The Swan Inn, High Street, Old Town
23 May 1943 · Hastings, East Sussex
View this record on the map →- Date
- 23 May 1943
- Record type
- Historic bombing site
- Bomb type
- HE
- Location
- Hastings, East Sussex
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed site, building-level
What happened
Around ten fighter-bombers crossed the coast at the eastern end of Hastings and dived to rooftop height, dropping high-explosive bombs on the Old Town. The Swan Inn was destroyed, along with Swan Terrace and the Albany Hotel.
Casualty note
Fifteen or sixteen killed at the Swan itself — eleven customers, two staff and two children per the Friends of Hastings Cemetery; a newspaper feature gives sixteen. Across Hastings that day 25 were killed and 85 injured.
Also worth knowing
The Swan site is now a Garden of Remembrance, and the victims lie in the Civilian War Dead plot at Hastings Cemetery.