Ireland remained officially neutral during World War II. However, on 26 August 1940, the German Luftwaffe bombed Campile in broad daylight.
On August 26 1940, the tiny village of Campile in County Wexford was bombed by the German Luftwaffe, killing three local women and giving Ireland—until then largely insulated from the terror of World War II—its first experience of the conflict.
Sisters Mary Ellen (age 30) and Kitty Kent (age 26) and restaurant worker Kathleen Hurley (age 27) perished after the Heinkel bomber dropped four bombs over the Shelburne Co-op and Creamery, demolishing it in a matter of seconds.
Mary Ellen and Kitty were the daughters of Michael and Ellen Kent from Terrerath. Mary Ellen was the restaurant manager, while Kitty worked in the drapery. In a cruel twist of fate, Kitty had been delayed going to her dinner that fateful day and would otherwise not have been in the restaurant when the bombs were dropped. Kathleen Hurley, the daughter of William and Catherine Hurley, also worked in the restaurant and had just returned that morning after her two-week summer holiday.
Four German bombs were dropped on the creamery and restaurant sections of Shelburne Co-op that day. The railway was also targeted by the bombers. The attack has never been fully explained, but different theories on why the bombing occurred.
One theory was that the German pilots were lost and had mistaken the southeast coast of Wexford for Wales. A second theory suggested that butter boxes emblazoned with the Shelburne Co-op name were discovered by the Nazis a few months earlier following the evacuation of Dunkirk and that the bombing was in retaliation for supplying foodstuffs to the Allied armies. A third theory battered about is that the co-op supplied butter to the Allied armies when we were supposed to be neutral.
It was alleged that the Co-op sold boots to the British Army, and these were found by the Germans. Another theory is the RAF were able to put the German bombers, which were targeted by a radar beam, off course and that they were totally reliant on crew judgement in the case of the bombing of Campile.
However, Campile historian John Flynn, who has written a new book to mark the 70th anniversary of the disaster, argues that the bombing was a message from Hitler to Taoiseach Eamon de Valera warning him to keep his promise on Ireland’s neutrality. After consulting military reports, Mr Flynn said it was clear that Campile was a definite target that fateful day.
The 20-minute ordeal terrorised the peaceful village and left behind a trail of devastation, with enormous gates ripped off their hinges, slates torn off roofs, railway siding twisted, and sleepers pulled up.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bombing, a plaque was erected on the co-op walls in memory of the three women who died during the attack.
One thing that always puzzled me is: Why did de Valera formally offer his condolences to the German Minister in Dublin on the death of Adolf Hitler in 1945?
Under Hitler’s leadership, several dozens of Irish citizens were killed. After all, Campile wasn’t the only town bombed. I know that under the guise of the neutrality diplomatic protocol, he might have felt compelled to do so.
Neutrality means two things: The state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; impartiality and the absence of decided views, expression, or strong feelings.
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