I came across this article the other day and found it really interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/39/a4103939.shtml

I was just wondering if anyone else had any wartime memories of around Banner Cross that they would like to share :)

Wow! My mother lived at 145 Blair Athol Road during the war years along with her parents and two sisters, in fact the house was not sold until the eighties. Mum was a civil servant and not allowed to join up. In fact she was sent to work at an office in Berners Street, Soho where after a days work she often had to climb up to the roof and fire watch all night.Working in London was so stressful beacuse of the incessant bombing that she was sent home for respite.
The weekend she came home was the Sheffield Blitz!
Her sister had gone to see a film at Greystones Cinema and when the sirens went Mum ran round to the cinema to bring her home. As Mum ran down Ecclesall Road incenderies were falling on rooves and rolling onto the ground in flames. Several buildings were on fire.

Thanks Ironmonger! It's hard to imagine how terrifying it must have been back then - your poor mum!

I have since spoken to my mother about these events, she is now 93.
Mum told me that it was her parents that were in the cinema and when the sirens went the cinema audience were evacuated to the basement car park of the neighbouring Blue Star garage, currently the Texaco service station. This could not have been very safe with all that petrol around !!!
An ARP warden grabbed mum's arm to try and stop her but she shook him off.
The next morning she had to report for work at the Inland Revenue offices in West Street and, unsurprisingly, after the events of the night she over slept and was late. She ran along Glenalmond Road and as she turned onto Ecclesall Road she spotted a tram which she made a run for only to realise that it was burnt out.

I have since spoken to my mother about these events, she is now 93.
Mum told me that it was her parents that were in the cinema and when the sirens went the cinema audience were evacuated to the basement car park of the neighbouring Blue Star garage, currently the Texaco service station. This could not have been very safe with all that petrol around !!!
An ARP warden grabbed mum's arm to try and stop her but she shook him off.
The next morning she had to report for work at the Inland Revenue offices in West Street and, unsurprisingly, after the events of the night she over slept and was late. She ran along Glenalmond Road and as she turned onto Ecclesall Road she spotted a tram which she made a run for only to realise that it was burnt out.

Hi from memory the the Service Station above the Greystones Cinema was not operating during WW2, I don't think that it had been completed and opened at that time. So stored petrol would not have been an issue. I remember going into the underground area I think there were lock up garages there. Could have been OK as a shelter.