Emily Fermandell (née Lewis) – Civilian Casualty of the Bristol Blitz

Early Life

William Henry Lewis and Rose Emily Woodward
marriage certificate
St. Mark's church, Swansea

Emily Lewis was born in 1910 in Swansea, the daughter of William Henry Lewis and Rose Emily Woodward, who married in 1899 at St Mark’s Church, Swansea. She grew up in a large working‑class family in the St Thomas district.

1921 Census

By the time of the 1921 Census, the Lewis family were living at 43 Vincent Street, Swansea. Emily’s father, William Henry, aged 43, had previously worked for the Swansea Gas Light Company as a Lamp Lighter, though he was out of work at the time, while her mother, Rose Emily, was 41. The household was large and reflected the economic difficulties of the post‑war years: William H., aged 22, was a labourer currently unemployed; Annie, aged 20, worked as a bottler for Bottley Stores in Argyle Street; Tom Ernest, aged 18, was a brick maker but also out of work; Frederick, aged 16, was employed as a bill poster with the Swansea United Bill Poster Company; Ivor, aged 15, worked as an errand boy; Rose, aged 12; Emily, aged 11; and Barley, aged 9, were all still in school, while the youngest children—George, aged 5, Harold, aged 3, and Gwyn, aged 1—were at home.

Marriage and Later Life

In April 1935, Emily married William Arthur Fermandell in Swansea. 

1939 Register

By the time of the 1939 Register, the couple were living at 45 Priory Road, Shirehampton, Bristol. William was employed in heavy work at a zinc manufacturing plant, while Emily was recorded as undertaking household duties. Their son, William A., was then three years old.

The Good Friday Raid, April 1941

The final major air attack on the Bristol area during the Blitz occurred on the night of 11^th April 1941, remembered locally as the Good Friday Raid. During this devastating assault, 15 aircraft from Luftflotte 2 and 138 aircraft from Luftflotte 3 dropped 193 tonnes of high‑explosive bombs and 36,888 incendiaries between 22:10 and 03:15 hours. The designated targets were the harbour and the industrial installations of South West and West Central Bristol, guided by Y‑beam navigation, with Avonmouth and Portishead Docks also attacked. The destruction was immense, and Winston Churchill visited the ruins on 12^th April 1941 to witness the aftermath.

Death

Emily Fermandell was among the civilians who lost their lives during the Good Friday Raid. Shirehampton, lying close to the docks and industrial targets of Avonmouth, suffered significant damage as high‑explosive and incendiary bombs fell across the district. Emily was killed on 11^th April 1941 at her home at 45 Priory Road, where she lived with her husband and young son. Her death reflects the heavy toll the Blitz took on ordinary families far from the front lines, as industrial communities like Bristol and its suburbs endured some of the most destructive air raids of the war