I was stunned by these air raid scenes from Bristol in the Second World War

The courageous people of the city lived through some of the most horrific scenes in Britain.

Six major attacks on the city

Bristol was the fifth most heavily bombed British city during World War II and there were six major bombing runs between 1940 and 1941.

These Getty Images views show a street in Bristol which suffered extensive damage after a German bombing mission 85 years ago.

Another shows a view from inside the ruins of Temple Church, looking east from the chancel past the screen and along the nave towards the tower. It was taken in January 1941.

Bristol’s longest raid lasted 12 hours

That same month, Merchants Road in Clifton was hit during Bristol’s longest raid.

It lasted 12 hours on January 3 and into January 4. During the raid the Luftwaffe dropped their biggest bomb on the city, which was nicknamed Satan.

Another scene from 1944 shows Bristol Bridge on the River Avon, looking toward the High Street.

One tower left of a whole church

Among the many fascinating views is the single remaining tower of St Mary Le Port on the right. The rest of the church was destroyed by wartime bombing in 1940.

Our thanks go to Getty Images for this remarkable archive footage.

Bristol was targeted because it had important shipyards as well as a harbour. Figures show that, during the war, it suffered;

More than 500 air raid alerts.

1,299 people were killed and 1,303 were seriously injured.

Another 697 were rescued from the debris of buildings which had been bombed.

81,830 houses were destroyed and more than 3,000 were rendered unusable and later demolished.

If you have relatives who spoke about living through the air raids, tell us more by emailing [email protected]