Coventry Cathedral, Coventry, West Midlands

Photograph taken July 1949 © Historic England Archive Aerofilms Collection ref: afl03_aerofilms_a24986

These are the remains of the old Cathedral. It was destroyed by incendiary bombs on 14 November 1940. Only its spire and outer walls survived. It is seen here from the air in July 1949. It is surrounded by empty plots where other buildings were destroyed in the Coventry Blitz. The interior of the Cathedral had been cleared and looks very much as it still does today. A new Cathedral was completed on adjoining land in 1962

Location

West Midlands Coventry

Period

1940s (1946 - 1949)

Themes

"Wills, Shaw and Friese-Greene Ready to Film". This was a publicity shot for the foundation of the Aerofilms aerial photography company. It was taken at the London Aerodrome, Hendon. Francis Lewis Wills was a former Royal Naval Air Service Observer and co-founder of Aerofilms. Claude Friese-Greene, holding the cine-camera, was technical director for Aerofilms in its early days, but is best known as a pioneering cinematographer. We know very little about Shaw, the pilot, probably an AirCo employee.

Coventry Cathedral, Coventry, West Midlands

Location

Period

Themes

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