hi im doing this history thing and i have to pretend to b a german spy living in sheffield n i need help with it coz i dunno were to look for imfo i need to kno names of factories etc etc i went into chat too see if anyone cud help me but they int no one dere so thats a bumma init well plzzzzzzz will sumone elp me dis counts towards my course work so its a big deal cheers all my love jojo mwah xxxxx

Read through the "History" section of this site - there are some threads there about the blitz and some of our older members memories of the war, which may contain some of the information you need. If not, the library should have some information.

If you type Sheffield Blitz into Google you will find even more information.

I had to do somthing similar whan I was at school, but I just asked my Grandpa who had lived through it. Do you have any elderly relatives who might remember?

Mod Note:

Thread re-opened. Please keep on topic this time, however JoJo you will find that people are more willing to help you if you rephase your post in English. 'Txt Spk' is difficult to make sense of at the best of times.

Strix's suggestion of www.picturesheffield.com seems to have been lost in the move.

Was my suggestion any help for you? People might point you in the right direction, but we're not going to write your essay for you,

Hiya JoJo, well, if I can understand your dialect ( NOT sheffield). There used to be a large steel works in Sheffield called Firth Browns, where they made munitions and parts for tanks, aircraft etc. The steel works in Sheffield were a 'hot' target for German bombers. The railways were also a good target, such as the Wicker goods yard where most of the stuff made in Sheffield were kept until it was sent by rail to different parts of the country. Best ov luk wiv de homeworks

Hi JoJo' The german planes took their bearings from the wicker arches so you ccould have your german spy flashing his torch and watching the planes go the wong way. up town and down the moor
he could be knocked over by a tram that went thro the archess at that tme and could haave , if his english was perfeect, worked at the River Don Works where my Dad worked
as a steel worker at the time. The doors were locked when the sirens went so he climbed out of tthe window and waded acrooss the river. I'll leave the rest to you

.

hazel

Hi JoJo Star and Telegraph published an excellent account of the blitz called Sheffield at war. Try their front office at York St. It contains maps, photographs and accounts given by people who were around at the time.

MOD NOTE: The point about text speak has already been made. Please heed the previous mod's note & stick to the thread topic.

One one of the nights of The Blitz - Thursday or Sunday, William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) came on the wireless and said that Sheffield was to be targetted that night. He said that one of the targets was The Seven Sisters - a nickname given to the seven chimneys at Steel, Peach & Tozer. They missed the lot and got the city centre. I think it was the Sunday night.

Hiya JoJo, well, if I can understand your dialect ( NOT sheffield). There used to be a large steel works in Sheffield called Firth Browns, where they made munitions and parts for tanks, aircraft etc. The steel works in Sheffield were a 'hot' target for German bombers.
Also Newton Chambers in Chapeltown where Churchill tanks were made during the war.

There was a wooden town up on the moors to confuse the bombers into bombing moorlands instead of the Don Valley.....smart idea

this thread has been resurrected after a year. I suspect Jojo may have done her homework by now! lol :hihi:

ps, gadgetgirl, I remember seeing a programme a couple of years ago about how, during the war, one city (hull, i think) had a mock-up built, of the docks, right down to the lights and the reflections in the water. It was done in something like1/3 scale, and set out, a ways- away from the city, to fool the bombers, who would not realise, from the height of their flight-path that the scale was "off". Ingenious.

this thread has been resurrected after a year. I suspect Jojo may have done her homework by now! lol :hihi:

If you read her first Post She is a German spy.

She might have been "Lying low" for a while until the dust settles. ;)

ah!!! duhh!

of course!!!

a sleeper! how could I have been so dumb?

OK OK, don't answer that, I AM a blonde....

PT

One one of the nights of The Blitz - Thursday or Sunday, William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) came on the wireless and said that Sheffield was to be targetted that night. He said that one of the targets was The Seven Sisters - a nickname given to the seven chimneys at Steel, Peach & Tozer. They missed the lot and got the city centre. I think it was the Sunday night.

It was the Thursday night!

It was the Thursday night!


Sorry about that. I got the info from my late Father. I thought he said it was foggy on the Thursday night, and frost clear on the Sunday night. I got it wrong I should have known really as I was in a play called 'It's a bit lively outside', by Joyce Halliday. This gives an excellent account of the two nights of the Sheffield Blitz.

my grandad used to be the commisioner on the cinema in fitzallen square he was on the door that night of the blitz he saw the first bomb fall on the marples pub across the square .there used to be asnooker hall underneath the cinema and they had to make sure all the cinema goers were evacuted toit. that night after his shift he walked all the way hometo pagehall just to make sure his family were safe the y say the trauma reflected on him badly and he never was the same after that. inever knew my grandad as he died before i was born but i still am proud to be his grandaughter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c1161/

Re the booklet "Sheffield at war" I've still got a copy Can't let it out of my sight though,its an heirloom.

Yes I remember the Sheffield Blitz well.It was my 5th birthday on Dec 12th.We lived at the bottom of The Moor so we could hear the bombs dropping.I was frightened every time the sirens went,heard the planes and heard the bombs dropping for the rest of the war.A skill I quickly learnt was to tell by the sound of the engines whether it was 'one of ours' or not.Huddled in the cellar the adults would stop talking and say 'Listen...It's alright it's one of ours'

I wonder if the JoJo1979 ever finished the homework asked about? S/he obviously didn't take any of our advice or ideas as has never been back to check!

Just took a look at the profile and the OP has never been here since that first post in 2005 ...

Ahh the impatience of youth :hihi: Obviously due to the fact that we didnt write the report for her and email jpegs of bombsites she went elsewhere. :P

I wonder if the JoJo1979 ever finished the homework asked about? S/he obviously didn't take any of our advice or ideas as has never been back to check!

Just took a look at the profile and the OP has never been here since that first post in 2005 ...

I just wonder if JoJo1979 had as much trouble with her/his History as with the English. I worry that kids won't be able to differentiate between the occasions when text speak is acceptable and when it's not. I'm sure that a job application form filled in with txt spk would be instantly filed in the bin.
In the section marked "Hobbies" would it say something like "i luv 2 ang out wiv my m8s n stuff innit."

Although it was 66 years ago,I have vivid memories of that night. I,and two of my friends,went to the 1st house at the Empire theatre to see Henry Hall and his orchestra.There was a purple warning on,but nothing unusual in that.
The orchestra were in the middle of playing one of the popular tunes of the time "Six lessons from Madam Lazonga",when Henry was called to the side of the stage. He immediately came back and stopped the music to make an announcement. He said an air raid was imminent and to leave the theatre in an orderly manner. By this time we could hear the AA guns in action ,and when we got outside,we could see that the incendiary bombers had been busy with the big furniture shop next to the Empire well alight. We decided to make a run for it down the Moor,but we were too late,the heavy stuff had begun to arrive,and as we passed the 50 shilling tailors one dropped nearby causing the large window to shatter to pieces. Fortunately it had a cross brace on and it did it's job. We went underneath to the shop's shelter and listened to the crescendo all around us. After a while we had to evacuate the shelter as the shops above were all on fire. The heat was so fierce it was melting the metal of the frames,and some drops fell on my head,although i did'nt notice it at the time. When we emerged on the Moor it was like a scene from Dantes Inferno,it looked like the whole of the Moor was on fire.
Marks and Sparks,opposite us certainly was,as was a tram,but we were directed down the side street, next to the Central cinema,to a shelter in Eyre Street,and we all made haste,you can bet. We had'nt been in the shelter very long before it received a direct hit. The lights went out and the blast swept through where we were sat on forms and blew the lid off the escape hatch. There was a lot of oral evidence that people had been injured further in the shelter. We stayed there until the all clear about 4 am and then walked
back up the side street to look at the damage,only to turn and run when an unexploded bomb went off on theMoor. We decided then to walk home via Eyre Street to London Road coming out at Lamb's shop. Absolute chaos everywhere, with hosepipes crisscrossing the road amongst all the debris. I arrived home to find we just had one window shattered by blast,a huge relief
all round. A night never to be forgotten. I joined the Navy 3 weeks later,but that's another story.

I forgot to mention that Henry Hall's main singer was Betty Driver,who in later life became Betty Turpin in Coronation Street.

my grandad used to be the commisioner on the cinema in fitzallen square he was on the door that night of the blitz he saw the first bomb fall on the marples pub across the square .there used to be asnooker hall underneath the cinema and they had to make sure all the cinema goers were evacuted toit. that night after his shift he walked all the way hometo pagehall just to make sure his family were safe the y say the trauma reflected on him badly and he never was the same after that. inever knew my grandad as he died before i was born but i still am proud to be his grandaughterI remember the commisionaire at the Electra as it was called then , so perhaps I spoke to your G Dad when we used to get an older person to get us a ticket when the film was an A certificate minors could not get in. Cheers Arthur.

Blitzer, I bet Henry Hall and Betty Driver would have a few tales to tell about that night too!Pity more memoirs arent around about the blitz[I have got a video.It looks horrifying as your experience must have been]

Yes I remember the Sheffield Blitz well.It was my 5th birthday on Dec 12th.We lived at the bottom of The Moor so we could hear the bombs dropping.I was frightened every time the sirens went,heard the planes and heard the bombs dropping for the rest of the war.A skill I quickly learnt was to tell by the sound of the engines whether it was 'one of ours' or not.Huddled in the cellar the adults would stop talking and say 'Listen...It's alright it's one of ours'


Famous last words Eileent. "It's alright,it's one of ours"!

Great story Blitzer, I look forward to the navy years next.

What is the st name for very steephill running from Penistone rd to langsett ,cinema just around the top ,bombs hit many of the shops,my brother and i having run off from fullwood were chased off by the firemen ,the whole st was ablaze I being 7-8 bro 18months younger ,the st was coverd in goods but not what we was looking for, something to eat

Wood Street?

this thread has been resurrected after a year. I suspect Jojo may have done her homework by now! lol :hihi:

I wonder if her spelling is any better :P

I'm sorry, i really couldn't resist.

Wilf

Wood Street?
Yes a tweek to the memory banks, after 60yrs i remember that name ,:) Thanks

http://www.australiansatwar.gov.au/stories/stories.asp?war=W2&id=220
If you read BLITZER'S account of the Sheffield Blitz and found it exciting, please go to this link and read about his exploits in the Navy. When you get to the part about(A Little Englishman) thats BLITZER. Read on.

[QUOTE=BLITZER]Although it was 66 years ago,I have vivid memories of that night. I,and two of my friends,went to the 1st house at the Empire theatre to see Henry Hall and his orchestra.There was a purple warning on,but nothing unusual in that.

BLITZER
Thanks for that story. I sat here and re-lived every moment of it, being about the same vintage. funny you never ever forget. dodging incendary bombs was no joke and finding the nearest air raid shelter hoping it wasn't full. I can feel the atmosphere now and almost smell the smoke of the burnin g buildings. Hope you had your gas mask with you and your little ear plugs. lol
Famous last words (don't forget your gas mask) When you came out of the shelters everyone was wondering about not knowing what they would see that (all clear) was a relief to hear.
Thanks Vera.

cat631 - thanks for posting the link, what a fantastic story - especially the part about the "little english man" (Blitzer)!
A really interesting and informative story, it's always great to read true stories like that, even if i'm not doing history homework these days!

Thanks BLITZER for a really great read.

Although it was 66 years ago,I have vivid memories of that night. I,and two of my friends,went to the 1st house at the Empire theatre to see Henry Hall and his orchestra.There was a purple warning on,but nothing unusual in that.
The orchestra were in the middle of playing one of the popular tunes of the time "Six lessons from Madam Lazonga",when Henry was called to the side of the stage. He immediately came back and stopped the music to make an announcement. He said an air raid was imminent and to leave the theatre in an orderly manner. By this time we could hear the AA guns in action ,and when we got outside,we could see that the incendiary bombers had been busy with the big furniture shop next to the Empire well alight. We decided to make a run for it down the Moor,but we were too late,the heavy stuff had begun to arrive,and as we passed the 50 shilling tailors one dropped nearby causing the large window to shatter to pieces. Fortunately it had a cross brace on and it did it's job. We went underneath to the shop's shelter and listened to the crescendo all around us. After a while we had to evacuate the shelter as the shops above were all on fire. The heat was so fierce it was melting the metal of the frames,and some drops fell on my head,although i did'nt notice it at the time. When we emerged on the Moor it was like a scene from Dantes Inferno,it looked like the whole of the Moor was on fire.
Marks and Sparks,opposite us certainly was,as was a tram,but we were directed down the side street, next to the Central cinema,to a shelter in Eyre Street,and we all made haste,you can bet. We had'nt been in the shelter very long before it received a direct hit. The lights went out and the blast swept through where we were sat on forms and blew the lid off the escape hatch. There was a lot of oral evidence that people had been injured further in the shelter. We stayed there until the all clear about 4 am and then walked
back up the side street to look at the damage,only to turn and run when an unexploded bomb went off on theMoor. We decided then to walk home via Eyre Street to London Road coming out at Lamb's shop. Absolute chaos everywhere, with hosepipes crisscrossing the road amongst all the debris. I arrived home to find we just had one window shattered by blast,a huge relief
all round. A night never to be forgotten. I joined the Navy 3 weeks later,but that's another story.

You remember the evening very well after 66 years,our great city Sheffield the major shopping centre bombed,you recall it so clearly,I wonder why the went for the cente and not the industrial heart of the city the steel works

You remember the evening very well after 66 years,our great city Sheffield the major shopping centre bombed,you recall it so clearly,I wonder why the went for the cente and not the industrial heart of the city the steel works

That's the 64 thousand dollar question DavidRa. They did of course raid the industrial area on the following Sunday,but was'nt as prolonged or intense as that on the city centre. 8 hours against 3. Maybe the first was as a moral buster. If so,it failed miserably.

For your research why don't you try some residential homes my father is in one and the old people are all too ready to talk about passed times imcluding the war

Thanks BLITZER, great read, I wouldn't have wanted to be in your shoes at anytime, the generations that came after, have people like you to thank for the life style that we take for granted today, let's not loose those rights to a few people who don't like trimming up for Xmas, so many people gave their lives in the wars so that we could have little priviledge's like this.
I worked with 8 Germans when I first arrived here, one of them flew the planes that dropped the bombs on Sheffield, he was a great person & when we talked about it, he would say [that's war for you].
I talked about growing up with the thought in mind that Germans were bad for what they did, & he told me that they got taught the same about the English, marvelous that years later we could work, laugh & drink together in peace & harmony, but at what cost.
Thanks again.

I've said this before on the forum so sorry for repeating myself ---but my Dad said the reason they bombed the moor was because they were given the Wicker Archers as their target to start from and they were to follow the river from the Arches down to the steelworks . He said they mistook the shine of the tram lines for the river and went in the wrong direction and bombed the whole of Sheffied centre following the tram lines and missid the steelworks.
We have a lot to thank the trams for if his theory was right.
hazel

I'm wondering now ... a few years ago when I worked as a local publisher's rep, we used to have a book of memories complied by two retired librarians which had been recounted to them by people in various homes and hospitals around the City. It was called "Pawnshop on Monday (POM as I used to list it :D) and was very popular.

I feel that all these interesting and unique personal memories being posted on the various threads on SF should be preserved for posterity.

I hope none of them will ever be 'culled'

I'm going to report my post, so that the mods can see it and take action as they see fit.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~engsheffield/blitz/blitz.htm
Hello everyone. This link gives a good account of the Sheffield Blitz and perhaps why the city centre was bombed and not the steelworks.

Great pictures there cat, I was born in the Duke St area in 1943, there must still have been a threat of something around that time as I was placed in a special capsule which had a gas mask attached, I was then sent to live with my auntie at Stannington for a couple of years.
The pictures of the damage on that site are what I remember seeing when I was a small child & was taken into the city, it took quite a few years to clear all that mess up & start rebuilding.
We don't really realise how brave people like BLITZER & the rest of the forces were to put their lives on the line to protect our way of life, King & country,
I doubt very few of todays generation would do what the oldies did.

BLITZER, I don't want this to turn into a racist thread, but how does it make you feel to have put your life on the line to protect the English way of life, free speech, etc etc, being eroded away by a minority of people who disagree with the way we live & freedom we enjoy today because of people like you.
You are one brave man, you LITTLE ENGLISHMAN.

A story my Grandad told me, most likely a story someone told him, rightly or wrongly, was about a German POW who escaped from Redmires POW camp who made it to the city centre and was caught because he clicked his heels when he accepted his tram ticket.

A true story however is on the first night of the blitz when Browns jewellers was hit, there were watches, rings, jewels etc all over the debris. My Uncle Jack was a tram driver and he'd abandoned his tram half way down the Moor because of the raid and began to walk home to Shiregreen after the all clear. He always said he could have been set up for life if he'd picked up all the jewels he'd seen but apart from him being an honest guy, he said he knew he could have been shot for looting. When he got back to his tram the next day it was in two pieces down a massive bomb crater.

My father took shelter in the cellar of Marples pub in fitzalan sq until it finished. hic

The POW who escaped from Redmires,was caught when he made a simple error of English phrasing. He asked the tram conductor "Went the day well?" I think this was later used as a film title.
Regarding the bombing of the city centre, I talked to the one of the German aircrew on the raid who was adamant that the city centre was always the target. He sent a very detailed map of Sheffield which even had details of little mesters workshops. The only error I could find was the Bramall Lane ground marked as a boating lake!

I've just read another possible reason why the City Centre was bombed and not the steelworks. According to a book by Alistair Lofthouse, Sheffield Blitz Then and Now, it was possibly due to the fog covering Rotherham and Attercliffe. He also says, it was the second raid on the Sunday that followed a Radio Beam.

Whatever the reason, Sheffield Blitz 12th December 1940 Happy Anniversary.

I forgot to mention that Henry Hall's main singer was Betty Driver,who in later life became Betty Turpin in Coronation Street. Hi Blitzer remember Henry 's signiture tune I bet you wasn't looking forward to the next time on that night, I was in our cellar with some bird iv'e often tried to remember her name,
Arthur

Hi Arthur, Sounds like you had a much better night than I did!

Re the Blitz, My Granparents lived next to the Star Cinema Ecclesall Rd, No160 the house was bombed and they moved into 168. A Mrs Grundy lived at 166.

I posted in another topic a few months ago. I'm doing my dissertation on the Sheffield Evacuees. If anybody has any stories they would be willing to share please let me know.

I'm currently writing up my dissertation (after 6 months of research) and i'm writing a chapter on the Blitz on the 12th and the 15th Dec 1940.

" Listen,can tha ear summat " was a phrase which my dad used to come out with when we were in the shelter, it became a family joke.

The blitz was on Thursday the 13th of December and Sunday 16th, a clear full moon almost daylight and the bombs came raining down, mostly incendiaries which caused the city centre to become the largest furnace even Sheffield had ever seen.

I was in a shelter under the railway arches in Heeley having been to the pictures at the picture house nearby accompanied by my older brother, we were not in the least bit concerned, I don't know why, perhaps we were too young to realise the seriousness of our position, but it was all a joke to us.

We made our way home to Millmout Rd. passing a very large crater on Chesterfield Rd. and I think Little London Rd. but I'm not sure. It was surrounded by people with pots and pans trying to get water out of the broken pipe, all with despair written on their faces.

We ran up Chesterfield Rd. wondering if we had a family or house left, this was when the reality of the situation struck, this was no longer a game, this was serious. Millmout Rd. like many roads in Sheffield is very steep but we ran like greyhounds up that hill and discovered the house untouched except for a couple of widows broken.

Yes tsavo, I read an account of that capture somwhere, he was caught getting off a tram at the bottom of that road running from Darnall to Attercliffe but you may be able to expand on this.

Sorry, Floridablade, can't give anything further details about his capture. I have heard both Staniforth Road and Shalesmoor mentioned as his arrest site.

I've just read another possible reason why the City Centre was bombed and not the steelworks. According to a book by Alistair Lofthouse, Sheffield Blitz Then and Now, it was possibly due to the fog covering Rotherham and Attercliffe. He also says, it was the second raid on the Sunday that followed a Radio Beam.

I heard somewhere that the Germans bombed using signal beams ,which when they crossed it was time to drop your bombs.Our scientists had found a way to bend the beams by 4 degrees and thats why they hit the town instead of Attercliffe.Also I would like to know more about the z batteries located on Manor lane I believe.My late father operated them with the civil defence (dads army).He told me that in the event of a misfire ,they had to turn them to a particular setting so that they hit the houses and not the industry.It never happened fortunately.

Must have been on the sunday my brother and i having run away fm Fullwood homes watched the shops going up in flames in what i now believe was Wood st,the firemen cleared us off ,to busy to give much notice,we spent the next few nights in the Andersons behind High house rd always scrounging for food,

A few weeks before the blitz, I was a kid of 9 out in the street in Tinsley when a plane flew very low over our house, so low that the pilot waved to us. My mother said Oh look its a hospital plane. I told her it was a Heinkel 111, I was into aircraft recognition at the time. On December 15th Sunday our house was one hit by a stick of bombs while we were hiding in the pantry. We somehow manged to get out and run across to Tinsley Elementary, whic h was then set on fire by incendiaries.

jojo14791, if you want to know anything about ww2 , there is a place called eden camp ,malton, north shire you can actually go though the blitz, bombing, etcit has everything you need to know about ww2,

hi skippy,a short while ago I took a large party of Germans on a tour of Sheffield and when we arrived at Marples I told them about the bombing and to a person they all bowed their heads and said how sorry they were,most of them were my age or younger.One of these was a headteacher and told me of when he was a child his mother took him for a new coat to Heilbron when an air raid started,they dived into the cellars and when they came out there wasnt much left of heilbron,what could I say,he did say with a wicked laugh that he didnt get his coat!

Anyone remember the real spy. The police lifted him off the Retford-Sheffield bus at the top of Richmond Road by the police box and horse trough. Expect both are gone now.

jojo14791, if you want to know anything about ww2 , there is a place called eden camp ,malton, north shire you can actually go though the blitz, bombing, etcit has everything you need to know about ww2,i think jo jo is long gone she posted this thread in 2005 and never posted again.:hihi:

hi skippy,a short while ago I took a large party of Germans on a tour of Sheffield and when we arrived at Marples I told them about the bombing and to a person they all bowed their heads and said how sorry they were,most of them were my age or younger.One of these was a headteacher and told me of when he was a child his mother took him for a new coat to Heilbron when an air raid started,they dived into the cellars and when they came out there wasnt much left of heilbron,what could I say,he did say with a wicked laugh that he didnt get his coat!

Such dialogue can be so sincere and rewarding.

I got to know a guy (brother of owner of a bar in the Ruhr, that I used to frequent) as his career in the German army in ordinance disposal, developed from clearing the old east/west border areas, through Bosnia and Kosovo.

He visited London about a decade ago, and I related the stories to him recently shown on televison of how some unexploded German bombs had needed to be retrived from the filthy water in the depths of gas holders at Beckton gasworks, then carefully lifted up over the top, down the other side to be carted off to Hackney Marshes to be exploded.

With every sentence he cringed more.

Some four years later he had been assigned to deal with WW2 ordinance still regularly unearthed in Germany.

I hope he always stays lucky and safe.

What was amazing about the 1900s was we fought Germany and supported France for the first time in Lord knows how many centuries.
I'm not suggesting for a moment that we were wrong to do so but I believe our ancestry and our language even the name England or Angleland are all basicly from the same roots as Germany.

What was amazing about the 1900s was we fought Germany and supported France for the first time in Lord knows how many centuries.
I'm not suggesting for a moment that we were wrong to do so but I believe our ancestry and our language even the name England or Angleland are all basicly from the same roots as Germany.

In the 1850's a lot of engineers with deep mining experience, emigrated from Northern England and Ireland with their families , to set up and sink the new mines in the Ruhr (that until then the German population had no experience of) and stayed on.

Similarly thousands of Germans emigrated here and to the USA, around the same period.
Such were the divisions in families that became apparent once hostilities started.

There is a string of craters in Geno Woods that run in line with Penistone rd that we used to play in (around mid 60s). An old local told us they were made by bombs dropped to lighten German aircraft on their way back from the Sheffield raids.
First Job - the misadventures of two 70s Sheffield lads at www.birkett.yolasite.com