Lest we forget: The 939 names set to be honoured on new Belfast Blitz memorial in city centre

Belfast Telegraph

6 days ago

Plans for the memorial had been discussed in 2019, and will now become part of Belfast City Council's plans for the transformation of Cathedral Gardens, the area between St Anne's Cathedral and Ulster University's Belfast campus.
Northern Ireland War Memorial (NIWM) has been working in partnership with the council to create the memorial, which will include 937 names of the victims who died in four separate raids by the German Air Force during April and May 1941.
Manager at the museum, Keith Beattie, said the expectation is that the monument will be in place by the end of 2026.
'We have had great public support for this,' he said.
'The sculpture will be the final piece in the plan for Cathedral Gardens and the timing of the unveiling will be dependent on how quickly those plans can proceed. But to limit the possibility of any damage from the works in the area, it will be the final installation.
'We're very excited. And what we will have when the work is finished is a wonderful place for people to visit, sit and reflect, and a fitting tribute to all those who died in 1941.
'Next year, we will be holding separate events to mark the 85th anniversary of the blitz and while this sculpture will form the centrepiece of the new gardens, we want to make sure it's exactly what the people of Belfast want.
'We have waited some time to be able to bring this plan to fruition and I believe it will all be worth it and a fitting memorial to the Blitz when it's complete.'
The design is being kept under wraps for now, but will take the form of a sculpted monument, inscribed with the names of all those known to have died.
The names to be included on the memorial have been compiled using official sources and government records.
Luftwaffe bombers honed in on strategically selected targets of industrial and military importance across the city.
Over the course of four nights, the German bombers attacked many of these targets but it was working-class residents in the city who paid the highest price.
In particular, neighbourhoods in north Belfast and east Belfast suffered.
Tightly packed, poorly built housing was no match for the high-explosive bombs, parachute mines and incendiary bombs of the Luftwaffe.
The youngest victim was six-week-old William John Wallace who lost his life during the Easter Tuesday Raid at Eastland Street. His father William, aunt Annie and cousin David were also killed.
Don Bigger, chair of NIWM, said the Blitz decimated Belfast — one of 17 major UK cities targeted, along with many smaller towns, in 1941.
'This memorial will be a compelling monument to a tragic time in Belfast's history,' he said.
'There were four nights of German bombing and they are remembered as the Dockside Raid (April 7-8), Easter Tuesday Raid (April 15-16), Fire Raid (May 4-5) and the Final Raid (May 5-6).
'The impact was devastating and the new memorial will recognise those who were killed 'as a direct result of enemy action' in the city.
'A total of 937 fatal casualties have already been identified and NIWM is working with Blitz historians Alan Freeburn and Dr Brian Barton to establish a definitive list of people who lost their lives as a result of these raids.
'Elsewhere in Northern Ireland, on the night of Easter Tuesday, a further 32 died due to German bombing in Derry/Londonderry, Bangor and Newtownards. In time, NIWM is also hoping to support memorials to mark these raids.'
Belfast Lord Mayor Micky Murray said the Cathedral Gardens Memorial will provide the perfect location for people to meet and reflect.
'It's right and fitting that we remember all those who lost their lives in these devastating raids on our city,' he said.
'Our plan for Cathedral Gardens is that it becomes an easily accessible place, where everyone is welcome to meet up to relax, enjoy entertainment, or simply take in the beauty of a new living landscape and urban forest.
'Hopefully, in creating this Blitz Memorial and siting it in Cathedral Gardens, we will not only honour these Belfast residents, but also provide pause for reflection on the pointless destruction that war brings at a time when conflict sadly continues in many parts of the world.'
Watch: Story of how Belfast Zoo's baby elephant was kept in backyard of house during Second World War Blitz
Mr Murray said there may be other names of those who died during the Blitz who could still be added to the memorial.
'I urge those who know people whose name may not be on this list to contact NIWM with supporting evidence; and those who may have memories of this time as a child — or who have heard family stories passed down through the generations — to get in touch so that NIWM can document these through interviews,' he added.
If you think a victim of the raids has been omitted, email supporting evidence to NIWM at [e-mail] before June 30
Names of those to be remembered on Belfast Blitz memorial
Addis, Mary Addis, Sarah Aicken, Alexander Aitken, Jane Allister, Martha Anderson, Elizabeth Anderson, Isabella Anderson, Mary Ann Anderson, William John Andrews, David Harold Andrews, Mary Armstrong, Martin Robert Artt, Isabella Ash, Stanley George Atcheson, Eliza Baird, David Baird, Murdugh George Ball, Samuel Ballance, Agnes Ballantine, Ethel Ballantine, William Vincent Balmer, James Barr, James Alexander Barr, Jeannie Barr, William Cathcart Beattie, James Beattie, James Beech, Margaret Eileen Williamson Beggs, Phyllis Irene Bell, Hannah Bell, John Bell, Joseph Bell, Thomas George Belshaw, Robert Bennett, Catherine Bennett, Robert Benton, William Bill, Thomas Bingham, Thomas Black, Annie Black, Eva Black, Evelyn Black, Hazel Black, Hessie Black, James Black, James Black, Mary Blankney, Roland Bleakley, Matilda Violet Bleakley, Thomas William Boal, George Boal, Winifred Bonnell, Hugh Emrys Bothwell, David Edward Bothwell, Ernest Bothwell, Lily Mary Bothwell, Peggy Mary Boyd, Edith Boyd, Elias Jones Boyd, Elizabeth Kate Boyd, Hugh Boyd, Jessie Boyd, Sarah Jane Bradley, Everhilda Bradley, Margaret Bradley, Sydney Bradshaw, Annie Bradshaw, David Kennedy Brady, George Robert Brady, Mary Braniff, William Brennan, Margaret Briggs, James Briggs, Leonard Briggs, Leonard Briggs, Rowland William Brooker, Herbert Montague Brookes, Wilfrid Mark Hamilton Brothers, Margaret Brown, Elizabeth Jane Brown, Florence Edna Brown, Georgina Brown, Georgina Brown, Henry Brown, James Brown, John Brown, Margaret Jane Brown, Mary Jane Brown, Rachel Brown, Sarah Brown, Stephen Brown, William Alexander Browne, Annie English Browne, William Thomas Bullock, Robert Burbage, Montague James Burdett, Dorothy Kathleen Burleigh, Betty Burton, Sarah Byrne, Eliza Sarah Caldwell, Francis Ernest Cameron, Annie Campbell, Arthur McLean Campbell, Elizabeth May Campbell, Hugh Campbell, Margaret Campbell, Margaret Christina Campbell, Roberta Carleton, Dona Carroll, Thomas William Carson, Edward Carson, Eileen Carson, Martha Carter, Alice Carter, Joseph Carter, Joseph Carter, Kathleen Carter, Mary Carter, Mary Ann Carter, Sarah Cash, Mary Ann Castles, Hugh Christian, Leonard Charles Christy, James Christy, Margaret Christy, Margaret Sylvia Church, Hannah Cinnamond, Arthur Moore Clarke, Cecil Clarke, David Clarke, Desmond Clarke, James Henry Clarke, Jeremiah Clarke, Jeremiah Clarke, John Clarke, Lavina Clarke, Mabel Alexandra Clarke, Robert Clarke, William Close, Albert Close, Mary Jane Close, William Cobain, Elizabeth Maud Cobble, Edward William Cochrane, Gertrude Cole, Patrick Conlon, James Connelly, Annie Connelly, Charlotte Connelly, James Connolly, John Convery, Jane Cooke, David McKee Cooke, Ernest Victor Cooke, John Cooke, Mary Anne Cooke, Mary Jane Cooke, Thomas Coombs, Frank Mundy Corr, Annie Corr, Frederick Corr, Mary Ann Corry, Elizabeth Corry, Henry Corry, Martha Corry, Samuel Costello, Mary Ann Costello, Stephen Craig, Rebecca Craig, Robert Creighton, John Creighton, Rachel Crossan, David Crothers, Alexander Crothers, Raymond Crotty, Mary Ann Cuffe, Denis Patrick James Curran, Patrick Curran, William Curry, William John Danby, Alice Danby, Arthur Danby, Emily Danby, John Danby, John Robert Danby, Kathleen Danby, Olga Danby, Peter Darragh, Margaret Davey, Henry Davey, Matilda Davidson, Jane Davison, John Deering, Martha Elizabeth Deering, Mary Dempster, Agnes Dempster, Agnes Ruby Dempster, Ellen Dempster, Robert Denby, Dorothy Ethel Denby, Harriette Macredie Denby, Isabella Denby, William Henry Dennant, Eric Doherty, James Doherty, Mary Doherty, Mary Christina Doherty, Sarah Doherty, Susan Dojan, Donald Dojan, John Donnelly, Annie Donnelly, Arthur Donnelly, Bessie Donnelly, Hugh Donnelly, Joseph Michael Donnelly, Maggie Donnelly, Marie Donnelly, Mary Donnelly, Patrick Donnelly, Robert Moorhead Donnelly, Susannah Donnelly, Susannah Hope Donnelly, Thomas Dorman, Annie Dorman, Mary Dornan, Harriet Dornan, Harriett Douglas, Emily Douglas, James Douglas, Margaret Douglas, Samuel Douglas, Sarah Douglas, William Dowds, Anne Dowds, Annie Dowds, Maureen Drummond, Martha Duff, John Murray Duff, Kathleen Duffy, Catherine Duffy, James Duffy, James Michael Collins Duffy, Josephine Duffy, Samuel John Duffy, Sarah Ann Dunlop, Agnes Dunlop, Elizabeth Dunwoody, Edith Dunwoody, Henry Dunwoody, Isabella Dunwoody, William Elkin, Mary Elkin, Alexander McNeill Elkin, Alexander Norman Elkin, William Ronald Elliott, Samuel Stewart McComb Erskine, Cecil Esdale, John Farrelly, Maurice Phillip Faux, Christopher Youraba Fee, Daniel Ferguson, Agnes Ferguson, Andrew Ferguson, Andrew Ferguson, Charles Ferguson, Elizabeth Shaw Ferguson, Mary Jane Ferguson, Richard Ferguson, Thomas Gardener Ferris, Daniel Finlay, Robert Finnegan, John Finnegan, Kathleen Fisher, John Joseph Fisher, Martha Fisher, Rose Flack, George Flack, Mary Fletcher, James Fletcher, Martha Flood, Thomas Flynn, Agnes Flynn, Ambrose Flynn, Kenneth Flynn, Rosemary Forbes, Elsie Forbes, James Forbes, James Forbes, Martha Forbes, Norman Forbes, Sadie French, John Frizzell, Eric Frizzell, Eveline Frizzell, Eveline Frizzell, Robert John Fullerton, Charles Fullerton, Dennis Fullerton, Elizabeth Gardner, Amelia Garrett, Allen Garrett, Bridget Garrett, John Gass, James Gay, Herbert Geddis, Agnes Geddis, James Gibson, Thomas Heeson Gilmore, John Gordon, Elizabeth Gordon, Georgina Gordon, Hugh Gordon, Kathleen Gordon, Samuel Gordon, Susan Gordon, Thomas Gordon, William Gowan, Samuel Hoy Graham, Francis Graham, Frederick Graham, Jane Graham, Violet Graham, William John Gray, John Gray, John Gray, Sarah Greaney, John Greer, Sylvia June Gribbin, Nancy Simms Grimes, Christopher Grimes, Sarah Guglielmazzi, Leon Guinnis, William Guy, Henry William Guy, Mary Guy, Mary Doreen Guy, Reginald Guy, Sydney Hagans, Alexander McIlwrath Haggan, Robert Hagin, William Halliday, Frances Halliday, Francis Halliday, Harold Cecil Halliday, Isaac V. Hamilton, Annie Brown Hamilton, John Nelson Hamilton, Kathleen Hamilton, Samuel Hanna, Annie Hanna, Doreen Hanna, Eliza Hanna, Letitia Hanna, Myrtle Hanna, Robert John Hanna, Samuel Hanna, Samuel Hanna, Thomas Harbinson, Robert James Harkness, Brice Harper, Ann Jane Harris, John Thomas Harrison, John Harron, Mary Elizabeth Harvey, Thomas Harvey, Thomas Douglas Harvey, William Thomas Hawkins, Elizabeth Hawkins, Elizabeth Hawkins, John Albert Hawthorne, David Henry Heaney, Edith Heaney, George Heaney, Joseph Andrew Heaney, Vera Hemelryk, Edward Valentine Henderson, Agnes Hendron, William Henry, Mary Henry, Susan Heron, Elizabeth Heron, Martha Higgiston, Mary Matilda Hill, James Stringer Hill, Joseph Hill, Margaret Hillis, David Hillock, Sarah Ann Holden, Charlotte Holden, Jean Holden, William Holmes, Mary Jane Holt, Archibald Joseph Adolphus Holt, Eliza Jane Holton, Arthur Henry Hood, Robert Dalzell Howard, Mary Elizabeth Howe, Maurice William Huddleston, Elizabeth Jane Huddleston, Ellen Huddleston, James Huddleston, Hannah Huddleston, Hans Patrick Huddleston, Mary Hughes, Sarah Hunter, Charlotte Hunter, Henry Hunter, Irene Hunter, Joseph Molyneaux Hunter, Kathleen Hunter, Margaret Hunter, Rose Hutchinson, David Hutchinson, Lily Hutchinson, Martin Hutchinson, May Hutchinson, Rita Hutchinson, Sadie Hutchinson, Sarah Hutchinson, William Hutton, Jesse Taylor Hynes, William Irvine, Agnes McQuoid Irvine, Georgina Irvine, Hamilton Irvine, Margaret Hill McQuoid Irvine, Robert McCullough Irwin, Albert James Irwin, James
Jackson, Georgina Jackson, Thomas Jackson, Thomas Jacobson, Maurice Barnett Jamieson, Margaret Jamieson, William Samuel Jamison, Charles Frederick Jamison, Elizabeth Jamison, Mary Jamison, Samuel Jerwood, Albert Johnston, Margaret Jones, Daniel Rees Jones, Peter Jones, Stephen Henry Francis Kane, Robert Alexander Kater, Annie Jardine Kater, James Keane, Thomas Kearney, Elizabeth Keeney, Sarah Kelly, Albert Kelly, Annie Kathleen Kelly, Ernest Kelly, Vera Kennedy, Benjamin Kennedy, Oliver King, Joseph Kinghan, George Stuart Kingston, Ronald Victor Knight, Arthur Knight, Grace Knight, James Knight, Mildred Knox, Agnes Kyle, Stanley Lambert, Joseph Lancaster, William Larkin, William Larmour, Jane Leebody, Margaret Lemon, William James Lennon, John Lilley, Albert William Lilley, Edith Frances Ferguson Lindsay (Steele), Rosina Long, Ivers Long, Margaret Jane Long, Norman Long, Ralph Alonza Lucey, Ernest John Montague Lutton, Ellen Lutton, Robert Lutton, Robert Vincent Lynas, Jean Lynas, Richard Lyttle, Frederick Lyttle, Jane Johnston Macauley, Grace MacDonald, Angus Campbell Magee, Daniel Magee, Jane Magee, Mary Magee, Mary Magee, Thomas Magee, Thomasina Magill, Annie Magill, Hugh Magill, Margaret Magill, May Mahaffey, William John Malcolm, Dorothy Malcolmson, Evelyn Mallon, Anna Mallon, Annie Mallon, Cecil Mallon, John Terence Marasi, Felix Martin, John Andrew Martin, Sarah Mason, Anthony Gerard Mason, John William Oliver Mason, Mary Mason, Richard Mason, Rose Mason, Thomas Mateer, David Mateer, Florence Mawhinney, Charlotte Mawhinney, Elizabeth Maxwell, Joseph Maynard, Geoffrey Hiram Mays, William James McAdams, Andrew McAlea, Catherine McAnespie, John McAtamney, Mary McAteer, Adam McAteer, Kathleen McAteer, Martha McAuley, George McAuley, Joseph McAuley, Margaret McAuley, Walter McAvoy, Isabel McAvoy, James McAvoy, John McAvoy, Thomas McCaffery, Catherine McCallum, Cecil McCann, Annie McCann, Mary McCann, Sarah Baird McCarey, Josias McCartney, Matthew McCleary, William McClelland, Agnes McClelland, David McClelland, Edward McClements, Agnes McClements, Hamilton McClements, Hamilton McClements, Jane McCloskey, Gerard Patrick McCormick, Sarah McCready, John McCreedy, James McCreedy, John McCreedy, Mary Jane McCrickard, Margaret McCrickard, Mary McCrickard, Patrick McCullagh, Eliza Jane McCullagh, James Albert McCullagh, Lily Mary McCullagh, Mary Ann McCullagh, Sarah Jane McCullough, Agnes McCullough, Agnes McCullough, Brian McCullough, Eileen McCullough, Eileen Lovain McCullough, Mary Jane McCullough, Martha Neill McCullough, Ralph McCullough, William McCullough, William John McCunnie, John McDermott, Mary Ann McDermott, Mary Kathleen McDermott, Patrick McDonald, Archibald McDonald, Ellen McDonald, Martha McDonald, Thomas McDonald, Thomas Mahood McDowell, William McDowell, William Henry McElheran, Catherine McErlean, Evelyn McErlean, John McErlean, Pierce McFall, Joseph McFall, Joseph McFall, Martha McFall, Sarah McFall, Violet McFarlane, James McGarry, Georgina McGaughan, Sarah Jane McGee, Anne Jane McGee, Harry McGee, Henry McGee, Margaret McGennity, Bridget McGennity, Margaret McGennity, Robert McGennity, William Henry McGerrigan, Patrick James McGladdery, Samuel McGladdery, Sarah McGookin, Joan McGowan, Bertha McGowan, William Thomas McGrawn, Minnie McGregor, Adam McGroder, John McHugh, Annie McHugh, Sarah McIlveen, Eliza Jane McIlveen, Samuel McIlwaine, Elizabeth McIntyre, William McKay, Daniel McKay, Daniel McKay, Jean McKay, Marcus McKee, David McKenna, Frances McKenna, James McKenna, John McKeown, Margaret McKeown, Margery McKeown, Thomas McKinty, John McKnight, Maggie McLellan, James McLellan, James McLellan, Sarah McMeekan, Jennie McMeekan, Robert James McNair, William McNally, Agnes McNally, Elizabeth McNally, Hugh McNally, Mary McNeill, Hetty McNeill, Hugh Baxter McNeill, Lorna McNiece, Elizabeth McPolin, Annie Bernadette McPolin, Bridget McPolin, Hannah McShane, Patrick McSourley, Ann Philomena McSourley, Mary McSourley, Sarah McTernaghan, Eliza Jane McVeigh, Francis McWhinney, Bridget McWhinney, Eileen McWhinney, James McWhinney, Joseph McWhinney, Joseph McWhinney, Mary Meaklim, James Mells, Mary Jane Miley, James Thomas Millar, David Millar, David Millar, Elizabeth Millar, Francis Millar, Henry John Millar, John Alexander Millar, John Forsythe Millar, Margaret Millar, Rebecca Millar, Robert Miller, John Miller, Mary Jane Mills, Robert John Humphries Mills, Walter Charles Edmondbury Montgomery, Andrew Moore, Hugh Hanna Moore, James Simon Moore, Mary Robinson Moore, Thomas Moore, Trevor Moore, William Morgan, William George Morris, William Thomas Alexander Morton, Thomas Muldoon, Katherine Mulholland, Sarah Freeburn Murdock, Ellen Murdock, Margaret Murray, Margaret Murray, Mary Elizabeth Murray, William Neill, Annie Neill, Jane Nesbitt, Alice Nesbitt, Ellen Nesbitt, Jean Nesbitt, Samuel Nixon, James Johnston O'Boyle, James O'Brien, Jeremiah O'Hare, Josephine Patricia O'Hare, Mary Teresa O'Neill, Hugh O'Neill, Margaret Jane O'Neill, Maria Orr, Raymond Osben, James Owens, Frederick Park, John Thomas Park, Martha Patience, John Patience, John Cameron Patience, Robert Patterson, Emma Jane Patterson, Emma Jane Patterson, William Robert Perkins, Herbert Owen Perring, Alfred Frederick Peters, Harold Herbert Phillips, Edward Warburton Phillips, Henry Pickup, Harry Norman Pollock, William Martin Power, Bridget Power, Gerald Power, Patrick Power, Thomas Price, Thomas Pritchard, Joshua Pritchard, Margaret Pritchard, Margaret Pritchard, William John Quigley, William Quinn, John Roderick Redman, Myrtle Edwina Freida Rees, Ivor John Reid, Isabella Reid, Martha Reid, Robert Reilly, Mary Renton, Allison McClelland Renton, Elizabeth Renton, Muriel Lowry Renton, William Richardson, Charles Richardson, Ellen Riecken, Ernest William Riecken, Mary Louisa Roberts, Francis Edward Roberts, John Thomas Roberts, Sarah Robinson, Agnes Robinson, James Henry Rodgers, Evelyn Rodgers, James Rodgers, Jane Rodgers, Kathleen Rodgers, Phyllis Rodgers, Robert Rodgers, William Rogers, Daniel Rogers, Daniel Rogers, Mary Rooney, Joseph Ross, John Reynolds Rossborough, Minnie Rowley, Alfred John Rowley, Charles James Rowley, Emily Roy, Samuel John Russell, Sofia Saunders, George James Henry Savage, Thomas Scott, Albert Scullion, Bridget Scullion, James Seaward, Norman Leslie Shaw, Kenneth Lawrence Silverman, Anthony Meyer Simmons, John Thompson Simon, Florence Simon, Geoffrey Ronald Simon, Henry Nathan Simpson, David Cooper Skelly, Samuel Skelton, Audrey Skelton, Samuel Skinner, Albert Joseph Slavin, Henry Smith, Mary Smyth, Elizabeth Smyth, Elizabeth Smyth, Ellen Smyth, Hugh Smyth, Lawrence Smyth, Margaret Smyth, May Smyth, Sadie Smyth, William John Spence, George Spratt, Jean Spratt, John Stafford, Margery Staunton, Edith Staunton, Frederick Staunton, Herbert Staunton, Letitia Staunton, Robert Steele, Mary Sterrett, William John Stevenson, Ellen Stevenson, James Stevenson, Richard Stevenson, Samuel Stewart, Alice Stewart, Archibald Herbert Sanderson Stewart, Hugh John Stewart, Raymond Stewart, Stella Stewart, William Story, Rachel Anna Story, Susanna Sutcliffe, Richard Douglas Swann, John Swann, Margaret Isabella Swann, Martha Swann, Mary Swann, William Taggart, Elizabeth Taggart, Ellen Taggart, William Henry Tate, Elizabeth Tate, Ellen Ogle Tate, Evelyn Taylor, James Taylor, John Taylor, Kathleen Taylor, Mary Taylor, Patrick Thompson, Elizabeth Thompson, Hugh Thompson, James Thompson, Joan Thompson, John Thompson, Samuel Alexander Thompson, Sarah Jane Thompson, Una Timoney, Mary Ann Tobin, Joseph Todd, Ella Elizabeth Todd, Vera Todd, Violet Toogood, Margaret Toole, Patricia Anne Torley, Francis Totton, Agnes Totton, Geoffrey Totton, Thomas Turner, Mary Turpin, James Herbert Unsworth, Sarah Elizabeth Unsworth, Thomas Vannan, Ann Elizabeth Vannan, Mary Elizabeth Venn, Trephena A. Venton, William Anson Vigors, Patrick Forbes Waddington, Thomas Wallace, David Wallace, James Wallace, James Wallace, Jane Wallace, Jane Wallace, Kathleen Wallace, Sheila Wallace, William John Wallace, William John Wallace, William James Walsh, Catherine Ward, Sarah Ward, William Ward, Richard Fowler Warwick, Alice Warwick, Alice Winifred Warwick, Ann Jane Hughena Warwick, Joanna Payne Warwick, Nathaniel Boyd Warwick, Nathaniel James Warwick, Phyllis Iris Watson, Margaret Watson, William James Watt, John Webb, Minnie Welch, Angela Maureen Welch, Annie Angela Welsh, Phares Hill Wherry, Elizabeth Wherry, John Wherry, Margaret Jane Wherry, Martha Wherry, Mary Wherry, Robert White, Mary Wilson, Alexander Wilson, Annie Wilson, Annie Wilson, David Wilson, Dorothy Wilson, Edith Wilson, Elizabeth Wilson, Ellen Wilson, Ellie Wilson, Euphemia Wilson, James Wilson, James Wilson, Johanna Wilson, Margaret Wilson, Robert Wilson, Robert J. Wilson, Sarah Wilson, Thomas Wilson, Violet Wilson, Violet Wilson, William Wilson, William John Wiseman, Matthew Wiseman, William Wylie, Annie Wilson Wylie, Francis