Tribute paid to victims of bombing

11:00am Thu Mar 07, 2013

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A remembrance service takes place today to mark 72 years since the bombing of a factory in which 41 people died.

The service will commemorate the second world war attack on Newark’s Ransome and Marles factory by German bombers on March 7, 1941.

The service starts at Newark Cemetery at 1.30pm.

A bugler will play The Last Post, and there will be a roll call, by Mr Chris Grant, of the names of the 29 men and 12 women who died.

Mr Grant was a five-year-old living on Sleaford Road when his father was killed in the raid.

The raid began at about 1.40pm, when many workers were returning from lunch.

A single low-flying Heinkel III bomber approached the ball bearing factory from the south along the railway line and dropped four bombs.

Two landed in the works, another on the street, and the other on an air-raid shelter adjacent to Stanley Street.

The plane made another pass, machine guns firing, and dropped a final bomb but it did not explode.

There was another attack at 2.25pm when five bombs were dropped. One exploded and wounded many rescue workers.