Ards and North Down Borough Council has unanimously supported a motion to create a memorial for five people killed in Bangor during the Belfast Blitz in 1941.

On the night of April 15-16, 1941, German aircraft dropped fourteen bombs on Bangor, killing five residents and injuring thirty-five. Those killed were Matilda Lillian Grattan, 54, Shelagh Grattan, 20, and Angeline Grattan, 18, all from Ashley Gardens; Margaret Watt, 60, of Hazeldene Gardens; and Robert Wright, 41, from Baylands, who died on April 17 from injuries.

The Carnegie Library was used as a temporary morgue for the fatalities.

Councillor Pete Wray, who proposed the motion, noted that a planned memorial at Cathedral Gardens in Belfast will commemorate those who died in the Belfast Blitz but will not include the names of the Bangor victims. He called for a plaque to be placed in Carnegie Library and Ward Park to name the five people killed.

Wray said the memorial was important for remembering history and the human cost of war, and for teaching children about the impact of violence.

Councillor Katherine Newman, who seconded the motion, said the event had been overlooked for 85 years and there was a compelling case for a dedicated standalone memorial for the people of Bangor directly affected by the Blitz.

Alderman Mark Brooks, who lives on Ashley Gardens, said a shower of incendiary bombs fell on the street but no serious fires broke out. The Grattan family were killed when a high explosive hit their shelter in a direct hit.

The motion will now go to full council for approval.