Local Victims Of Belfast Blitz Remembered On 85th Anniversary

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council will hold civic events in Ballycarry and Ballymena this May to remember local victims of the Belfast Blitz, 85 years after the 1941 air raids.

Mid And East Antrim To Remember Belfast Blitz Victims

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is marking the 85th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz with a civic programme of commemorative events across the Borough.

The programme will give local people an opportunity to remember those who lost their lives during the German air raids on Belfast in 1941.

The Belfast Blitz claimed the lives of 987 people, including victims with strong links to Ballycarry, Glynn and Ballymena.

Mayor Pays Tribute To Those Who Lost Their Lives

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Jackson Minford, said it was an honour to remember local people who died during the Second World War.

He said the Council wanted to support families of victims born within the Borough and give the wider public a chance to remember their loved ones.

Ballycarry Commemoration Event

An official public commemoration will take place at Ballycarry War Memorial on Tuesday 5 May at 11.00am.

Wreaths will be laid by the Mayor and Lord Lieutenant.

Pupils from Ballycarry Primary School will also lay poppy crosses at graves in Templecorran Cemetery.

Those remembered include:

• Seven members of the Hutchinson family
• John McCready, aged 80

John McCready was born in Glynn in the 1860s. He later became a butter and egg provision merchant in Belfast. He died at his home in Upper Meadow Street on 16 April 1941.

Hutchinson Family Remembered

Sarah Kennedy was born in Ballycarry on 30 August 1894.

She married William Hutchinson in September 1922 at Sinclair Seamen’s Presbyterian Church in Belfast.

William, a painter and decorator from York Street, Belfast, died alongside Sarah and their five children during the Belfast Blitz.

The family members remembered are:

• William Hutchinson, aged 39
• Sarah Hutchinson, aged 46
• Elizabeth Kennedy Hutchinson, known as Lily, aged 17
• Sadie Hutchinson
• Rita Hutchinson
• Martin Hutchinson
• May Hutchinson

Evening Event In Ballycarry

A further commemorative event will take place at Ballycarry Community Centre on Tuesday 5 May at 7.30pm.

Mark Wigton from the Northern Ireland War Memorial will deliver a talk on the Blitz.

There will also be storytelling and songs from the wartime era by Sharon Dickson and Geoff Hatt.

Ballymena Commemoration Event

On Wednesday 6 May at 7.30pm, the programme continues at the Services Club in Ballymena.

The evening will feature:

• Storytelling and music from Sharon Dickson and Geoff Hatt
• A talk on Ballymena victims of the Blitz by Nigel Henderson of History Hub Ulster

Schools Programme Across The Borough

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has also partnered with the Northern Ireland War Memorial to offer Blitz talks to schools across the Borough.

Historian Adrian Hack has already delivered talks to several Carrickfergus schools, focusing on the town during the Second World War.