Wartime and after

Heres a couple of topics I've mentioned on other threads, but don't seem to be getting any response. During the latter stages of the war, as part of a recruiting and saving bond drive, a large plane ( I think a Lancaster Bomber) was assembled at the Moorhead (obviously transported in), there might have even been a smaller fighter plane there also. Along with all that, people were sticking 'Saving stamps' and writing messages on a large 'Bomb' that was on a trolley, no prizes for guessing where that was going. Now a few years later after the war,if you lived in the Grimesthorpe area 'Anderson Shelter' parts were being fashioned into a long large slide by the kids in the neighbourhood. It was situated on the left side of (Petre st) if you were coming from town and stopping at (Hunsley St). The area was known as the 'Tip'. 'The Star & Telegraph' took pictures and they were in the paper. Does anybody remember these events? Would the pictures be in an archive somewhere?

I can remember the aeroplane. I have quite a clear memory of my dad lifting me up to stick a stamp on the nose. Can't remember the bomb, though.

Right! It was a Lanc. The event was Wings for Victory week, but I can't remember which year it was. There were a series of such savings drives...... I think there was a round figure given for the cost of aircraft (a bomber £10,000 & a Spit £5000) neither of which represented the true cost. Other aircraft on display were a ME 109 in Barkers Pool on the old theatre site opposite the City Hall & a HE 111 at Bramall Lane football ground. A small charge was made to gain access to a viewing area and, in the case of the 109, and extra 6d (2. 1/2p) bought a few minutes in the cockpit. The Moorhead display area was at the junction of what was Button Lane & the Moor which, before the Blitz, was occupied by Binns shop.

Thank you ELWOOD & CARTAV I knew my memory was'nt playing tricks on me, and all that extra information, I love that stuff, thanks again. Further to my comments on the slide made from 'Anderson Shelter Galvanized Sheets', these were assembled on a hill (location as per previous post), if one thinks of a letter j j j j j j j tipped over onto one another, you may understand how the 'Curved Shelter Parts' formed the slide. The spare land (Tip) was a natural dumping ground for all these 'War Relics', that everybody was removing from their yards at that time. I wonder if the 'Star' pictures taken, still exist.

Right! It was a Lanc. The event was Wings for Victory week, but I can't remember which year it was. There were a series of such savings drives...... I think there was a round figure given for the cost of aircraft (a bomber £10,000 & a Spit £5000) neither of which represented the true cost. Other aircraft on display were a ME 109 in Barkers Pool on the old theatre site opposite the City Hall & a HE 111 at Bramall Lane football ground. A small charge was made to gain access to a viewing area and, in the case of the 109, and extra 6d (2. 1/2p) bought a few minutes in the cockpit. The Moorhead display area was at the junction of what was Button Lane & the Moor which, before the Blitz, was occupied by Binns shop.

I started a thread on this last year. Got some good replies.

Thanks NIGELWOMERSLE. I am going to try and wade through some of the threads, theres probably a quick way to do this but I'm still a novice at it.

Here's one

http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=s15302

I remember those aeroplanes as well. Goes to prove " made in Sheffield " guarantees a long life seeing how many remember this.

75 & still going.

How many of the Forum users remember the 'Barrage Baloons' (hope I'm spelling that right). I know Sheffield had it's share, there must have been hundreds if not thousands of sites around the country during the war. Were they totally effective in what they were intended for? The nearest site to us was the 'Petre St' one. They were fascinating hives of activity to watch, they had their own type of vehicles and transport. I remember trailers with gas tanks aboard. As I recall the personnel wore blue uniforms, I imagine they must have been under the jurisdiction of the R.A.F. The only remains that I'm aware of, theres a building at Fulwood which I believe is being used as a private clubhouse of some description. If I'm not mistaken you could get 'Dinky Toy' replicas during the war (as you could other military tanks and planes etc.)

Hi Fleetwood

Can you give me any pointers to the building you mentioned in Fulwood please? As far as I can discover the nearest balloon site was near the top of Brocco bank, but later in the war there was an experimental radar station at Fulwood. The only mention I can find as to location is that the site is now covered with houses. I wonder if the building you mention might have been part of this?

Algy

Many cities had a Lancaster on display during the "Wings for victory" campaign.

Photos of a few (though unfortunately not Sheffield),appear in Mike Garbett and Brian Goulding's book "The Lancaster at war".

Presumably The Sheffield Newspapers archive would have photographs of the local display,I'd be interested to know which Lanc it was.

Slightly off subject,living near Hannover there are many crash sites around where I live.Though often there is little or nothing to see.

Last year I was searching for the crash site of a Lancaster I of 106 sqn which came down near the village of Groß Giessen during a raid on Hannover on 27/9/43, 5km from where I live.I got talking to an old man who had been an infantryman and was on leave from the eastern front at the time of the crash and he pointed out the exact spot.

We will soon be investigating two Lanc III crash sites from the same raid at the village of Mahlerten,of the 24 men on board these 3 aircraft 8 survived.

One of the aircraft which crashed at Mahlerten was shot down by the Luftwaffe's most famous night fighter ace Major Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer (121 kills).