Main content
The IRA bicycle bombing of Coventry
On the 25th August 1939, at around 2.30pm, an IRA bomb went off in Coventry city centre, killing five people and injuring 70.
On the 25th August 1939, just nine days before the outbreak of WWII, at around 2.30pm, a bomb went off in Broadgate, killing five people and injuring 70. The bomb had been planted in the carrier basket of a bicycle by the IRA.
The five victims were Elsie Ansell, 21, Rex Gentle, 30, James Clay, 82, Gwilym Rowlands, 50 and John Arnott, who was just 15-years-old.
The bike at the centre of the incident is now on display in Coventry's Police Museum.