German aircraft bomb a creamery at Campile, County Wexford, a small village located fourteen kilometres outside the town of New Ross, on August 26, 1940 killing three women.
Ireland remains officially neutral during World War II. However, on August 26, 1940, the German Luftwaffe bombs Campile in daylight. Three women are killed – Mary Ellen Kent (30), her sister Catherine Kent (26), both from Terrerath, and Kathleen Hurley (27) from Garryduff. Four German bombs are dropped on the creamery and restaurant sections of Shelburne Co-op on that day. The railway is also targeted by the bombers. The 20-minute ordeal terrorises the peaceful village and leaves behind a trail of devastation. The attack has never been fully explained, although there are numerous theories as to why the bombing occurred.
One theory is that the German pilots were lost and had mistaken the southeast coast of Wexford for Wales. It is also 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.
However, Campile historian John Flynn, who wrote a book to mark the 70th anniversary of the disaster, argues that the bombing was a message from Adolf Hitler to Taoiseach Éamon de Valera warning him to keep his promise on Ireland’s neutrality.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bombing, a plaque is erected on the co-op walls in memory of the three women.
The local Harts bar and lounge contains many artifacts relating to the bombing. The description and history related to each artifact can be found in an old leather-bound book kept underneath the counter in the adjoining sweet shop.
