Page 16 - HeritageEbooklet

Target Rolls‑Royce

Derby had its share of bombing during the Second World War and, as
reported in The Bombing of Rolls-Royce at Derby in two World Wars (Kirk, Felix
& Bartnik), there were at least nine known raids that specifically targeted
Rolls-Royce. However, throughout the war, only one bomb landed on the
aero engine factory. That raid took place on 27 July 1942, when a bomb
landed on the Central Stores and passed through a wall into the Steel Store,
where it exploded. Three other bombs landed on nearby houses in
Hawthorn Street, Abingdon Street and Handel Street. Twenty-three people
died in the raid, 40 were injured and 70 were badly shocked. The casualties
were Rolls-Royce workers and local residents (including two children),
plus Private Thomas Carlen who was a serving member of the Royal Army
Ordnance Corps. Censorship rules meant that little was reported of the
attack at the time. A memorial service to mark the 50th anniversary of the
raid was held on 27 July 1992 at 8am in the Central Stores beneath a crane
stanchion that still bore shrapnel scars from the raid.

During World War II Elsie Church went to work for Rolls‑Royce
checking the parts for the Merlin engines that powered the
Spitfires. Her recollections were recorded by her grandson,
Peter King on WW2 People’s War, an online archive of
wartime memories contributed by members of the public and
gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/
ww2peopleswar.

“I went to work for Rolls-Royce on Nightingale Road in Derby and I was there
all through the war. I was on inspection. We women were in different sections,
of about twenty girls. We were trained, taught how to read micrometers, and all
the stuff that goes to examine planes. It was very interesting, absorbing work.
“We knew our work was important for the Air Force. We called them the Boys
in Blue. Our work had to be accurate because their lives depended on us being
careful. We were all very proud. I was, and I know all my friends were. It was
England that we were fighting for, not just an army. We were fighting for our
own existence.”

Peter King / Article A2006687/ WW2 People’s War

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