I hope you found your way to Emmanuel Church. If you look across the road you will notice that the last few houses on the corner opposite look newer than those in the rest of the terrace. You might guess this is because they were re-built after the war. On the night of the 23rd April 1942, before the blitz that destroyed central Exeter in May, 49 German bombers tried to bomb the city but failed to do significant damage because of heavy cloud. However, four high explosive bombs fell on St Thomas, killing 5 and injuring 8 people. A string of bombs fell along here... One fell at the corner of Buller Road, at 19 Okehampton Road, where Cicely Bessie Wright, aged 45, lived.
Fred Osborne: The house that’s there now was a shop and the lady that ran it was called Miss Wright. On the opposite side was the fish and chip shop, well still is. They came out, the sirens went, the planes were over the top. Why they were so keen around here was because of the railway, they wanted to breach that railway. And there was a signal box there and of course when the steam trains pulled up, they opened the old firebox and some great plumes of red flames went up and there was always a good marker for them. Anyway, the people in the fish and chip shop called Miss Wright and said come over with us, which she done, and she’s just got inside the front door and she’s said "I haven’t got me handbag" and you know what women with handbags are... she had to go back and she opened the door to go in [Bomb explosion] ... Big bang. She died. The whole house collapsed on her... Huge pipes going everywhere. Gas. Water. You could put a coach in the crater.
I often think of Cicely Wright when I pass here.
In a moment you'll be crossing Okehampton Road, please be careful as you do, and head along the right hand side of Buller Road. But pause a moment opposite the chip shop. You might be able to smell chips if its open? Nice eh?! I would recommend a half portion with a pickled egg. But maybe that's for later. Now, look for a mark scratched on the wall behind you. This shows the depth the water reached in the devastating floods of 1960. Notice how high this mark is against your own body. Imagine wading through that depth of water all along the street as you carry on.
Continue along Buller Road and at the bend in the road, cross Clarence Road and stand on the far corner. That's the stopping place for the next track. When you get there, play track 3.
