Tributes to Lowestoft man who survived German bombing raid

Born and bred in Lowestoft, James Cole - or Jimmy as he was known - survived his family home being partly demolished in April 1944 by the last German bombing raid on the town during the Second World War.

Mr Cole died peacefully aged 94 at Oulton Park Care Centre in Union Lane - where he had been a resident for more than five years.

Jimmy Cole (Image: David Broom)

Up until he moved into the care home, the 94-year-old had lived in the same house on Normanston Drive all his life apart from National Service in the army in the Middle East.

His former home was badly damaged on April 21, 1944 by a German bomb that blasted the back doorstep 100 yards away.

The bomb damaged home on Normanston Drive, Lowestoft. (Image: Bob Collis)

Mr Cole was sleeping in the bedroom immediately above where the bomb fell, while his mother was taken to hospital after suffering shock.

This proved to be the last of 105 attacks by piloted German aircraft on Lowestoft in the Second World War and aviation historian Bob Collis described the raid as "historically quite significant".

Bob Collis interviewing Mr Cole at his home on Normanston Drive in 2013. (Image: Bob Collis)

Mr Collis had spoken to Mr Cole late in 2013 as he researched bomb damaged houses in Lowestoft.

Mr Cole's nephew, David Broom, said that when the war ended Mr Cole would drive a lorry of POWs to work on local farms.

He would later become an HGV driver, until finally retiring aged 65.

Mr Broom said: "An unassuming man, Jimmy lived a simple life with no central heating only his coal fire - which was always on as it was used to heat his water.

"Jimmy never married but always had a cat and a chicken also made an appearance too.

"He was renowned for his fresh vegetables and fruit from his own garden and his own homemade horseradish was a staple in many of his relatives’ homes which he gifted them when visiting - usually arriving before 9am – having missed the traffic."

Mr Broom added: "Jimmy generally had two breakfasts – one at 5am when he woke up and another at 8am.

"After all, he had to keep his strength up as he towered at over 6ft tall with size 13 feet.

"He was affectionately known as the BFG or Big Friendly Giant amongst his niece and nephew’s young children as they grew up."

In his late 80's, Mr Cole began to experience some memory difficulties and was diagnosed with vascular dementia.

After a spell in the James Paget University Hospital he moved to Barchester’s Oulton Park Care Centre to be supported in the home’s state-of-the-art Memory Lane Community for those living with dementia.

Mr Broom added: "After living such a simple, frugal life and having worked so hard I know I speak for the whole family when I say that uncle Jim was cared for amazingly.

"The home’s general manager, Sarah - who helped move uncle to Oulton Park - and her team have been absolutely fantastic over the last five years."

Mr Cole's funeral was held at Lowestoft on Thursday, December 22.

Bombing raid recalled 

Mr Cole featured in The Lowestoft Journal's former 'Turning Back the Clock' section in an article in 2014, after he had recognised an image of his bomb damaged house.

The Journal article showcasing the bomb damaged home. (Image: David Broom)

The article in The Journal featuring Mr Cole (Image: David Broom)

Local historian Bob Collis recalled: "I had a number of pictures of Second World War bomb damaged houses in Lowestoft which I was unable to identify and in 2013 The Journal published several with an appeal for information.

"We visited Jimmy and he gave us a detailed account of that night.

"He told us that his father had just left for work as a signalman for the LNER when the bomb - one of eight dropped from a German Me 410 aircraft - exploded in the garden near the south west corner of the house, blasting a hole through the wall and catapulting the back doorstep across Normanston Drive to a spot where Jimmy later recovered it using a wheelbarrow.

"The other bombs, all 50kg (110 lb) landed between Chestnut Avenue and the LNER Sleeper Depot at Lake Lothing, causing very little damage.

"The raid took place at 1.25am on April 21, 1944 and was the last of 105 attacks by piloted German aircraft in the Second World War on Lowestoft and therefore historically quite significant."