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Wingfield Road, BRISTOL, BS3 5EF

Cars parked on pavements along this residential road. Just along here, footpath BCC/455/10 climbs to the right, but I missed it.

This unassuming suburban road in south Bristol doesn't give much of a clue about its past. It looks pretty much like a typical inter-war development, and so it remains. However, on 3/4 January, 1941, it was on the end of a raid by the Luftwaffe - a raid that was thought to have been intended for the aircraft factories of Filton, miles to the north. Among the many incendiaries and smaller H.E. bombs dropped about here, there was an exceptional ordnance which landed right on the pavement in front of the two houses. It was an 1800kg (4000lb) bomb, one of very few of that size ever seen in England. The bomb drove down into the ground to a depth of nearly 9m (30') but fortunately failed to detonate! With that being the case, it might seem obvious that the area was cleared and bomb disposal teams immediately summoned to deal with it. Strangely, this is not what happened. Indeed, 'Satan' remained in situ for over two years, until Royal Engineer experts dug it out with shovels and a crude chain system on 14th April, 1943! They did ensure the local primary school was evacuated to the park, just in case, allowing a day out of the classrooms. Having exhumed the weapon and defused it, Satan was taken away and made safe. It eventually was paraded in the Victory celebrations in London in 1945. The Satan was the heaviest bomb dropped on Britain during the war. See https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2050367202 or https://www.flickr.com/photos/glosters/12148564913 for a record of the removal.

This is the B3122, dropping steeply with good views across the city.

An unfamiliar visitor might be confused here. When the area was being developed in the 1930s, there is reference to this short section of road as St Agnes Terrace for a while. However, the entire length is now firmly established as Redcatch Road. Interestingly, the two signs are of differing materials and styles.

Viewed from near the Stockwood Crescent junction. Redcatch Road descends towards St John's Lane.

Houses on the north side of Redcatch Road viewed from the corner of Wingfield Road.

A view from the corner of Beckington Road. On the right, a cyclist wheels his bike up the hill.

Viewed from the St John's Lane end.

Viewed from the corner of Redcatch Road.

The side of Victoria Park Baptist church and a small car park, and some differing brickwork in the fabric of the building. A cut benchmark can be seen here - Image