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my mum was one of the women that put out incendery bombs and my dad worked at British Steel,one of my earliest memories is of an air raid, my dad was carrying me the the shelter and I looked up, the sky was bright yellow and there were huge black planes flying over.

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My memory may be playing tricks but does anyone else remember the bombed out buildings of C & A and Burtons. They were destroyed on 12th December 1940 together with the Marples Hotel.

I seem to remember seeing them still in their sorry state as late as 1945 when I was a toddler, but maybe I'm wrong. Does anyone know when the ruins were finally demolished?

 

Hi golden I was born in 1950 and I can remember the bombed out building of C & A at the top of Snig Hill so I must have been four or five so we are talking at least 1955 1956.I can recall the bottom of the Moor to and a little book shop stood all on it's own .

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I was born in 1939 in Heeley, and I can remember running to the air raid shelter we shared with our neighbors,

the Colemans, when the sirens started up. All neighborhoods had individual or shared shelters, and many local reservoirs were built for water supply to put out the fires. We had all had a local Warden that would see we all left the houses, and that all lit windows were covered with blinds. Blankets or anything we could find!

 

We heard the planes and the bombs all around us but there were always folks who who tried to maintain a cheerful and optimistic attitude in front of the women and kids. They showed absolutely no fear!

 

The sky over Sheffield was lit up like Twentieth Century Fox searchlights, , and during the day was full of tethered barrage balloons.

 

The reiief we felt when the all clear was sounded! Or the somebody saying of a loud plane, "It's one of ours". How they knew I'll never know, but they spoke with authority.

 

Then the next day, the walk around the neighborhood to see the damage, and who had been hit.

 

A different generation!

Edited by trastrick

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I was born in 1939 in Heeley, and I can remember running to the air raid shelter we shared with our neighbors,

the Colemans, when the sirens started up. All neighborhoods had individual or shared shelters, and many local reservoirs were built for water supply to put out the fires. We had all had a local Warden that would see we all left the houses, and that all lit windows were covered with blinds. Blankets or anything we could find!

 

We heard the planes and the bombs all around us but there were always folks who who tried to maintain a cheerful and optimistic attitude in front of the women and kids. They showed absolutely no fear!

 

The sky over Sheffield was lit up like Twentieth Century Fox searchlights, , and during the day was full of tethered barrage balloons.

 

The reiief we felt when the all clear was sounded! Or the somebody saying of a loud plane, "It's one of ours". How they knew I'll never know, but they spoke with authority.

 

Then the next day, the walk around the neighborhood to see the damage, and who had been hit.

 

A different generation!

My mother now 92 still remembers all you've mentioned, she talks of the Colemans too so maybe you lived in the same area of Heeley. She was a Norton, living on Tillotson Road and Cambridge Road. Mum's father (my grandfather) was in the ARP responsible for going round the neighbourhood making sure that lights were out and everyone was safe in their shelters. My mother hated going into the shelter even though she slept in the attic until one night a "doodlebug" came over!

My grandfather often recalled the sights next morning after an air raid particularly when The Marples was hit, the appalling scenes of burnt out trams etc. was terrible.

I can still remember C&A and the area around there being rubble for years after and, opposite there were some single storey buildings which seemed to be temporary ones, Thorntons was in one.

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My memory may be playing tricks but does anyone else remember the bombed out buildings of C & A and Burtons. They were destroyed on 12th December 1940 together with the Marples Hotel.

I seem to remember seeing them still in their sorry state as late as 1945 when I was a toddler, but maybe I'm wrong. Does anyone know when the ruins were finally demolished?

 

C&A reopened a basement in 1950 and added more floors in the next 4 years. The Burtons building was demolished sometime between January 1958 and mid 1960.

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I was born in 1939 in Heeley, and I can remember running to the air raid shelter we shared with our neighbors,

the Colemans,

 

Would that be Alice and Bill Coleman?

Edited by nikki-red
fixed the quote

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I was born in 1939 in Heeley, and I can remember running to the air raid shelter we shared with our neighbors, the Colemans,

 

Would that be Alice and Bill Coleman?

 

Circa 1940-50 Carter Place. (top of the Little Hill) Kids were Billy, Jackie, Maureen, around my age and few more siblings.

 

My dad, who was a friend of Mr Coleman, would send me up on Sunday morning to see if he had finished with Sunday papers, Express, People, News of the World, and Reynolds News! Embarrassing for me!

 

I Think the Drews and Whittakers were close or even relatives! Also the Bakers, John (my best friend) and his younger brother Mick!

 

---------- Post added 15-08-2018 at 01:23 ----------

 

My mother now 92 still remembers all you've mentioned, she talks of the Colemans too so maybe you lived in the same area of Heeley. She was a Norton, living on Tillotson Road and Cambridge Road. Mum's father (my grandfather) was in the ARP responsible for going round the neighbourhood making sure that lights were out and everyone was safe in their shelters. My mother hated going into the shelter even though she slept in the attic until one night a "doodlebug" came over!

My grandfather often recalled the sights next morning after an air raid particularly when The Marples was hit, the appalling scenes of burnt out trams etc. was terrible.

I can still remember C&A and the area around there being rubble for years after and, opposite there were some single storey buildings which seemed to be temporary ones, Thorntons was in one.

 

Nobody ever complained during the war, it wasn't the thing to do. They complained after the war when things didn't get much better!

 

And today they complain if Cornish Pasties from the Late Shopper are a little stale! :)

Edited by nikki-red
fixed the quote

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I was born in 1932, during the Blitz we lived on Hatfieldhouse Lane. On one night we had an incendiary bomb land on the garden privet hedge which caught fire, Dad & the neighbours put it out.

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I was on a local history walk around the cemetery on Derbyshire Lane. I came across a grave where a wife and husband were buried. They both died on the night of the blitz. I did some research and discovered that the address had received a direct hit and assumed that both of them must have been in the house.

 

Their surname was Cocker and they lived at 99, Valley Road.

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Does anyone know if there was an air raid shelter at 189 Woodseats Rd? 6 people were killed there on the 13th, all from surrounding houses. They included some of my other half's family. Not managed to find any old photos.

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The Cockers mentioned killed in Valley Road and buried in Derbyshire Lane Cemetery. They were in the Anderson Shelter next to the Church. The church cellar was used as the Air Raid Wardens Post. A bomb hit the steeple of the church demolishing it but exploded on the Anderson shelter killing all inside. I know this because my Father was the chief Warden in this post and he was brought home on a door in the early hours after being dug out. He had an injury to his leg .We were given bandages and after bathing it and bandaging him up he went back to his job. No one else was injured in the post.

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On 02/04/2019 at 15:20, J.C.H. said:

The Cockers mentioned killed in Valley Road and buried in Derbyshire Lane Cemetery. They were in the Anderson Shelter next to the Church. The church cellar was used as the Air Raid Wardens Post. A bomb hit the steeple of the church demolishing it but exploded on the Anderson shelter killing all inside. I know this because my Father was the chief Warden in this post and he was brought home on a door in the early hours after being dug out. He had an injury to his leg .We were given bandages and after bathing it and bandaging him up he went back to his job. No one else was injured in the post.

Which church was this, please?

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