Ruined and Rebuilt: The Story of Coventry Cathedral 1939-1962

Howard, Richard Thomas: - "Richard Thomas Howard (12 June 1884 - 1 November 1981) was an Anglican priest and author. Howard was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1908 and began his ministry as chaplain of his former Cambridge college. In 1912 he went to St. John's College, Agra for the Church Missionary Society (CMS). From 1913 to 1918 he was Vice-Principal of St Paul's Divinity School, Allahabad and from then until 1929 was the Principal of St Aidan's College, Birkenhead. After four years as Vicar of Luton he became Provost of Coventry Cathedral, a position he held for 25 years. From 1941 to 1946 he was also Archdeacon of Coventry. On the night of 14 November 1940, Howard was one of four firefighters who climbed onto the roof to smother with sand the incendiary bombs that were landing not just on the Cathedral but starting a firestorm across the city centre. At around 8pm a fire broke out inside the Cathedral and, despite extinguishing it, they could not control the other fires which ultimately led to its destruction. Howard writes "As I went into the ruined Cathedral on the morning after the destruction, there flashed into my mind the deep certainty that as the Cathedral had been crucified with Christ, so it would rise again with Him. How or when, we could not tell; nor did it matter. The Cathedral would rise again." In the years that followed, Howard inspired and partly led the project to build a new Cathedral. Today, Coventry is a City of Peace and Reconciliation due in no small measure to the determination of Provost Howard to forgive those who had caused that terrible destruction. He describes this in his book "Ruined and Rebuilt"."