A MEMORIAL service will be held to mark the 80th anniversary of Newport's darkest day — April 7, 1943 — when a German bombing raid on the town killed 20 and injured more than 200.

St John's Church will host a special service of remembrance, organised by Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council, on Friday, June 9.

On that fateful spring morning in 1943, the Luftwaffe, which flew low along the Arreton Valley from Sandown to avoid radar, scattered bombs and cannon fire across Newport — causing extensive damage to businesses and homes.

Known as the Chapel Street Bombing, 16 were recorded as having died in the raid, but a further four died later from their injuries.

Isle of Wight County Press: The Chapel Street memorial in Newport Congregational Church.The Chapel Street memorial in Newport Congregational Church. (Image: Isle of Wight County Press)

The bombers were targeting Morey’s sawmill in Trafalgar Road, which they knew to be manufacturing parts for Mosquito aircraft — but they bombed the wrong part of the factory.

However, one of the bombs killed three men. It had bounced more than 300 yards after it first hit the ground, passing through the roof of a woman’s home.

Another bomb hit a garage, passed through its open doors and travelled 150 yards, before it demolished and set fire to a large grocers and provision merchants.

The attack, at 7.30am, lasted a minute. Most of the casualties were from bombs dropped on terraced houses in Clarence Road and Chapel Street.

In Clarence Road, seven houses were destroyed and five occupants killed.

Isle of Wight County Press: The memorial to all 20 who died following the Nazi bombing of Newport on April 7, 1943.The memorial to all 20 who died following the Nazi bombing of Newport on April 7, 1943. (Image: Isle of Wight County Press)

Among the casualties was a young boy, Harold Ablitt, an evacuee staying with his grandparents.

It became grim local knowledge the boy was reading comics on his bed and was found with no visible injuries, with a comic in his hand, having died from suffocation from the blast sucking the air out of the atmosphere.

In Chapel Street, five houses were wrecked, with more fatalities, including two widowed sisters and a young airman.

There is a memorial, erected in Church Litten, on the spot where the house of GP, Dr Arthur Straton, took a direct hit.

Isle of Wight County Press: Chapel Street in Newport before it was destroyed by German bombers.Chapel Street in Newport before it was destroyed by German bombers. (Image: Isle of Wight County Press)

The former County Press offices in the High Street and the Guildhall were also damaged in the attack.

  • The memorial service will start at 11am, on Sunday, June 9.