WW2 "The Home Front"
Tony-Ann Miller 16 Feb 2012...I have just spoken to a gentleman who lived on Bombay St as a boy at the time the bombs landed and confirm that the date was 2am in the morning of May 9th 194. His Dad ran down to see the church had been hit and the tower had gone.....and reported back that "KINGS HALLS GONE MOTHER"....... here
'The Hutted Camp, Ransom Road"
The information above is also on
The Wells Road page here and WW2 The Home Front here and Virtual Walk here
The Wells Road page here and WW2 The Home Front here and Virtual Walk here
Nottingham Evening Post - Tuesday 08 May 1945
Nottingham’s Air
Raids
Nottingham’s Air
Raids
|
Nottm.’s Air Raids Nottingham had only one serious air raid during the war— in May, 1941, when 159 were killed. In all the visitations 180 were killed and 350 injured. The raids were as follow: 1940. August 30th. Sherwood and Mapperley, 1 child killed; 17 people injured. September 2nd.—Carlton. November 13th, St. Ann's Well-road. 15th. —Wollaton. 1941. January 15th. Colwick - road, Porchester, fire., 15 killed; 14 injured. February 4th. Lucknow-drive, Mapperley. March 14th. Ribblesdale,-road, 1 killed. April 11th.—Western boulevard, 1 killed; 14 injured. May 10th - 9th. Nottingham Blitz, 159 killed; 274 injured. May 10th. Wilfordr Road, Queen's-Drive, &c., 2 killed; 5 injured. May 14th. Daylight raid by Junkers plane on Canal-street area. 1942. July 24th Sneinton Dale; 1 killed, 3 injured |
Harold Sleaford
Backyard of 7 Ridding Terrace (off Wellington St) 1944.
My Grandad Harold Sleaford in his wartime Special Constable uniform. My uncle Ray at the back and my uncle John on the far left.
The two girls are Maureen & Sylvia, daughters of my aunt Jess, who was the eldest of four children.
My dad George Sleaford was next eldest & he would have been somewhere in Europe with the tanks of the Sherwood Rangers at the time. I think my Grandma took her shoes off to take the photo (see bottom right)!
This window provided the backdrop for loads of our family portraits.
.............Terry Sleaford
My Grandad Harold Sleaford in his wartime Special Constable uniform. My uncle Ray at the back and my uncle John on the far left.
The two girls are Maureen & Sylvia, daughters of my aunt Jess, who was the eldest of four children.
My dad George Sleaford was next eldest & he would have been somewhere in Europe with the tanks of the Sherwood Rangers at the time. I think my Grandma took her shoes off to take the photo (see bottom right)!
This window provided the backdrop for loads of our family portraits.
.............Terry Sleaford
VE DAY CELEBRATION
VE-Day (Victory in Europe Day), Tuesday 8th May 1945. Picture taken on Young Street, looking SE past the junction with Flewitt Street, and over an air-raid shelter. A slight variation of the picture appeared in the Evening Post, cropped differently. I have a copy but I don't know the edition. Anyone know?
...Tony Proctor
...Tony Proctor
William Arthur Woodhouse.
Dad as a fireman in the war years, holding my sister Ann. July 1941
.......Kay Burford
Dad as a fireman in the war years, holding my sister Ann. July 1941
.......Kay Burford
Home Guard.
I think on Gregory Boulevard, looks like The Forest in the background. My dad is extreme left, back row (Graham Breeze)
I think on Gregory Boulevard, looks like The Forest in the background. My dad is extreme left, back row (Graham Breeze)
I've posted a photo of my Grandad in his Special Constable's uniform before. He & Grandma lived in Ridding Terrace off Wellington St.
This photo seems to show the Specials with their top brass. Not sure of the date, but definitely war time (1940s). He's on back row, far right. I wonder if anyone else can identify members of their family?
....Terry Sleaford
This photo seems to show the Specials with their top brass. Not sure of the date, but definitely war time (1940s). He's on back row, far right. I wonder if anyone else can identify members of their family?
....Terry Sleaford
I never knew these things existed till after my Mother died, they just didn't talk about it but how I wish I'd have asked.
....Steve Bloomer
My uncle Ken scribed this on the wall of house that still stands at top of what was Westminster St. He was killed in Holland in 1944 (Stephen Wagstaff)
Workmen building a public air raid shelter on Ashley Street, just off Alfred St South in 1939 (Nottingham Evening Post)
The Night they Bombed Nottingham
May 8th and 9th of 1941
a line of bombs (upper left of map) stretch down from where Peas Hill Rd meets Woodborough Rd then right down across Commercial Square and on to Alfred St South. It also shows how bad Carlton Road and Sneinton were hit
Map from the Nottingham Guardian showing where the bombs fell in WWII.
With regard to St Anns you can see that a line of bombs (upper left of map) stretch down from where Peas Hill Rd meets Woodborough Rd then right down across Commercial Square and on to Alfred St South. It also shows how bad Carlton Road and Sneinton were hit. You can also see the bomb site indicated on Dakeyne Street, which Jean Taylor mentioned regarding an air raid shelter being hit. Another bomb site was at Pullmans department store near Bath Street and the photo shows the results.
.....Steve-Beq Clark
With regard to St Anns you can see that a line of bombs (upper left of map) stretch down from where Peas Hill Rd meets Woodborough Rd then right down across Commercial Square and on to Alfred St South. It also shows how bad Carlton Road and Sneinton were hit. You can also see the bomb site indicated on Dakeyne Street, which Jean Taylor mentioned regarding an air raid shelter being hit. Another bomb site was at Pullmans department store near Bath Street and the photo shows the results.
.....Steve-Beq Clark
| bomb.pdf |
I came across this (bomb.pdf) on another site, the writer I assume is a Clare Tuckwood, it is likely that someone on the site has links to Clare, who lived in St Anns at 21 Lamartine Street, an interesting account of the bombing raids throughout the night of the 8th and 9th of May 1941, (Paul Key) ....view here
This photo on Herbert Street reminded me of climbing over the toilet roofs with Norman Ash and Roy Eyres.
They were all slate roofs. The outhouse on the right of this photo could be the back end of Daykins the fish and chip shop, where they used to prepare the potatoes .
Each family had an air raid shelter in their backyard. During the war we heard the german bombs whistling over our heads. None landed on Radnor Street where I lived but there was a huge crater from a bomb that landed in the middle of Eastville Street near the junction with Festus Street.
At a different time, eight or nine people died in an air raid shelter on Dakeyne Street. I remember seeing Boots on fire after one bombing raid. Once I was with my pal Norman in the Cavendish Cinema and our names came on the screen. My father had run to the cinema in a panic as the air raid sirens had gone off. He asked them to put our names on the screen to tell us to come home immediately....Bernard Douglas
They were all slate roofs. The outhouse on the right of this photo could be the back end of Daykins the fish and chip shop, where they used to prepare the potatoes .
Each family had an air raid shelter in their backyard. During the war we heard the german bombs whistling over our heads. None landed on Radnor Street where I lived but there was a huge crater from a bomb that landed in the middle of Eastville Street near the junction with Festus Street.
At a different time, eight or nine people died in an air raid shelter on Dakeyne Street. I remember seeing Boots on fire after one bombing raid. Once I was with my pal Norman in the Cavendish Cinema and our names came on the screen. My father had run to the cinema in a panic as the air raid sirens had gone off. He asked them to put our names on the screen to tell us to come home immediately....Bernard Douglas
Betty Worthington who lived opposite me in Radnor Street knew a couple of American G.I.’s. I used to play in their jeep. I was playing darts in the back yard with the dartboard on the toilet door, and Betty told me that a Dakota was flying over and they were going to wave at us. The Dakota came over very low over the chimney pots, turned and came back again and the American G.I.’s waved at me, Betty, her brothers Walter and Sonny and their mum and dad from the open door on the side of the plane. It was a fantastic sight and something I will never forget. (follow this in facebook here)
Nottingham Blitz
There were 11 bomb attacks in Nottingham during the WW2, and only one of them was considered serious, if compared with other cities in England. The worst attack occurred on May 8th and 9th of 1941, with a total of 159 people killed and hundreds injured. There were 95 aircraft attacking Nottingham, but some of them were diverted from the city by the RAF false signal and intentional fires in waste ground away from both Derby and Nottingham created to fool the enemy, where the only casualty was livestock.
But there were still a great damage, all across the city, from the edge of Mapperley Park to The Meadows. The places worst hit were in London Road, Sneinton, Colwick Road and Carlton Road, although the place where more casualties happened was at the Co-op Bakery in Meadow Lane, a total of 48 people died and 20 were injured. There was a memorial plaque remembering the deaths at the bakery, but after the site was sold the plaque was moved to the Wilford Hill Cemetery.
The table below shows some of the locations hit with more information on how it happened, and we can see that the losses of that day were many. The Nottingham Blitz was not the most heavy attack that Britain received during this time but the impact was severe.
Reference:
Hardy, Clive, 1989. Nottingham at War: A Pictorial Account, 1939-45. 2nd ed. Nottingham: Archive, 1989, c1986.
J. Brooks, Robin, 2013. Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Airfields (Airfields in the Second World War). 1st ed. Newbury: Countryside Books. John Beckett, 1990. Book of Nottingham. Edition. Barracuda Bks.
There were 11 bomb attacks in Nottingham during the WW2, and only one of them was considered serious, if compared with other cities in England. The worst attack occurred on May 8th and 9th of 1941, with a total of 159 people killed and hundreds injured. There were 95 aircraft attacking Nottingham, but some of them were diverted from the city by the RAF false signal and intentional fires in waste ground away from both Derby and Nottingham created to fool the enemy, where the only casualty was livestock.
But there were still a great damage, all across the city, from the edge of Mapperley Park to The Meadows. The places worst hit were in London Road, Sneinton, Colwick Road and Carlton Road, although the place where more casualties happened was at the Co-op Bakery in Meadow Lane, a total of 48 people died and 20 were injured. There was a memorial plaque remembering the deaths at the bakery, but after the site was sold the plaque was moved to the Wilford Hill Cemetery.
The table below shows some of the locations hit with more information on how it happened, and we can see that the losses of that day were many. The Nottingham Blitz was not the most heavy attack that Britain received during this time but the impact was severe.
Reference:
Hardy, Clive, 1989. Nottingham at War: A Pictorial Account, 1939-45. 2nd ed. Nottingham: Archive, 1989, c1986.
J. Brooks, Robin, 2013. Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Airfields (Airfields in the Second World War). 1st ed. Newbury: Countryside Books. John Beckett, 1990. Book of Nottingham. Edition. Barracuda Bks.
Just been chatting to mum again,
and she tells me of the time when the Nottingham blitz happened on 8/9th May 1941 and after when the funerals of all the people were killed, St Ann's Well Road was lined with people who all came out to pay tribute to all the people who died. She remembers the whole of the road lined with chairs for people to sit on and remembers everyone being very sad. She was 8 years old at the time and she lost her dad ....she is 83 now! Polly Sumpton
Comments
Glennis Smith : My mum is 88 and although she has vascular dementia she could tell you all sorts about st Ann's, sadly her short term memory has gone and I've noticed her memory of St Ann's is now going but she lights up when I show her something of the St Ann's site that she remembers
12 April at 22:57
Did they bomb St Anns? Whereabouts was effected?
12 April at 23:03
Kings Hall Church I think !!
I'm 80 and remember a house on Westville street was hit, the people who lived there I think their name was Holmes
12 April at 23:09
Not sure where about in St. Ann's that was hit, I do know that Daykene St was hit (Carlton Rd) and much of the Nottingham City Centre was hit and many of the Senty people had jobs in the City as did my Grandad....he was a Warden and it should have been his night off but swapped with a colleague whose wedding anniversary it was.....Moot Hall (a public house) was hit and totally destroyed (bottom of Friar Lane). Saw a picture of it on the Nottingham Website just a few weeks ago and what a grand building it was! Apparently that was where my Grandad was or thereabouts.
12 April at 23:22
Sorry Sarah, know what you mean, but as they say it's history (lest we forget)....a lot of the Senty folk had very difficult times one way or another, but they soldiered on and made the best of things....
12 April at 23:33
This topic often crops up, so I've attached the bomb map below of Nottingham and I've marked St Ann's Well Rd in red from Commercial Square up to the bottom of Donkey Hill. You can see a stick of a dozen bombs running parallel to the Chase in green taking out buildings on Peas Hill Rd through Dane St and Cooper St, up to Ford St and Turner St on the other side of St Ann's Well Rd. You can also see the hammering the area from Sneinton to Trent Bridge received, including the nasty loss on Meadow Lane of many lives.
13 April at 00:25
Thanks Steve, not seen this before. Interesting....so that would be why the significant memory of mums recollection of the whole of St Ann's turning out 10 days after the bombs were dropped. Bet the whole of Nottingham were out mourning the loss of many lives. Thanks again for sharing this map.
13 April at 00:31
Also when we were young we played on " broken bridge" on the railway Sneinton we always said that was bombed but not sure if that was in our minds !!!!!
13 April at 01:06
Houses at the Sneinton Dale end of Hardstaff Road were destroyed.This is just around the corner to were the bridge was. No 7 & 9 Hardstaff were built in 1950 to replace the ones destroyed. My Mum & Dad lived at No 9.Also an unexploded bomb was found on Highcliffe Road only a few years ago. I think your memory is correct.
13 April at 01:28
I was 7yrs old when we were bombed out on Hutton street and i remember seeing St Christophers Church on fire , My parents lost everything,
13 April at 01:34
I remember my parents telling me that the nearest bomb shelter to us was Daykyne Street off Carlton Road. This shelter was bombed so bad that no one survived and all they did was to cover it all in lime, my mum thought some of her family was in there. They later found out they were in the the Alfred the Great pub thank goodness.
13 April at 02:03
My mamma used to tell us a story about St Ann's being attacked by the Germans - not sure how true it is but she said that a plane came over St Ann's Well Rd right near Harry Bramleys and shot bullets at his shop - there were bullet holes across the front of his shop for all to see right up until it was demolished- she also said that someone coming out of the shop dropped their Haslett and ran for their life- the Haslett apparently ended up in the gutter!
13 April at 02:57
My auntie Betty of Westminster St - a teenager at the time- saw a German plane flying very low up St Anns Well Rd. Roy
13 April at 03:07
My mum who passed away some years ago used to tell us about the Nottingham blitz, its true about the German pilot using his machine gun my mum lived on Beacon street and a woman was taking something to the bin and she had to run for her life when the German pilot started firing his gun the bullet holes were still in the wall at the top of the road . My mum also worked on the ambulances she went to the old mute hall when it was bombed she told us some of the people that were killed in there just sat in their seats as they were when the bomb dropped on a jerk on them they were just killed by the force of the blast . I know she also attended the scene when two houses were bombed in St. Anns not sure of the name of the street I think it was Daykin street they built two houses were the bombed houses had stood she always pointed them out to us that stood out because they were built in the style of the houses that are on the Aspley estate they always stood out standing between the other terrace style houses . She told us many stories of those scary days
13 April at 03:26
I think Shakespeare St was bombed . Not sure which buildings though
13 April at 03:30
Yes it was the blast from the bomb blew out the windows in the university library building my mum was up there with and her ambulance driver had his head cut off right in front of her by the pane of glass she said he walked for a few steps before he fell and my mum ran into the central police station that they have. Closed this week telling them that there was a man walking without his head on and they did not belief her the thought she was just hysterical because of the bombing it took a while for her to get them to come out and see what had happened
13 April at 03:40
Thank you Pippa.Thought the library was bombed but wasn't certain . Can remember going into the air raid shelter. It was a communal one out in the street. I can also remember having to take our gas masks to school. I wasn't very old but can remember it being very scary
13 April at 03:55
Yes it must have been very scary I was not born until 1949 but both my parents told us some very interesting stories about life back then. I used to love the community spirit of the old St Ann's I loved living there
13 April at 04:01
How horrific for your mum.
13 April at 04:33
Yes Tricia, mamma told this story, but she dropped her bag and ran.. mum always said she saw the planes , walking up Northampton St to school and remembers a doodle bug ( think that's the name ) plane on St Ann's Well Road . The Haslet is my story, Mrs Nixon sent me to Harry Bramleys after school for a 1/4 of Haslet , on the way home there was an awful downpour and the paper got soaked and me.. the slices fell in the river of a gutter, I chased after it and it stopped before a "fever grate " near Norland Road, I caught it put it back the best I could in the nearly gone paper wrap, and when I gave it her said sorry "Nixon"
It got wet . She said next day the Haslet was lovely and moist ! True ! Lovely St Ann's memories hey ..
· 13 April at 04:40
Whoops - I got my stories mixed up! Yours is very funny - that's probably why the haslett thing stuck in my mind! I didn't realise it was mamma who ran from the bullets - guess I was a bit too young to remember all the details ·
13 April at 04:50
Special treasured memories. We shall not forget their sacrifice.
13 April at 08:51
Interesting stories.enjoying reading them.
and she tells me of the time when the Nottingham blitz happened on 8/9th May 1941 and after when the funerals of all the people were killed, St Ann's Well Road was lined with people who all came out to pay tribute to all the people who died. She remembers the whole of the road lined with chairs for people to sit on and remembers everyone being very sad. She was 8 years old at the time and she lost her dad ....she is 83 now! Polly Sumpton
Comments
Glennis Smith : My mum is 88 and although she has vascular dementia she could tell you all sorts about st Ann's, sadly her short term memory has gone and I've noticed her memory of St Ann's is now going but she lights up when I show her something of the St Ann's site that she remembers
12 April at 22:57
Did they bomb St Anns? Whereabouts was effected?
12 April at 23:03
Kings Hall Church I think !!
I'm 80 and remember a house on Westville street was hit, the people who lived there I think their name was Holmes
12 April at 23:09
Not sure where about in St. Ann's that was hit, I do know that Daykene St was hit (Carlton Rd) and much of the Nottingham City Centre was hit and many of the Senty people had jobs in the City as did my Grandad....he was a Warden and it should have been his night off but swapped with a colleague whose wedding anniversary it was.....Moot Hall (a public house) was hit and totally destroyed (bottom of Friar Lane). Saw a picture of it on the Nottingham Website just a few weeks ago and what a grand building it was! Apparently that was where my Grandad was or thereabouts.
12 April at 23:22
Sorry Sarah, know what you mean, but as they say it's history (lest we forget)....a lot of the Senty folk had very difficult times one way or another, but they soldiered on and made the best of things....
12 April at 23:33
This topic often crops up, so I've attached the bomb map below of Nottingham and I've marked St Ann's Well Rd in red from Commercial Square up to the bottom of Donkey Hill. You can see a stick of a dozen bombs running parallel to the Chase in green taking out buildings on Peas Hill Rd through Dane St and Cooper St, up to Ford St and Turner St on the other side of St Ann's Well Rd. You can also see the hammering the area from Sneinton to Trent Bridge received, including the nasty loss on Meadow Lane of many lives.
13 April at 00:25
Thanks Steve, not seen this before. Interesting....so that would be why the significant memory of mums recollection of the whole of St Ann's turning out 10 days after the bombs were dropped. Bet the whole of Nottingham were out mourning the loss of many lives. Thanks again for sharing this map.
13 April at 00:31
Also when we were young we played on " broken bridge" on the railway Sneinton we always said that was bombed but not sure if that was in our minds !!!!!
13 April at 01:06
Houses at the Sneinton Dale end of Hardstaff Road were destroyed.This is just around the corner to were the bridge was. No 7 & 9 Hardstaff were built in 1950 to replace the ones destroyed. My Mum & Dad lived at No 9.Also an unexploded bomb was found on Highcliffe Road only a few years ago. I think your memory is correct.
13 April at 01:28
I was 7yrs old when we were bombed out on Hutton street and i remember seeing St Christophers Church on fire , My parents lost everything,
13 April at 01:34
I remember my parents telling me that the nearest bomb shelter to us was Daykyne Street off Carlton Road. This shelter was bombed so bad that no one survived and all they did was to cover it all in lime, my mum thought some of her family was in there. They later found out they were in the the Alfred the Great pub thank goodness.
13 April at 02:03
My mamma used to tell us a story about St Ann's being attacked by the Germans - not sure how true it is but she said that a plane came over St Ann's Well Rd right near Harry Bramleys and shot bullets at his shop - there were bullet holes across the front of his shop for all to see right up until it was demolished- she also said that someone coming out of the shop dropped their Haslett and ran for their life- the Haslett apparently ended up in the gutter!
13 April at 02:57
My auntie Betty of Westminster St - a teenager at the time- saw a German plane flying very low up St Anns Well Rd. Roy
13 April at 03:07
My mum who passed away some years ago used to tell us about the Nottingham blitz, its true about the German pilot using his machine gun my mum lived on Beacon street and a woman was taking something to the bin and she had to run for her life when the German pilot started firing his gun the bullet holes were still in the wall at the top of the road . My mum also worked on the ambulances she went to the old mute hall when it was bombed she told us some of the people that were killed in there just sat in their seats as they were when the bomb dropped on a jerk on them they were just killed by the force of the blast . I know she also attended the scene when two houses were bombed in St. Anns not sure of the name of the street I think it was Daykin street they built two houses were the bombed houses had stood she always pointed them out to us that stood out because they were built in the style of the houses that are on the Aspley estate they always stood out standing between the other terrace style houses . She told us many stories of those scary days
13 April at 03:26
I think Shakespeare St was bombed . Not sure which buildings though
13 April at 03:30
Yes it was the blast from the bomb blew out the windows in the university library building my mum was up there with and her ambulance driver had his head cut off right in front of her by the pane of glass she said he walked for a few steps before he fell and my mum ran into the central police station that they have. Closed this week telling them that there was a man walking without his head on and they did not belief her the thought she was just hysterical because of the bombing it took a while for her to get them to come out and see what had happened
13 April at 03:40
Thank you Pippa.Thought the library was bombed but wasn't certain . Can remember going into the air raid shelter. It was a communal one out in the street. I can also remember having to take our gas masks to school. I wasn't very old but can remember it being very scary
13 April at 03:55
Yes it must have been very scary I was not born until 1949 but both my parents told us some very interesting stories about life back then. I used to love the community spirit of the old St Ann's I loved living there
13 April at 04:01
How horrific for your mum.
13 April at 04:33
Yes Tricia, mamma told this story, but she dropped her bag and ran.. mum always said she saw the planes , walking up Northampton St to school and remembers a doodle bug ( think that's the name ) plane on St Ann's Well Road . The Haslet is my story, Mrs Nixon sent me to Harry Bramleys after school for a 1/4 of Haslet , on the way home there was an awful downpour and the paper got soaked and me.. the slices fell in the river of a gutter, I chased after it and it stopped before a "fever grate " near Norland Road, I caught it put it back the best I could in the nearly gone paper wrap, and when I gave it her said sorry "Nixon"
It got wet . She said next day the Haslet was lovely and moist ! True ! Lovely St Ann's memories hey ..
· 13 April at 04:40
Whoops - I got my stories mixed up! Yours is very funny - that's probably why the haslett thing stuck in my mind! I didn't realise it was mamma who ran from the bullets - guess I was a bit too young to remember all the details ·
13 April at 04:50
Special treasured memories. We shall not forget their sacrifice.
13 April at 08:51
Interesting stories.enjoying reading them.