At 4.40 pm on Monday, 30 September 1940, the Blitz came to Sherborne when German planes dropped several hundred bombs across the town in a straight line from Lenthay Common to Crackmore. Seventeen people, including six children, died as a result of the bombing, and over thirty casualties were taken to the Yeatman Hospital.[1]
Under wartime restrictions the Western Gazette reported the Sherborne Blitz, saying that many bombs had been dropped ‘on an old and historic town in the South-West’ and that ‘in a Council housing estate practically all the houses were damaged. In one of these a woman whose husband was away was injured and her three children and another child whom she was looking after were killed.’[2]
The Council housing estate in the Lenthay Road area of Sherborne saw the highest number of casualties that day, where eight people were killed and two badly injured. Seven of the casualties died at Lenthay Close, with the highest number of casualties being at 26, Lenthay Close, the home of Annie Warren (1909-2004)[3] and her husband George Warren (1904-1983)[4].
George Warren and Annie (née Smale) had met in Weymouth when Annie was working at La Touraine Hotel in Carlton Road North, and George was serving as a Stoker in the Royal Navy based at Portland on the depot ship HMS Vulcan.[5] They were married at Weymouth Register Office on 23 March 1929, when George was 24 years old and Annie 19.[6]
George remained in the Royal Navy until 1947[7] and after their marriage Annie returned to live at 431, Thornford near Sherborne, where she had spent much of her childhood with her foster parents Charles and Mary Ann Foot.[8] Annie and George’s first child Robert ‘Bobby’ George Warren was born at the Yeatman Hospital on 4 October 1929[9], followed on 2 January 1935 by Ronald ‘Ronnie’ Keith Warren, and on 17 June 1938 by Patricia ‘Patsy’ Ann Warren.[10]
On 24 June 1937, George joined HMS Warspite[11], a Royal Navy battleship commissioned in 1915 whose motto was Belli dura despicio (I despise the hardships of war). In the early 1940s HMS Warspite was involved in the Norwegian Campaign and later that year was transferred to the Mediterranean, escorting convoys.[12]
By September 1940 Annie had moved with their three children to 26, Lenthay Close at Sherborne, part of a new council housing development built in the mid to late 1930s by Sherborne Urban District Council.[13] Having been fostered herself as a child[14], it is perhaps not surprising that despite having three children of her own to look after, Annie took in Douglas Hunt (1935-1940), a five-year old evacuee from London.[15]
On 30 September 1940, George was onboard HMS Warspite engaged off Alexandria in Operation MB 5 covering the transport of troops to Malta.[16] It would be many months before George heard about the bombing of Sherborne and the fate of his wife and children.
When the town’s air raid siren sounded on the afternoon of 30 September 1940, school had finished for the day and Annie was with her children and Douglas Hunt in the kitchen at 26, Lenthay Close. The first bombs fell near Wyke, where a farmer was killed ploughing his field[17], then more fell on Lenthay Common, before arriving at the Lenthay Road area.
The Warren children and Douglas Hunt, who were sheltering under the kitchen table, were killed instantly when 26, Lenthay Close received a direct hit, and Annie was badly injured by the blast which threw her against the chimney breast.[18] William Morgan (1883-1940)[19], a painter and decorator who worked for the Sherborne UDC, was also killed at 26, Lenthay Close. The Warren’s next-door neighbour Percy Goulter (1897-1940)[20] who lived at 25, Lenthay Close was also killed. The sons of the local postman, four-year old Edward Knobbs (1936-1940) and his brother Thomas Knobbs (1939-1993), were injured at Lenthay Close and Edward died the following day at the Yeatman Hospital,[21] and five-year-old Barry Trask (1924-1940) who lived at 1, South Avenue was also killed.[22] All the Lenthay casualties were buried in the neighbouring Sherborne Cemetery and are remembered on the memorial to the civilian casualties of the bombing of Sherborne in Half Moon Street.[23]
On Saturday, 5 October 1940, the Rev. Canon Lovett conducted a combined funeral service for the six children killed in the bombing – Patsy, Bobby and Ronnie Warren, Douglas Hunt, Edward Knobbs and Barry Trask. The service was attended by their parents, relatives and friends, the Chairman of Sherborne UDC, their schoolteachers, the Chief Billeting Officer, and the Air Raid Wardens.[24] On 25 October 1940, Annie posted a notice in the Western Gazette thanking ‘friends for their kindness and sympathy in her bereavement and for the beautiful floral tributes.’[25]
It says much for Annie’s fortitude and resilience that after such tremendous loss she and George went on to have three more children, with Josephine born in 1942, Raymond in 1945 and Christine in 1946.
George retired from the Royal Navy in February 1947 and worked as a delivery man for the brewery in Long Street. The family were initially rehomed at Coldharbour but later moved to 1, King’s Crescent. Throughout her life Annie worked hard for her family, cleaning for local businesses, including for the firm of solicitors Ffooks and Grimley at Greenhill House. She was also an unofficial layer out of the dead, a tradition carried on by her granddaughter Tracey Warren who is now an undertaker.
George died in 1983 at 1, King’s Cresent, after which Annie moved into the Hayes Residential Home in Long Street, where she was a popular resident. [26] Annie died on 5 June 2004, aged 94, at Yeovil Hospital and was buried with her three children and husband in Sherborne Cemetery.
Annie was evidently one of life’s survivors. Both the First and the Second World Wars had significant impacts on her life and that of her family. In 1917, Annie and her five siblings[27], aged between 1 and 11, were orphaned after their father was killed in action on the Somme[28] and six months later their mother died following a suicide attempt.[29] The sad death of their mother may have been a result of postpartum psychosis following the birth of her youngest son in December 1916, added to which the deaths of her husband and two of her brothers in the First World War[30] would undoubtedly have impacted her mental health. During the Second World War Annie not only lost her three young children, but also her younger brother Victor James Smale (1916-1945) who died as a POW in Borneo[31] and is remembered on the Sherborne town war memorial on a plaque next to that commemorating his nephews and nieces the Warren children.
No one would have blamed Annie Warren if she had been bitter following so much loss of life, but when asked if she hated the Germans she replied that they had lost children too.[32]
With grateful thanks to Christine Tuffin (née Warren), David Tuffin, Judy Nash, Barry Brock and Callum Murray.
Rachel Hassall
20 September 2025
Footnotes
[1] Dorset History Centre ref. DC-SHU (6K/191) – Register of Persons Killed and Injured in Enemy Action, 1940-1941. Albert Henry Reason (1890-1946) died on 4 April 1946 from the effects of the bombing and is the eighteenth name on the town’s memorial to civilian casualties of the bombing on 30 September 1940.
[2] Western Gazette, Friday 4 October 1940, under the headline, ‘SOUTH-WEST TOWN BOMBED’. The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 7 September 2025)
[3] Alma Annie Matilda Smale, known as Annie, was born on 26 September 1909 at Corscombe, Dorset, the third of six children born to William James Smale (1885-1917), a carter, and Bertha Elsie Smale (née Downton) (1889-1917), who were married at Corscombe on 16 April 1906.
[4] George Warren (1904-1983) was born on 14 August 1904 at 109, Barry Street, Anfield, Liverpool, son of Clement Warren, general labourer/storekeeper, and Emily Warren (née Blunt), of 109 Barry Street, later of 13 Wyatt Street, Anfield, Liverpool.
[5] The National Archives ref. ADM 362/32/412 – George Warren’s Royal Navy service record states he joined the Royal Navy on 25 November 1924.
[6] A certified copy of the marriage certificate supplied by the General Register Office states that George Warren was a Stoker in the Royal Navy on HMS Vulcan, Portland, son of Clement Warren, storekeeper, and Annie Alma Matilda Smale was a General (domestic) of La Touraine Hotel, Carlton Road North, Weymouth, daughter of William Smale, deceased, farm labourer. The witnesses at their marriage were M.E. Vincent and H.R. Maddox.
[7] The National Archives ref. ADM 363/229/11 – George Warren’s Royal Navy service record states he was released on 3 February 1947.
[8] Information supplied by David and Christine Tuffin.
[9] A certified copy of Robert George Warren’s birth certificate supplied by the General Register Office states that Robert George, son of George Warren, Stoker, R.N., and Annie Alma Matilda Warren, formerly Smale, of 431 Thornford, Sherborne R.D., was born on 4 October 1929 at the Yeatman Hospital, Sherborne U.D.
[10] Birth dates taken from the 1939 Register, a detailed survey of the civilian population in England and Wales during the Second World War, initially taken for ration books and to issue identity cards, Ancestry (accessed 13 September 2025)
[11] The National Archives ref. ADM 363/229/11 – George Warren’s Royal Navy service record states that he served on HMS Warspite from 24 June 1937 to 17 January 1941. His character was consistently ‘V.G.’ and his efficiency ‘Sat’.
[12] HMS Warspite (03), Wikipedia (accessed 7 September 2025).
[13] The official naming of Lenthay Close was agreed at a meeting of Sherborne Urban District Council reported in the Western Gazette on 23 July 1937: ‘Upon the recommendation of the Plans and Estate Committee, it was agreed to name the new road off Lenthay Road ‘Lenthay Close’. The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 7 September 2025)
[14] Information supplied by David and Christine Tuffin. Following the death of both of their parents in 1917, Annie and her siblings were fostered by local families. Annie, aged 8, was fostered by Charles and Mary Ann Foot of 431 Thornford. Charles Foot (died 1922) came from a Sherborne family and, according to the 1921 census, was then working as a farm carter for Mr C. Ryall at Manor Farm, Thornford. In 1921 Charles and Mary Ann Ford also had boarding with them 12-year-old Lucy Jane Brown (1909-1987), daughter of Amelia Lucy Brown of Folke.
[15] Douglas Hunt (1935-1940) was born on the 13 March 1935, son of Walter William Hunt (1889-1957) and Edith Abrams (1899-1991), of 37a Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1. Walter and Edith never married, although they had two children together. In September 1939, Douglas Hunt was living with the Warren family at 26, Lenthay Close, Sherborne, where he died on the 30 September 1940, aged 5, when the house received a direct hit. His funeral was held on the 5 October 1940 and he was buried in a grave next to the Warren children. Douglas Hunt’s grave is now occupied by John Arthur Smith and Sybil Smith.
[16] Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason, Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2 – HMS Warspite (accessed 13 September 2025)
[17] Horace George (‘Charlie’) Legg (1898-1940) died on the 30 September 1940, aged 42, when he was fatally injured by shrapnel from a bomb while ploughing a field at Silverlake Farm near Wyke. His funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Canon Lovett in Sherborne Abbey on 4 October 1940, where employees at Silverlake Farm (G. Read, H. Way, B. Hockey, T. Marsh) acted as bearers. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery (grave space no.470).
[18] Information supplied by Christine Tuffin.
[19] William Samuel Morgan (1883-1940) was born on the 25 September 1883. He married Dorothy May Thorne and they lived at 73, Bristol Road, Sherborne. William was a member of the Sherborne British Legion, having served in HM Forces in the First World War. In 1939 he was described as a painter and decorator working for Sherborne Council. He died on the 30 September 1940, aged 57, at 26, Lenthay Close, the home of the Warren family, when the house received a direct hit. His funeral was conducted by the Rev. Canon Lovett at Sherborne on the 4 October 1940 and he was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.
[20] Percy Henry Daniel Goulter (1897-1940) was born on the 20 August 1897 at Frome, Somerset. On 13 October 1914 he enlisted at Bristol in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, Plymouth Division, and served until 19 August 1927, the following day he enrolled in the Royal Fleet Reserve Class B serving until his discharge on 13 September 1936. He was married at Sherborne in 1932 to Ethel Mary Palmer (1895-1982) and their daughter Brenda was born on 25 January 1933. The Goulters were active members of Sherborne Baptist church. By 1939 the Goulters were living at 25, Lenthay Close, next door to the Warren family, Percy was then working as a printer (compositor) and also served as a constable in the Admiralty Civil Police. He died on 30 September 1940, aged 43, as a result of a bomb explosion at 25, Lenthay Close. His funeral was conducted by the Rev. Canon Lovett at Sherborne on the 4 October 1940 and he was buried in Sherborne Cemetery. The informant on the death certificate was Percy’s widow, Ethel Mary Goulter of 57, South Avenue, Lenthay.
[21] Edward David Knobbs (1936-1940) was born on the 24 May 1936, son of postman Percy James Knobbs and Ethel Knobbs (née Smith). In 1939, the family were living at 9, South Avenue. Edward and his brother Thomas (1939-1993) were both injured by shrapnel at Lenthay Close on the 30 September 1940, and Edward died at the Yeatman Hospital on the 1 October 1940, aged 4. His funeral was conducted by the Rev. Canon Lovett at Sherborne on the 5 October 1940 and he was buried in Sherborne Cemetery (grave space no. 480).
[22] Barry Alfred Trask (1934-1940) was born on the 6 December 1934, son of Cyril Frederick Trask and Palmyra Trask (née Stacey) of 1, South Avenue, Lenthay, Sherborne. He died on 30 September 1940, aged 5, while visiting the Styles family at 3, South Avenue, Sherborne. His funeral was conducted by the Rev. Canon Lovett at Sherborne on the 5 October 1940, and he was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.
[23] Memorial to the civilian casualties of the bombing of Sherborne, Dorset, in Half Moon Street – Old Shirburnian Society website (accessed 13 September 2025)
[24] Western Gazette, 11 October 1940, under the headline ‘AIR RAID VICTIMS’ BURIAL. IMPRESSIVE SERVICE IN A SOUTH-WEST TOWN. COUNCIL’S TRIBUTE TO WORKERS’, The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 13 September 2025)
[25] Western Gazette, 25 October 1940. The British Newspaper Archive (accessed 13 September 2025)
[26] Christine Tuffin says that room no.10 at the Hayes Residential Home is known as ‘Annie’s Room’.
[27] The children of William James Smale (1885-1917) and Bertha Elsie (née Downton) (1889-1917) were Florence Emily May Smale (1906-1982), Albert John Smale (1907-1987), Alma Annie Matilda Smale (1909-2004), Ernest William Smale (1911-1973), William Arthur Reginald Smale (1914-1981), Victor James Smale (1916-1945).
[28] Private William James Smale (1885-1917), 5th Dorsets (service no. 16467) was killed in action on 11 January 1917. He was killed just outside the village of Beaucort on the Somme when the 5th Battalion were tasked with assaulting a group of enemy entrenched positions along a tactical position called ‘the spur. The casualties were extremely heavy with 49 killed, 48 wounded, and 59 missing (i.e. taken prisoner or returned in the coming days). The attack was mentioned in Sir Douglas Haig’s next dispatch. The spur was taken a week later by two battalions with a strength close to 2,000, in comparison the Dorsets had attempted the attack with a force of just over 300. Private Smale’s body was never recovered and he is one of the 72,337 British and South African servicemen remembered on the Thiepval Memorial who died in the Battles of the Somme between 1915 and 1918 and have no known grave. He is also remembered on Sherborne Town War Memorial. With thanks to Callum Murray of Battlefield History for supplying information about the 5th Dorsets action on the day of Private Smale’s death.
[29] Bertha Ethel Smale (1880-1917) of Leigh, Sherborne, died on 12 June 1917 at the Dorset County Asylum, Charminster, She was 33 years of age. A certified copy of her death certificate supplied by the General Register Office, gives her cause of death as exhaustion from acute melancholia, 14 days, and septic cut throat, 9 days.
[30] Archibald Downton (1880-1916) died on 9 April 1916 in Mesopotamia while serving with the 3/82 Wiltshire Regiment, and his brother Christopher Downton (1884-1917) died on 14 February 1917 while serving in France with the Somerset Light Infantry.
[31] Victor James Smale (1916-1945) was born on 22 December 1916 at Church Lane, Leigh, Dorset, just 20 days before the death of his father on the Somme. Victor served in the Second World War as a Gunner (service no. 834345) with the 16 Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, and died while a Prisoner of War in the Camp Hospital at Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. He is remembered on Sherborne Town War Memorial.
[32] Information supplied by Christine Tuffin.
See also:
- Maude Steele GM (1901-1997): awarded the George Medal for her bravery during the bombing of Sherborne
- Elizabeth Marden (1865-1940): town nurse and civilian casualty of the bombing of Sherborne
- Alberta Gartell (1867-1940): civilian casualty of the bombing of Sherborne
- Civilian casualties of the bombing of Sherborne on 30 September 1940
- Margaret Hayter (1923-1943): only Commonwealth War Grave to a woman who died on service in World War Two
- Monica Hutchings (1917-1977): author and campaigner
- Margaret Billinger (1883-1942): Headmistress of Lord Digby’s School 1917-1942