Evening star., 1943-11-28
Coventry Is Arising Anew
From Ashes of Warfare
BY Franklin Banker,
Associated Press Stan Writer.

.. Associated Press Stan Writer.
COVENTRY, England-Like the fab
ulous phoenix born Of its own ashes, a
new Coventry which may become a
dream city" of the future is slowly ris-
ing from the death and destruction Of
the German air blitz three years ago.
On November IA, 194O 400 Nazi
planes disgorged 500 tons of explo-.
sives and 10000 incendiary bombs in an
11-hour attempt to wipe out a COM
munity which had existed for 900 years.
This, the Nazis' first obliteration-
bombing of a British city, killed more
than $50 persons, injured 1900, demol-
ished 1000 houses and many stores, and
seriously damaged $1,000 homes-more
than half of all the city.
This and two other savage bombings
in April, 1941, left 5000 people homeless.
Including losses in lighter raids 1926
residents of Coventry had been killed by
the end of 194l.
An equally heavy toll was taken among
irreplaceable landmarks representing the
growth since medieval times of one Of
England's oldest cities.
City's Deathless Spirit
But man could not destroy in IL hours
the spirit of the city which had sur
vived warfare since the 11th century and
whose stout old Notifications had with
stood the depredations of robbers and
the siege of King Charles I.
The people quickly laid aside their
tragedies and bent to the task of writing
new chapter.
Luckily, important war factories es-
capped comparatively lightly. All but
5000 of 10000 workers were back at
their jobs in two weeks.
The city employed 5000 men to clean
up. Disrupted gas, electric, water and
sewerage systems were operating In a
fortnight.
The national government erected COM
munal dwelling centers, called hostels, to
house 10000 workers.
With government aid the city was
able to complete 236 more of the ter
raced, red brick homes 1t had started
building at the outbreak Of the war.
They are rented for miximum OF $5.85
q week.
Communal restaurants provide $4,000
meals day. Lunch of roast beef, po-
tatoes, green vegetable, gravy, pudding
and tea costs % cents. In New York the
same meal would cost about IS cents.
Forty bungalow-type shops of CORFU
gated asbestos sheeting were swiftly built
along Corporation street in one of the
main store districts, which was razed by
bombs.
Keeping Production Going
With these and other emergency
measures, a city whose population for
some time had been growing at the rate
of 1000 month was able to keep up its
production of aircraft, aero-engines,
tractors, guns and other implements of
war.
These plants had been converted from
their peacetime production of bicycles,
machine tools and motor cars. Coventry,
now city of 250,0O0-about the size OF
Providence, R. I.-was the Detroit" Of
Britain in automobile production.
Besides settling immediate problems,
city architects are working on postwar
plans.
Chief Architect D. E. E. Gibson said
the city had needed remodeling and in
one night the bombing cleared the site
ready for this regeneration"-thus saw
ing the inhabitants the trouble Of do
ing it.
Only three months after the blitz the
city council approved Gibson's plan for
new civic centers and modern highway
system. Problems arise in trying to fit
the remaining historic buildings into the
modern scheme. But Coventry does not
need to hurry. The job of rebuilding
may take so to 100 years and cost
s8o,oOOOOO in public and private funds.
Complete New City
A complete new city with enlarged
amenities for workers" has been the aim
of Mrs. Emily Smith, Coventry's mother
ly and pink-cheeked Mayor.
Mrs. Smith, a gray-haired grand
mother in her late Cos, is the first
woman mayor here in nearly 600 years.
She rose to the high post from the
lowly estate of a poor widow who had
to work hard for living.
Coventry has had only one other
woman Mayor-its first, who was chosen
in l348 after the city received it's charter
from King Edward III Within the city
boundary the Mayor is second in au-
thority only to the King.
The Mayors Office has a brightly
burning fireplace, flowers, easy chairs
and relics of the past.
Close at hand for use on formal occa-
sions are a 4-foot double-edged sword
presented to the city by King Edward
II in 1884, and shiny mace given by
King Charles II in 1854 Both are borne
before the Mayor at council meetings.
At such times the Mayor wears a
18th century scarlet robe trimmed with
sable, a white lace cravat, a 4-inch
solid gold badge of Office suspended
from the neck by large gold chain,
and black tricornered hat akin to the
American minute-man hat.