HULL will today remember its war dead as residents join VIPs to pay tribute to those whose suffering was kept secret from the rest of Britain as their city was reduced to rubble.
The site of one of the last bombs to be dropped on Hull during the Second World War will be the focal point for a commemorative service to remember the hundreds of civilians killed in the 1941 Blitz.
During the fighting, the strategic importance o
f Hull's docks meant it suffered devastating air raids from Germany's Luftwaffe – leading to the heaviest bombardment of any city outside London.
At the height of the raids German bombers flew 22 missions between February and May 1941. Later in the war the city was targeted by V1 flying bombs.
In spite of the huge price in human life, the destruction of the city's landscape, and damage to 95 per cent of the city's houses, the devastation was an official secret.
For security purposes, journalists could only report the blitz of Hull as having taken place in a "north-eastern coastal town". The damage included the dropping of two 500-kilo bombs on May 20 1941.
One exploded, but the other failed to go off and was defused at the Greif site in Southcoates Lane. Its shell now stands on the corner of Ryehill Grove and Preston Road, after residents asked community organisations for the chance to pay a fitting tribute to those lost in the war.
The community has also pulled together to create a day of remembrance today, with the help of Preston Road Neighbourhood Development Company and the city's museum service.
Event organiser Karen Tozer, a senior community participation officer at the company, said: "Preston Road residents came to us because they wanted some kind of memorial to remember Hull's civilian war dead.
"Hull was one of the most bombed cities in the Second World War and it was never mentioned by name in the media." A wreath-laying ceremony will take place at 10.30am at the memorial site where the bomb's shell case stands.
Those attending will include the Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding Mrs Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Lord Mayor of Hull Brenda Petch, a representative from Hull Kingston Rovers and a representative from the local community.
The laying of the wreath will be followed at 11.30am by a commemorative service in the main hall of the Freedom Centre, in Preston Road, led by the Rev Mick Fryer. The service will feature songs from the children of Old Fleet Primary School against a backdrop of film footage of Hull during the war lent by Hull Local History Library.
A soup kitchen opens at 12.30pm and, from 1pm to 4pm, residents are invited to a war-time tea dance.
All day "living historians" dressed in authentic war-time costume will be on hand to guide visitors to the Freedom Centre through the wails of air raid sirens and into a replica Morrison air raid shelter built by Southdale Homes.
Other war memorabilia and artefacts from the conflict will be provided by the East Yorkshire Regiment Re-enactment Unit and Hull Museums' Education Service.
Ms Tozer said: "It's all about bringing history to life – as a commemoration for the older generation and as a way of making it real for the younger generation. We're trying to evoke memories."
Education Project Officer for Hull Museums Kate Armitage added: "We are pleased and excited to be able to support this event, especially as it complements new Second World War-themed activities in Hull Museums. We hope this is the start of a long and successful partnership."
The Freedom Centre exhibition will be open 9am to 5pm today.
