Diocesan News17 Apr 16

Belfast Remembers the Dead and Wounded of the Blitz

Belfast City today remembered those who died in the Blitz 75 years ago at a service of commemoration in St Anne’s Cathedral.

The ecumenical service was led by the Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev John Mann, and the Administrator of St Patrick’s Church, Donegall Street, Fr Michael Sheehan, who preached.

More than 900 people died and 1,500 were injured on the night of Tuesday April 15 1941, when Luftwaffe bombers staged the biggest of four raids on Belfast City.  Another 150 people were killed in a subsequent raid on the night of May 4–5 1941.

One thousand candles burned during the service in St Anne’s, offering symbolic reflection for those who died, and candles were also carried in procession to the altar. Prayers were specially written for the occasion.

The Service of Commemoration marking 75 years since the Belfast Blitz was led by Dean John Mann, St Anne’s Cathedral, left, and Fr Michael Sheehan, Administrator, St Patrick’s, Donegall Street.

The service was attended by dignitaries including the City’s Lord Mayor and Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, along with people with memories and links to the Blitz and representatives of the emergency services whose predecessors risked their own lives to save lives in the city of Belfast 75 years ago.

They included representatives of the Fire Service in Dublin and Drogheda who sent engines to Belfast during the Blitz. Two Merryweather Fire Engines which attended in the wake of the bombings in 1941 made the journey back to Belfast and were parked outside the Cathedral.

Remembering the night of April 15 in his sermon, Fr Sheehan recalled a ‘darkness which brought its own horror, suffering, heartbreak and pain; a darkness which brought, degradation, torture and death; a darkness which threatened to engulf goodness, honour, life and love and which threatened the very foundation of our humanity; a darkness which in so many places across the continent destroyed innocence.’

Fr Sheehan added: “People emerge in every darkness who demonstrate through their actions your (God’s) goodness; people who come to ease and strengthen, support and defend the innocent, the wounded and the survivor.  We give thanks for those lights which demonstrated courage, care, kindness and honour.  The ambulance service, fire and rescue, wardens and defence units as well as ordinary good neighbours from across our divide.”

Fr Sheehan quoted from a speech made by Her Majesty the Queen during her visit to Dublin Castle: “’We are reminded of the complexities of our history, its many layers and traditions, but also the importance of forbearance and conciliation.  Of being able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it.’

“May we to remember, acknowledge and bow to the past and our dead, but let us not be bound, hardened or indeed deflected from the future by it.” (Full text of sermon attached).

Dean Mann said the indiscriminate bombing of the people of Belfast in 1941 was commemorated with ‘an anguish that is still real.’

 “The image of St Anne’s amidst the smouldering ruins after a night of destruction from the air is more powerful than many words for me,” the Dean said. “The indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Belfast, or anywhere for that matter, is something we commemorate with an anguish that is still real these 75 years on. Our prayers reflect this.  “We recall the fear, the death, the injury, the ruination, the many, to this day, whose lives were affected by those few nights that obliterated parts of our city.”The Dean said he was born in London, as was his mother. “I recall her living through the days of the war as a young girl facing another trauma brought about by the Blitz,” He said. “She was an evacuee to a small village in Dorset. Sounds idyllic. It wasn’t. She, already an orphan for other reasons, was forcibly separated from all that was familiar. It happened here too.”

The sermon by Fr Michael Sheehan is available at www.belfastcathedral.org

Prayers written for the service:

Almighty God, as we recall the Belfast Blitz seventy–five years on from those dark and destructive days of April and May 1941, grant us a discerning mind and a compassionate heart in thinking of those who lost their lives.  The suddenness of such a death, as helplessly people cowered as the bombs fell, brings with it a terror that we would seek to contain within this prayer.  Shield us from an easy acceptance of what we do not have to suffer, but also from the inner turmoil that rests in a crisis that is not touched by your presence.  So in love we seek your face and your understanding as we place our memories and imaginings into your hands and leave them there; for healing and blessing; for transformation and mercy.  May the risen Christ unite us with those we remember today, in the fellowship and love of the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Holy God, guide of the lost and saviour of the fallen, bless the work of the emergency services called to the scene of tragedy and disaster. Keep them in safety and protect them in times of danger; give skill to those who direct others and instinctive care to all who act in tense and threatening situations.  We give thanks for the emergency services who gave of themselves on the nights of the blitz and in subsequent days, from Belfast and beyond, and for the brave men and women who risked their own lives for those of others.  In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.

Father, as we look upon the world today in all its complexities and international connections, we know that we are never entirely isolated from the possibility of attack by violent people as we travel and meet, and live normal lives in our cities and towns.  Restrain the forces of evil that would destroy peace and bring suffering and misery to innocent people through the indiscriminate attack on the defenceless.  As we bring to mind the days of the blitz, we pray for those who fear just such an attack on their own home somewhere in the world of today.  We pray too for the fire and rescue services the world over; the work of ambulance crews and civil defence organisations and all who contribute to the safety of others.  In your mercy and through your Son we seek the comfort of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Lord, we pray for this City of Belfast and for all who live and work here, that it may be a place at peace with itself and a blessing to the wider world and all who visit.  Grant that, as we share in one another’s burdens, we may receive of each other’s joy.  Increase our sense of mutual dependence, as revealed in times of national suffering, that this Blitz commemoration may stand as an example of compassion in the face of aggression, and an expression of loving concern where total disregard was experienced.  Grant this Lord, for the sake of he who died for us, Jesus Christ, your Son.  Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.

For further information contact Karen Bushby, Press Officer, St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on 07766 103880 or email [email protected]