Event Details
Whitelam Books is pleased to welcome Reading-based author and educator Michael McLaughlin to share his new book, Plymouth Blitz: The Bombing of Portland Square and the Devastation of a City, on Sunday, September 20 at 3:00PM. Whitelam Books is located in downtown Reading at 610 Main Street, near the intersection of Haven Street and Main Street.
This event is free and open to the public – all are welcome!
About the Event:
Plymouth Blitz recounts the deadliest civilian incident in Plymouth during the Second World War, when a German bomb struck the Portland Square Air Raid Shelter. Through eyewitness accounts and archival research, this book captures the courage, fear, and resilience of ordinary people living under the threat of aerial attack.
On the night of April 22-23, 1941, as the German Luftwaffe descended on Plymouth, families from Portland Square and Victoria Street sought refuge in the communal air-raid shelter beneath the park at the centre of the square. Just after midnight, a bomb tore through one wing of the shelter, killing at least 71 people in the city’s most devastating incident of the war. Despite its scale and human cost, the Portland Square tragedy has never before been explored as a full, integrated account.
A richly researched and deeply human account, Plymouth Blitz is essential reading for history enthusiasts, students, educators, and anyone seeking to explore the Blitz beyond the headlines.