Hi
Moved into Lodge Moor area recently and started getting interested in the local history. I've read snippets of info about the Roman Road and the WW1 training camp and WW2 POW camp. Are there any recommended books, websites etc on the subject ?

Ta

Col S

Remember not to stray off the paths up there, particularly when the moon is full!!

Try www.spinal.co.uk It's a pdf file file giving details about the Lodge Moor Isolation hospital. The book -Hospital on the Moor-is written by a local who may have more information. Her name and address are on the site.

The POW camp was turned into a gypsy camp. Is it still there?

Hi
The link didn't work but if it's the same book, I think it's one that I borrowed from the library last month. Quite an interesting read, especially about the American Air Force plane that crashed on the hospital in 1955.
There is a gypsy/traveller camp on Redmires Rd about half a mile past the 3 Merry Lads, but it only looks a small site.
Thanks for the info though.

Col S

I remember, vaguely, back in the late 40's/early 50's, when my dad was the trainer for Wadsley Bridge working mens club soccer team, going with him to a match at Lodge Moor. As I was only about 9 or 10, my attention soon shifted to the remains of what looked like an army camp. I went exploring with an older lad, and, in one of the buildings, he showed me a name written on one of the walls. KARL DOENITZ was the name, unknown to me at the time, but later I learned that this was Admiral Doenitz, of WW2 fame in the German navy! True story, as far as me seeing a name, but I didn't recognize it at the time.

Karl Doenitz was imprisoned in Spandau Prison as a war criminal from 1946-1956 so I don't think he would have spent time in Lodge Moor. Could have been a member of the German Navy carving the admirals name though.
Interesting story though.

I've just posted a notice in the Events forum, with details of a Ranmoor History exhibition this coming weekend.

Suspect the material won't stretch to the Lodge Moor area - but I bet you'll find some folks there who will know some information...or will know someone who knows iyswim!

Cheers, Carrie

Thanks for that. I'll check it out.

Col

Cols, you are probably right, but I just finished Googling Karl Doenitz. His bio says he was a british POW from 1918-1919 (not sure what months) but it didn't say where he was imprisoned!
Was Lodge Moor a prison back then?

Lodge Moor camp is nothing but concrete base slabs now overgrown with trees. No buildings still standing. Fascinating old roads and layout though......

Col,
I read your recent note which mentioned a jet which crashed at Lodge Moor with much interest. So I went and registered with the forum, and here I am.
I was raised in Lodge Moor up to the age of ten perhaps, and was there when the crash happened.
'Been looking for some time on the internet for some reference to the event.
It was an American F80 Shooting Star and crashed on to the hospital killing a woman, and the pilot I recall.
We lived along Lodge Moor Road, at number 28, close to the hospital perimeter and the family was gathered in the back room. I remember the flash thru the curtains and the bang. And my father and a neighbour running out to help.
F80's were prone to unreliability and underpowered with a single engine. Many were lost around that time.
Anyway, I'll continue to read your forum. Perhaps someone else will remember the event, and it looks like a very good site anyway. Actually I got into it looking for data on Roman roads. Now I'm rambling. No pun intended.

Welcome Bob and thanks for the info.
I probably live about 200 yards from where you used to live. You're probably well aware that Redmires Rd (The Causeway) was a Roman road originating from Buxton, part of which is now under the Redmires resevoirs.
Hope you spend many happy hours on the forum. Here's a good source of info if you'r e interested in aicraft crashes in the Peaks but it doesn't mention this particular one.

http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/

Regards

Col

Hi Col

Have you discovered whether there is a Lodge Moor Local History Society? I have found reference to a website but it is inactive.

Delboy

Delboy
Can't find any links, working or not. Guess I'll have to carry on reading, and walking the area.

Col S

Col,
Thanks for the referral to the website on Pennine crashes. I was glued to it for about an hour. So many aircraft lost, along with so many lives, I had no idea. If anything does turn up on the Lodge Moor crash I'd be very interested.
So where do you live, you mentioned living close-by? I should think it's still a very nice end of Sheffield, being close to some beautiful country.
Late last year I brought some colleagues over and we stayed at a pub up at Bradwell. Had a super time and enjoyed the good beers, Stones Bitter was outstanding. Will do it again sometime.

Regards, Bob

Cols and others,
See

http://pages.ivillage.com/deepoceanfish2/betweentheseshores/id25.html

Redmires camp was WWI training camp, then WW2 POW camp (Italian) then Gypsy Camp.

Also see discussion re. Sheffield Pals.

Regards,

Striver
--

Striver
Excellent site. Thanks very much.

Col S

Coincidentally, a collegue of mine mentioned that there was a program on Tuesday evening about trenches that were dug in the moors, but that was all he knew because he hadn't actually watched it, but it seems from that last link that it was about Hill 60. Hopefully it will be repeated as it sounded quite interesting.

Something else I'll mention that some of you may be interested in is that a new hobby of mine is to photograph all the crash sites in the Peak District. I went on an exploratory visit to Bleaklow at the weekend and took some snaps with my digital camera, you can see them here (http://christopher-hill.com/photos/?set=bleaklow). I will return soon with a better camera and take some "proper" photos.

Someone PM'd me to ask how to get to the Bleaklow crash site. My response was too long to post in a PM, so here it is for everyone's benefit...

Fortunately I have a GPS device which means I have an exact trace of the path I took over Bleaklow on my website (http://christopher-hill.com/photos/bleaklow/Route.gif). This map also gives you a broader view of the region (http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=410000.917646883&Y=395000.180099462&width=700&height=400&client=public&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&scale=100000).
Park on the A57 just before it starts to snake down to Glossop. Take the Pennine Way path across Hope Woodland Moor. After about a mile, you will come to a small valley with a stream (Hern Clough). At the point that you actually meet the stream, the Pennine Way follows the stream off to the right, but you need to carry straight ahead onto the moor land. You basically need to head up hill towards the rocks. There is no path, but you will see the occasional footprint which should assure you that you are going in the right direction. If you look at that map with my GPS path laid over the top, in between the text "Higher Shelf Stones" and the blue triangle with "621" next to it you can see that I have walked around in circles a few times, that is where the B29 is.
If you are walking, it will probably take around an hour to get there, although I ran (combining two pastimes into one). I would go when it hasn't rained for a few days, as you will be walking on peat for some of the way. Make sure that you also carry on to the stones at the top of the hill, as you have a good view of Glossop and Manchester from there. As you can see from the map, I also carried on around James's Thorn as there are a couple of crash sites there, though they are nowhere near is "impressive" as the B29 crash.

"Park on the A59"

Would that be in Harrogate then ?
That's one hell of a walk ....

I think you mean the A57. Seriously though, thanks for the info. I must give it a try one day.

Col S

Originally posted by Cols
"Park on the A59"

Would that be in Harrogate then ?
That's one hell of a walk ....

I think you mean the A57. Seriously though, thanks for the info. I must give it a try one day.

Col S

Doh.

The Peak District Rangers are doing a couple of walks this year to the various crash sites. Here's the next scheduled one:

12th June
Seeking Sabres
A strenuous moorland walk over rugged terrain of about 10 miles, led by Steve Brown. Seeking out crashed aircraft remains on Mill Hill and the Northern Edges of Kinder Scout. Suitable for experienced walkers. Meet at Bowden Bridge (Grid Ref. SK048869) at 10:30am, finish at 5pm. Public transport links: bus service 358 to Hayfield Village, about 1 mile from Bowden Bridge.

http://www.peakdistrict.org/ranger50/allwalks1.htm

I think there's another scheduled later in the year - but it doesn't seem to be listed on their web site. Will try and dig out the paper I saw it in....

Cheers, Carrie

Originally posted by Bob_in_USA
Col,
I read your recent note which mentioned a jet which crashed at Lodge Moor with much interest. So I went and registered with the forum, and here I am.

I was raised in Lodge Moor up to the age of ten perhaps, and was there when the crash happened.
'Been looking for some time on the internet for some reference to the event.

It was an American F80 Shooting Star and crashed on to the hospital killing a woman, and the pilot I recall.
We lived along Lodge Moor Road, at number 28, close to the hospital perimeter and the family was gathered in the back room. I remember the flash thru the curtains and the bang. And my father and a neighbour running out to help.


Does anyone know anything more about this? I've never heard of an aircraft crashing at the Hospital.

The only info I know about it was from the book I read. You can find it at Broomhill Library in the local history section. It's written by a lady who worked at the hospital and is a history of the hospital and its patients. There's only a couple of paragraphs on the plane crash but here's some brief details....

The plane was a US Air Force jet.
I believe it run out of fuel.
It crashed into the hospital in about 1954/5 and started a fire in one building.
One, or maybe two, people were killed.
I think the pilot ejected and was unhurt (but Bob mentioned otherwise).
The story was well reported in the press.

To go further back in the history of the area read the history of the Sheffield City Battalion,"Sheffield Pals" whose first depot was at Redmires on their formation.

There was a racecourse at Redmires, I think on the site of the camp.

See This thread (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread/t-7340.html)

Originally posted by Cols
The plane was a US Air Force jet.
I believe it run out of fuel.
It crashed into the hospital in about 1954/5 and started a fire in one building.
One, or maybe two, people were killed.
I think the pilot ejected and was unhurt (but Bob mentioned otherwise).
The story was well reported in the press.


The accident was indeed extensively reported in both Sheffield Newspapers - the Star and the Sheffield Telegraph. These are the salient details of the crash.

o Aircraft was a Republic F-84 Thunderstreak from the 3rd Air Force. A photograph of the crashed plane shows airframe serial number of 26692.

o Pilot was Lt. Roy G. Evans, 24, of Polaski, Tennessee who was attached to RAF Weathersfield.

o Flight originated from RAF Sculthorpe, Norfolk and was for instrument training.

o Colonel Harold Bailer, base operations commander at USAF Burtonwood (Lancs.) arrived at crash site and said trouble started when flight was over Derbyshire. Burtonwood were only people with contact with pilot at the time by radio. The base could faintly hear the pilot, but the pilot could not hear them. Pilot reported "I have a flame-out.... leaving the aircraft". Pilot ejected in cloud after several attempts to re-start his engine over the Peak District at what was believed to be 2,500ft and was recovered on the moors east of Hathersage. Pilot suffered an injured ankle and was returned to USAF Burtonwood, the nearest US base "with very minor injuries".

o Pilot recovered to Hathersage police station who telephoned Burtonwood to say he would be returning to base.

o Plane flew over 8 other wards before crashing at just after 5.00pm on December 9th 1955.

o Impact speed believed to have been 300mph.

o Plane hit roof of Ward North No.2 before demolishing a covered connecting corridor and end of Ward North No.1 before coming to rest by the mortuary in two pieces.

o Blazing wreckage put out by fire brigade, preventing it spreading to other wards, despite exploding ammunition. This was due to a smashed gas main. Fire was under control by 7.30pm

o Wards occupied by 28 cubicles out of 32 capacity. Casualties deemed to be relatively light considering.

o Only fatality was Mrs Elsie Murdoch, 46, of Walkley, Sheffield. She was convalescing and was due to be discharged on the Monday (crash was on a Friday). After the crash, nurse Margaret Schofield, 20, ironically of Hathersage, stayed with her until she died.

o Injured people were all patients:
Florence Stanton, 67, of Wickersley, Rotherham (shock)
John Wilson, 12, of Manor, Sheffield (injury to left hand)
Patrick Handley, 13, of Upperthorpe, Sheffield (slight foot injury)
Sandra Williams, 10, of Rotherham (superficial injuries to legs, right hand and scalp)
Dorothy Corrill, 30, of Dalton, Rotherham (superficial injuries to scalp, face and hands)
Florence Burcoyne, 45, of Tinsley, Sheffield (slight Shock)
Harold Wilcockson, 47, of Woodhouse, Sheffield (cut finger and bruising)

o 19 year old nurse Nita Richardson was a patient (convalescing) and left her cubicle for a cup of tea when the crash occurred and shattered her cubicle - she would almost certainly have died had she not done this!

o Pilot unaware of death when he left Burtonwood hospital for his home base of RAF Sculthorpe.

o Colonel E. Salisbury of the 3rd Air Force was to investigate the crash. The following day, the USAF personnel present on site comprised Brigadier-General John "Troup" Miller (Burtonwood), four colonels, two first-lieutenants, and over 50 technical staff. B-G Miller visited Mr Murdoch, the dead woman's husband with Frank Kershaw from the hospital management.

o Messages of 'deep regret' sent by Major General Roscoe C. Wilson, Commander US 3rd Air Force.

==

I hope that clarifies things.

Please visit my website for extensive information on two aircrashes that happened in Holmesfield, North Derbyshire. The first was an RAF Gloster Meteor in 1955, the other was a USAF RF-4C Phantom in 1970.

http://www.millthorpeaircrash.org.uk

Many thanks for that information, Mrs Murdoch was my great aunty. Nice to put some detail to the family story.

No problem - can you email me off-list, please?

I'm reseraching this crash for a book and I'd like to get in touch with Mrs. Murdoch's descendents. Thanks.

Originally posted by oldtimer
Cols, you are probably right, but I just finished Googling Karl Doenitz. His bio says he was a british POW from 1918-1919 (not sure what months) but it didn't say where he was imprisoned!
Was Lodge Moor a prison back then? According to what I heard at a talk the other day, it was a POW camp at the end of WW1, and Doenitz was a U-boat commander imprisoned there, the same one who succeeded Hitler after his suicide.

Algy
I made it to the talk as well. I'm the one who came in 5 minutes late. Interesting it was too. Thanks for letting me know about it.
One thing that I'm a bit quizzical about was that the speakers were saying they were not sure what the earthworks were before they started investigating. I would have thought that the fact that the place is called "Hill 60" was clue enough to tell them it had a WW1 connection.
I must go exploring over there now that the weather is improving.

Hi Cols, glad you thought it worthwhile. I wish there'd been a bit more archaeology and a bit less emotional excerpts, but that's me. I take your point about Hill 60. The only thing I can think is I don't think it's marked as Hill60 on the map, and the people leading the investigation weren't aware of the Pals history when they started.
Anyhow, happy hunting!

I was just 5 years old and in Lodge Moor Hospital with Scarlet Fever when the plane crashed on the hospital

Hi Col

Have you discovered whether there is a Lodge Moor Local History Society? I have found reference to a website but it is inactive.

Delboy

There was a "Lodge Moor local history and conservation group " I was the Chairman and our historian was a mad Scots Piper called Gordon Hulme. Gordon was the fount all knowledge lodge moor and redmires. The group formed to clean up wyming brook and to close it to traffic which we successfully did and had great times fundraising. People moved away and we dissbanded. Happy Days