Bank Row
1 July 1940, c. 16:30 · Wick, Caithness
View this record on the map →- Date
- 1 July 1940, c. 16:30
- Record type
- Historic bombing site
- Bomb weight
- 50kg
- Casualties
- 15
- Location
- Wick, Caithness
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed event, postcode-level point (no survey coordinate found; see note)
What happened
A single, undetected German Ju88 dropped two 50kg bombs on Bank Row — no siren sounded and no fighters were scrambled. It is recorded as the first daylight bombing raid against civilians on mainland Britain, two months before the London Blitz began.
Casualty note
15 killed (8 children, 7 adults), 30+ injured. Children: Eric Blackstock (5), John Wares (5), Betha Miller (5), Isobel Bruce (7), James Flett (7), Kenneth MacGregor (8), Amy Miller (9), Donald Thomson (16). Adults: Isobel Mackenzie (25), Pte Robert Mackenzie (30), Mary MacTavish (44), Mary Steven (44), Donald Waters (50), Bill Smith (63), Robert Mackenzie (71).
Also worth knowing
The coordinate is a postcode centroid (KW1 5EY), not a surveyed site location — a memorial garden now marks the site and may have a more precise published coordinate worth chasing later. This is one of the best individually-sourced incidents added in this batch: full names and ages for all 15 dead are published.