Swansea’s Burning

WHEN bombs began raining relentlessly from the skies over Swansea 70 years ago little did its residents realise it was about to become a town hotter than hell. At around 7.30pm on February 19, 1941, German bombers, launched the most significant event in the city’s history — the Three Nights’ Blitz. The bombers had been before, but this was different. Countless warbirds, each laden with a deadly cargo of explosives, filled the sky for three consecutive nights, pushing the defenders to the limit. The bombing, and the massive firestorm that followed destroyed a staggering 41 acres of the old town.

Some thought this was the end, but they were wrong. Swansea survived — just. In Swansea’s Burning author and long-time journalist DAVID ROBERTS, has brought together a unique collection of facts and images of the time, 70 years ago, when Swansea’s history came to a full stop. It is a ‘before, during and after’ account that even with the passing of seven decades will still amaze.

The book is a commemorative tribute to the city’s battle for survival and those who lost their lives in those distant nights of terror.