It has been described as the ‘worst night in York’s history’.

At 2.42am in the early hours of April 29, 1942, air raid sirens began to sound across the city.

For the next two hours, bombs rained down on York. Estimates of the number of casualties that night still vary. But by the time what came to be known as the ‘Baedeker Raid’ was over, as many as 115 people were dead or dying. Six of them were German Luftwaffe - but the rest were British, mostly ordinary York men, women and children.

Streets and buildings across central York had been hit, as well as several schools and some outlying streets. Among the buildings badly damaged were York Railway Station, St Martin’s Church on Coney Street - and the Guildhall.

Several York schools were also hit - among them Queen Anne Secondary School and Poppleton Road school. A council education committee report produced soon after the raid detailed the damage.

York Press:

Poppleton Road Primary School  in the aftermath of the raid

“Five high explosive bombs dropped in line across the playing field and adjoining land,” the report says, of the bombs dropped on Queen Anne school. “There are two large craters on the land, two on the tennis courts and one on the edge of the field between the back of Sycamore Terrace and our air raid shelters.”

Of Poppleton Road School, meanwhile, the report said: “Direct hit in centre of school by high explosive bomb. Extensive damage to main building. 12 rooms (out of 21) and central halls cannot be used.”

Perhaps even worse, in some ways, was the toll taken on ordinary homes across the city.

York Press:

The wartime Lord Mayor, Edna Annie Crichton (right), visiting bombed homes in York with Princess Mary and Lord Harewood

According to the Raids Over York project, which has been documenting all 11 airs raids on York during the Second World War, a staggering 9,500 ordinary houses in the city (or one third of York’s total housing stock) were destroyed or damaged in all by German bombs during the war - many of them on this one night.

Friday of next week marks the 80th anniversary of the raid - an anniversary which will be marked in various ways (watch this space).

In this gallery, we simply tell the story in photographs...