The wooden cross and the cross of nails were created after the cathedral was bombed during the Coventry Blitz of World War II. My father was there that night as a fireman and his stories of the experience lived on as sad legends in our family. My mother could see the fire glowing on the horizon from 30 miles away! The cathedral stonemason, Jock Forbes, saw two wooden beams lying in the shape of a cross in the ruins and tied them together. A replica of the wooden cross built in 1964, has replaced the original in the ruins of the old cathedral on an altar of rubble. The original is now kept in St. Michael's Hall below the new cathedral. Another cross was made of three nails from the roof truss of the old cathedral by Provost Richard Howard of Coventry Cathedral. It was later transferred to the new cathedral, where it rests on its altar. The cross of nails has become a symbol of peace and reconciliation across the world. There are over 160 Cross of Nails Centres all over the world...