How Belfast 'rose to the occasion' during one of the UK's worst WW2 raids

It was 85 years ago that Reggie Davidson saw the night sky reflect the devastation that had been brought to his home.

"From where we were in Stranmillis, you could see the glow - the whole city centre was burning," he said.

The eight-year-old had just survived the worst World War Two raid, outside London, in the UK. A night when almost 1,000 people died and 1,500 were injured.

The Easter Tuesday raid on 15 April 1941, one of four German bombing raids in about a month that comprised the Belfast Blitz, left a shattered city in its wake. But, according to Reggie, now 93, that night was also about resilience.

"It's important that people should know people in the city rose to the occasion."

On the Blitz's 85th anniversary, Reggie recalls how his mother was asked to facilitate the opening of one of the area's air raid shelters when the sirens sounded - and he helped her.

"You have to buckle in and do what you can," he said.

The shelters - rectangular red-brick buildings with a solid concrete roof and no windows - could accommodate up to 100 people.

"It wouldn't be very comfortable but then after all it was an air raid," Reggie said, adding that there were many other people who "did their bit" too.

The fire brigade, for example, "were really most proficient in the city at that time".

"It's very hard I would think for any fire brigade to stop a burning building that's been bombed."

Reggie remembers cycling down to the city centre to see the devastation after some of the raids.

He said "it was amazing how much damage was done" in the area around York Street in particular, which was "just flattened basically".

"Still a lot of it was... not burning really but still smouldering," he added.

After the Blitz, Reggie was evacuated to stay with his grandparents on their farm outside Dungannon.

He now lives in County Down. Looking back, he said he did what he could during the war.

"I suppose at the time you don't think of what you're doing, from what's going to come out in the future, that you'll be sitting answering questions about it."

About 1,000 people were killed between 7 April and 6 May 1941 as the German Luftwaffe targeted docks and factories in Belfast which were contributing to the war effort.

There were four major raids, with bombs hitting half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000 people homeless.

The worst attack came on Easter Tuesday - 15 April - when 200 German bombers shelled the city.

Poor visibility on the night meant that the accuracy of the bombers was hampered and the explosives were dropped on densely populated areas.

Eighty-five years on, a new play at the Sanctuary Theatre in east Belfast is reflecting on the devastating raids.

Poignantly, the theatre's home is the former Mountpottinger Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church, which offered sanctuary to families during the Blitz.

A Bomber's Moon follows the story of 20-year-old Sadie "Minty" Murray as bombs rain down on her city.

The term - a bomber's moon - refers to a bright full moon during World War Two that illuminated the landscape almost like daylight, making it easier for aircrews to navigate and strike their targets.

Co-writer Sam Robinson feels stories like these are important to keep history alive.

"There's a Jewish playwright who survived the Holocaust called Elie Weisel," he said.

"His premise was that whoever listens to a witness becomes a witness.

"I think in listening to the stories Reggie can regale to us and for us to convey them means the next generation then becomes witnesses to it because these stories are so important.

"There's no better witness anywhere in the world than someone who has lived through it."

Leah Williamson, who plays Sadie, said the play's "east Belfast setting and characters are special".

"So much of the script has been taken from personal experience of writers' families during the war so I think it is the characters that make this really important."

Glenn McGivern, who plays Sadie's love interest Frank, said he enjoyed immersing himself in stories which "help [him] get a better picture of the city and be more authentic when it comes to telling stories that are based in Northern Ireland".

"I hope audiences leave with a better understanding of what Belfast went through but also some empathy for all the characters just to see it's not all black and white."

Director and co-writer Trevor Gill emphasised the significance of the building as a place of sanctuary and a community hub "where people could meet and feel safe".

"We're carrying the torch, if you like, forward into the future for generations that have gone before us and loved this building."

He believes people will find "a huge resonance between what's going on today and what was going on in those times".

"This story is about hope, it's about love, it's about redemption and whether good wins over the more negative elements that are prevalent in society."