#Story
Moonlight Inferno: Firefighters Sacrifice at Daimler
On this site during the Second World War stood one of the main Daimler Factories. They produced vehicles, weapons and aircraft parts for the war effort. The factory and site are now gone, and it is mainly a housing area, although a small area does remain as a metal manufacturer for car parts.
On the night of 8 April 1941, a Luftwaffe (German air Force) raid hit the city of Coventry targeting its industrial factories. This included the Daimler sites here and at Sandy Lane.
From 22:00 onwards, the sites were quickly hit by hundreds of incendiary bombs. Firefighters were called from the city and further afield to tackle the blazes, both professional firefighters and volunteers. Many had joined the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) as volunteers and were be called in on that night.
As the bombing raid continued through the night firefighters fought to tackle the blazes at Daimler sites here and Sandy Lane. A group of AFS from Dudley Fire Brigade attended and began to try and put fires out. Under the threat of immense danger all round as bombs continued to fall, one high explosive bomb hit the area of the main entrance gate. Five firefighters from Dudley were instantly killed in the blast:
Leading Fireman Charles Henry Harrison, aged 32
Leading Fireman Gilbert Henry Chilton, aged 31
Fireman Cyril Robert Rogers, aged 36
Fireman Frank Arthur Hammond, aged 23
Fireman Willian Verdun Evans, aged 25
Two AFS firefighters from Nuneaton were also killed on this night by enemy action. These were:
Leading Fireman Alfred Ernest Bickerton, aged 27
Fireman Ernst Wilin, aged 31
Both men were lost whilst tackling fires at Daimler No.1 factory.