George William Beckett

Stationed at RAF Baginton, Warwickshire, among a party of airmen sent to help at Coventry after major bombing. He was hit on the head by a piece of flying debris. Insisting he was fine, he carried on until he collapsed and joined the casualties in Coventry and Warwickshire hospital. A few hours later, the hospital received a direct hit from a bomb and he was killed.

On the night of 8 April/9 April 1941 Coventry was subject to another large air raid when 230
bombers attacked the city, dropping 315 tons of high explosive and 25,000 incendiaries. In this and another raid two nights later on 10 April/11 April about 451 people were killed and over 700 seriously injured. Damage was caused too many buildings including some factories, the central police station, the Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital, King Henry VIII School, and St. Mary's Hall. The main architectural casualty of the raid was Christ Church, most of which was destroyed leaving only the spire. It was after this raid that the then Mayor of Coventry, Alfred Robert Grindlay, led the early reconstruction of much of the city centre.