'Exeter was a jewel - we have destroyed it'

3rd May 1942: The Luftwaffe return to the ancient city - with parts dating back to Roman and Saxon times - for an even more devastating raid

The shattered city of Exeter lies smoking on the morning after, although the cathedral was spared.

The Baedeker raids had started with a relatively modest raid on Exeter on 23rd April. They had subsequently hit Norwich and Bath as well as other cities. Now they returned to Exeter, at the time one of the finest historic cities¹ in England:

The city had an …