WORLD WAR TWO - A MEMORIAL

War memorial on Courtaulds Factory removed and now missing. Can anyone locate this for us?

The memorial has been recreated digitally, but the search is on for the original. (Tony Birch)

This is a photo of the burial of six Polish airmen at Oaston Road Cemetary. They were killed in an air crash on 4th February 1941 along with four British airmen. All were from 18 O.T.U. at Bramcote. The crash happened at Church Minshull near Middlewich, Cheshire when their aircraft a Wellington R1298 hit a barrage ballon cable. At the time they were 12 miles off course and flying in poor visibility. The only British airman named was the pilot F/O D. Warburton. The Polish airmen were:- Kpl. S. Wojciechowski aged 25 Kpl. J. Orynek aged 26 Kpl. Z.J. Perkowski aged 26 Kpl. H.R. Kwiatkowski aged 21 Plt. L. Jachna aged 31 POR A. Minkiewicz aged 33 The man in the black coat standing next to the second coffin was Thomas Henry Cope, grandfather of Bill Glover who provided the photo. Mr. Cope's son also Thomas Henry Cope was in charge of the cemetery but was away serving in the Royal Artillery at the time and his father was deputising for him on this sad occasion. A larger version of this photo was given to the Chapel at Bramcote Barracks by John Cope a few years ago. (Bill Glover Collection)

Joseph Compton 2 RN WWII of Bucks Hill, Nuneaton. (Gary Moore)

Prisoners of War held at Arbury, Merevale and Maxstoke PoW camps.

German PoW's at Merevale Camp. (The Wright Family Rural North Warwickshire Archive).

An Italian PoW from Merevale Camp (The Wright Family Rural North Warwickshire Family History Collection)

Two group photos of PoW's from Merevale Camp. We think the top group are Italian and the bottom group are Germans. (The Wright Family Rural North Warwickshire Archive)

The main avenue of Merevale camp. August 1946.

Several German aircraft were shot down in our area. This Junkers 88 came down on the night of April 9th/10th 1941. The metal plaque was recovered from the wreckage. (Ruby Atkins Collection)

Aftermath of the Blitz on houses in Corporation Street.

Vicarage Street, Nuneaton. The day after the Blitz. 17th May 1941. (Reg. Bull, collection, courtesy Ruby Atkins).

Church Street Nuneaton the day after the blitz May 17th 1941. Note Lawyer Dempster's House partially destroyed with its distinctive front doorway. The large house in the distance was the Close. Home of Mr & Mrs Edward Melly who were discovered dead in the house that day by local policeman Joe Boneham.

The Close where Alderman Melly died.

The bombed out remains of Alderman Melly's large house, The Close in Church Street. (The parish church is visible opposite). Alderman Melly and his wife were discovered sheleting in the house, but the blast had killed them. A terrible end to a long career in industrial Nuneaton.

Alderman Melly who died that fateful May night in 1941.

Believed to be the junction of Henry Street and Bracebridge Street.