Swilly Road
6 July 1940 · Plymouth, Devon
View this record on the map →- Date
- 6 July 1940
- Record type
- Historic bombing area
- Bomb type
- HE
- Casualties
- 3
- Location
- Plymouth, Devon
- Position accuracy
- Approximate point
What happened
The first bombs to fall on Plymouth landed just before midday on a block of eight Corporation houses in Swilly Road, destroying three and killing a 33-year-old woman, a 58-year-old man, and a 13-year-old boy — the city's first civilian casualties of the war.
Also worth knowing
This is the opening entry in the Town Clerk's wartime 'bomb book', now held at The Box. Note: some secondary sources (citing Gill, 1993) place this first raid in the neighbouring North Prospect area rather than Swilly Road by name — the two are adjoining streets in the same St Budeaux/Swilly district, and casualty/date details agree. Replace with a street-level archival coordinate if publishing a formal public archive.