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Cofton And Longbridge November 1940

ChrisM

Super Moderator
Staff member
Can anyone give me a bit of help with a mystery, please?

Arthur Grant, aged 26, husband of Doris Georgina Grant, of 111 Nuthurst, Road, Birmingham was an "Aero assembler fitter", almost certainly at the Longbridge Austin factory adjacent to his home. He is listed as a Civilian Casualty.

Official sources ("WW2 Civilian Deaths" and CWGC") state that he died on 13th November 1940 at Cofton Hackett. The BARRA information however states 30th November, again at Cofton, with no comment on any injury date. 13th November was the date of an air raid on Longbridge when (according to BARRA information) five employees were killed outright and a further number seriously injured, one of whom died the following day.

What I'm trying to establish is: the correct date of death; whether this unfortunate young man was killed (or seriously injured) during the raid whilst at work; or whilst off duty at home during the same incident; or whether his death was totally unconnected with these events.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Chris
 
It seems that Austin also ran a Shadow Factory at Cofton Hackett, close to the main Longbridge site but separate from it. Whether this fact is in any way relevant to the place and date of his death............

Chris
 
Tucked away in the BARRA information is the fact that bombs, presumably from the same stick, also fell in the adjoining area, including one adjacent to Groveley Lane where a further person died. Nuthurst Road runs into Groveley Lane.

The possibilities I now have is that this unfortunate young man lost his life either in the Austin factory, or a nearby Austin Shadow factory or at his home in Nuthurst Road (if he was on nights); or he died later from injuries received at one of these locations.

It would be good to be able to pin this down precisely.

Chris
 
hi chris there is no arthur grant listed on ancestry on the list of civilian deaths so its looking like he was only injured..there is however a death registered in dec 1940 for an arthur grant born 1914 died aged 26 at bromsgrove...

lyn
 
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It may well be that a data entry on BARRA (transcribed by pupils) has mistakenly entered thirteen for thirty. It is interesting that there is no injury date on the BARRA entry. The only way to solve it is probably to buy a death certificate or locate the burial record.
 
yes i agree janice..i also have the birmingham blitz book written by BARRA which lists the cilivilan deaths for birmingham and there is only 1 grant and that is a mary grant aged 19
 
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UPDATE
just looked at the back of the book and it gives a list of names added to the tree of life since it was unveiled and there is an arthur grant aged 26 so it looks like the death i found in bromsgrove must be him...ref is 6c 643

lyn
 
yes i agree janice..i also have the birmingham blitz book written by BARRA which lists the cilivilan deaths for birmingham and there is only 1 grant and that is a mary grant aged 19
Lyn he is on the Ancestry WW2 civilian deaths list. I found Mary (died Belgrave Road) on the Hall of Memory Book but not Arthur.
 
thats funny janice i couldnt find him on anc on the civilian death list...glad you did though
 
Thanks for your interest, Janice and Lyn.

I suppose a headstone might help us, but there seems to be no hint anywhere as to his resting place. Cofton Hackett Churchyard perhaps - where at least one Longbridge victim was buried?

Chris
 
(Recent post concerning Sarah Byfield from blessed - welcome to the Forum, blessed - and response moved to thread entitled WWII Air Raid Victims in order to keep this Longbridge thread on-topic)
 
This gentleman's Death Certificate reads:

When and Where died: 13 Nov 1940 - a field Cofton Hackett
Cause of Death: Due to War Operations

....which unfortunately doesn't take us much further in resolving this mystery.

Chris
 
https://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-an...in-memoriam-longbridge-flight-shed-1937-2011/

As the Austin Shadow Factory was at Cofton Hackett, as was the supporting airfield, a suggestion might be that the gentleman was somewhere on the airfield when a raid took place. It was common practice to machine gun as well as bomb airfields, industrial and utility infrastructure.
November 13th. was the day before the infamous Coventry Blitz. I suggest that it was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to destroy all industries concerned with aircraft production - airframes, engines and ancillary products. Not only was Longbridge and it shadow factory probably high on the target list so were the many industries in Coventry involved in aircraft production. All these areas are south of the city and could well be combined into a large bombing raid.
 
Thanks, Alan, all interesting.

In this day and age, an incident like this would get every headline and we would be inundated with detail. But then, well, it was just another incident and much of the detail, if it was ever properly reported, seems to be lost. Rumours tell us that a bloke was killed in Cofton Park "on his way home from the Austin"; the death certificate says "a field". Of course a field could mean an airfield. And other suggestions are that the attack on Longbridge was by incendiary, rather than H.E.; and that it was mainly a machine-gun attack. I imagine that it was a bit of everything.

As I have probably said before, it always amazes me that this was the only serious attack ever made on the Longbridge factory. The Luftwaffe certainly had detailed knowledge of its function and layout; but, apart from this dreadful occurrence, it seems to have been left alone.

Chris
 
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