Bristol Bristol blitz November 24th 1940. I have already told of our experience during my niece's Birthday. (Happy Birthday Jean). On the All Clear we went to bed for the few hours left, but all arose at the usual time and I prepared to go to school. The main reason was that I attended a Technical School on the other side of town and wanted to see the damage that the incendiaries and bombs had caused overnight.
I rode my bike into town with my friend who attended the same school and as we got to Lawford Street we had to divert due to the many premises that were still burning, but dodging the spaghetti-like hoses in the road and the showers of water being leaked from the many ruptures we reached the Old Market. Looking down Castle Street it seemed that every shop was either bombed or on fire with the road under masses of debris.
Continuing down towards Temple Meads we managed to get to Victoria Street where we could see many business places in ruins but continued on to school.
We found the school gate was locked but waited with 60 or 70 other boys swapping our recent experiences. Unfortunately the Technical School appeared to have been saved except for a few classrooms outside the main building. A teacher arrived to tell us that there would be no school for a few days and advised us to go home. This was our chance to have a good look around, so we made our way up Redcliff Hill past St. Mary Redcliff Church which was undamaged - and did survive the War without damage- but looking down Redcliff Street it was barred by the many fires still burning. So we diverted along Welsh Back and along the Floating Harbour to Bristol Bridge dodging individual premises still burning fiercely.
At Bristol Bridge it was the centre of destruction. High Street, Bridge Street and Victoria Street were impassable and we could go no further, but finding the steps to the Market we carried our bikes until we could ride down to Colston Street where we decided to turn for home, but even then there was more destruction in the Haymarket where Department Stores - Barton Wharehouses - were ablaze.
It took many years to rebuild the premises that were destroyed. In most cases the destroyed shops were relocated and modern premises provided.
There were many other blitzes on Bristol, but I think the first one was the worst. Afterwards a there was a system of Firewatchers who were recruited to quickly extinguish the incendiary bombs before they began to destroy the premises. A dangerous and nerve-wracking job as they were on the roof and vunerable to any bombs that landed nearby.
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