Reading Bombing 1943
February 1943
The People's Pantry after the 1943 bombing.
Towards the end of 1942 and the beginning of 1943, German air raids on Britain intensified. On 10 February 1943, four bombs were dropped on Reading town centre. The Town Hall on Blagrave Street was badly damaged as were businesses on Minster Street. 41 people were killed, mostly customers at the People’s Pantry in Market Arcade. Fortunately half day closing meant that the number of civilian casualties was much lower than it could have been.
This photograph shows the People's Pantry, The Arcade, in the aftermath of the bombing, taken from the east. Note the emergency workers in the rubble.
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