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Installation to mark the 85th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz

Installation to mark the 85th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz

by | Nov 5, 2025 | Community Events, Coventry, News

A Major installation marking the 85th Blitz anniversary is heading to Coventry City Centre

A massive installation inspired by the iconic Cathedral Ruins is set to mark the 85th anniversary of the Blitz in Broadgate Coventry city Centre.

The  20 metre structure created by artist Olivier Grossetête, will “rise as a symbol of remembrance, resilience, and the extraordinary strength found in unity”, said Coventry City Council.

The structure which will be made of thousands of cardboard pieces was inspired by the ruins of the city’s cathedral after a 12-hour raid by German bombers on 14 November 1940 where 550 people were killed.

Cllr Abdul Salam Khan said the temporary landmark will serve as a symbol of remembrance, resilience, and the extraordinary power of unity that Coventry embodied during WWII

volunteers are needed to build the structure. Free workshops on the project will be held daily from Monday November 10 to the Saturday, and those taking part will be invited to help construct the artwork

Those who visit the temporary structure over the weekend can talk to the artist and creators of the piece, which will remain in Broadgate until 15:00 on Sunday 16 November.

Coventry Remembrance Sunday Parade

Coventry Remembrance Sunday Parade

by | Nov 5, 2025 | Community Events, Coventry, Events, News

Coventry annual Remembrance Service and Parade will take place on Sunday 9 November, beginning at 10.45am, at The Cenotaph in the War Memorial Park.  

Remembrance Sunday Service and Parade | Coventry War Memorial Park

  • Date: Sunday 9th November 2025 | 11:00 – 13:00 
  • Location: War Memorial Park in Coventry

The city’s War Memorial Park plays host to the city’s annual remembrance event which takes place by the Cenotaph in the park.

The service will honour and pay respect to those who lost their lives in the 2 World Wars and other conflicts throughout the world and will be led by The Right Reverend Sarah Jelley, Bishop of Coventry and all are invited. 

The Lord Mayor of Coventry, Councillor Rachel Lancaster, who will take the salute, said: 

“The city’s annual Remembrance Day Service and Parade helps us remember, honour, and pay our respects to all those who have lost their lives due to wars or armed conflict.”    

“This service is always very important to the city and acts as a timely reminder for everyone as to why we continue to promote peace and reconciliation around the world and on this 85th Anniversary of the Coventry Blitz.”   

“As the numbers of people attending each year illustrates, we know how much the service in the War Memorial Park means to our residents and I’m sure this year’s’ service will be as well-attended as ever as we come together to mark the day.”  

Councillor Rachel Lancaster
Lord Mayor, Coventry City

The London Road Cemetery service on Sunday at 3pm, is also remembering those lost during the Coventry Blitz and the annual Poppy Drop is taking place in West Orchards Shopping Centre.

This year also marks the 85th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz which took place on 14 November 1940. The city will come together, organising a range of public events and activities to not only commemorate the lives lost, and damage done to the city, but also mark the resilience and spirt of Coventry people who came together to rebuild their city. 

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£2.4bn West Midlands transport Investment

£2.4bn West Midlands transport Investment

by | Nov 5, 2025 | Coventry, News, West Midlands

The £2.4 billion investment in transport for the West Midlands is a five-year funding package from the government, confirmed in June 2025, to improve the region’s transport network through a mix of bus, rail, tram, and road projects. The funding is intended to make journeys easier and more affordable across the region and is already supporting projects like the extension of the tram network to the new Sports Quarter in East Birmingham, which is expected to unlock billions in private investment. The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is also working with a top economist to ensure the funds are used effectively to benefit residents and the economy

Mayor Richard Parker conformed that people in every part of the West Midlands will benefit from the £2.4 billion transport fund.

The Mayor said he would now work hand in glove with the region’s seven metropolitan councils to set out the priority transport projects in their areas.

The Mayor said: “This is a huge investment in transport in our region – and it will make it easier and more affordable for everyone, from Coventry to the Black Country, to get to work, school, college, hospital or anywhere across the West Midlands. Millions of people rely on our transport network everyday and now, we are going to make sure it works for everyone.  

National Express Bus Coventry emeraldbookclub.org

Project Summary

Funding source: The £2.4 billion is a five-year funding package from the UK government, confirmed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Purpose: To improve transport infrastructure across the entire West Midlands, making journeys easier and more affordable for everyone.

Projects: The funding will support a range of projects including rail, bus, tram, road, cycling, and walking schemes.

Initial projects: The first project to be funded is an extension of the tram network from Digbeth to the new Sports Quarter in Bordesley, East Birmingham.

Economic impact: This funding is expected to act as a catalyst for significant private investment, particularly in areas like the Sports Quarter regeneration, and is part of a larger plan to drive economic growth in the region.

Governance: The West Midlands Combined Authority is developing a plan for how to best spend the money, with an independent review underway to advise on project selection and delivery

 

Coventry Blitz 85th anniversary

Coventry Blitz 85th anniversary

by | Nov 5, 2025 | Community Events, Coventry

85th Anniversary of Coventry Blitz

Friday the 14th of November marks the 85th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz of 1940. This night saw devastation across Coventry and the destruction of the Cathedral Church of St. Michael.

If you’d like to learn more about the Coventry Blitz and the Cathedral, you can also pay visit to the Blitz Museum

As the city comes together to mark the 85th anniversary of the fateful night of 14 November 1940, a number of public events and activities have been organised around the anniversary.

The anniversary of the Blitz, also falls into Coventry’s annual Peace Festival, an annual month of events, activities and workshops where Coventry’s communities come together to promote the city as a City of Peace and Reconciliation. 

List of events

 

 

Join us at our event STORIES OF PEACE which is part of the Peace Festival

Stories Of peace

What if stories could bring people closer, heal divisions, and inspire hope?
This November, Emerald Book Club invites you to experience just that at Red House Park, Coventry, as part of the Coventry Peace Festival 2025.

November by Charles L Cleaveland

by | Nov 4, 2025 | Male Poets, Nature Poems, November Poems, Poems, Poetry, Poets

When thistle-blows do lightly float
About the pasture-height,
And shrills the hawk a parting note,
And creeps the frost at night,
Then hilly ho! though singing so,
And whistle as I may,
There comes again the old heart pain
Through all the livelong day.

In high wind creaks the leafless tree
And nods the fading fern;
The knolls are dun as snow-clouds be,
And cold the sun does burn.
Then ho, hollo! though calling so,
I can not keep it down;
The tears arise unto my eyes,
And thoughts are chill and brown.

Far in the cedars' dusky stoles,
Where the sere ground-vine weaves,
The partridge drums funereal rolls
Above the fallen leaves.
And hip, hip, ho! though cheering so,
It stills no whit the pain;
For drip, drip, drip, from bare branchtip,
I hear the year's last rain.

So drive the cold cows from the hill,
And call the wet sheep in;
And let their stamping clatter fill
The barn with warming din.
And ho, folk, ho! though it is so
That we no more may roam,
We still will find a cheerful mind
Around the fire at home!

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