johnpm

Hi PhotoJames, A friend of mine was Managing Director of Daniel Doncaster's & I rung him yesterday & he confirms your information that the BISRA site was previously owned & occupied by Daniel Doncaster's. Surprised me as it had never been mentioned during my time at BISRA ! He can't recall what led to BISRA taking over the site though.

Hi PhotoJames. I assume you will use the photos on the pdf file I sent . I am confused that Daniel Doncasters is still being discussed - that was nothing to do with the BISRA site containing the Cementation furnace

I am a Grimesthorpian , attended Grimesthorpe school & still on here

My wife Chris Moore went to Clarkehouse 1964 - 1966 whilst living in at Centenary House, Royal Infirmary. She had previously been at Ranfall Nurses Home while a Cadet.

ESC made & drop forged parts for the VC 10 aircraft particularly the frame at the back from which the engines were suspended . The steel (a maraging steel) for much of it was developed by Dr Turgot Onac who worked in the Transformation Lab at ESC. I worked with him around 1962 to improve the steel so it had better stress corrosion properties.

I was at Hinde House 1956-1960 & the slipper was the main form of punishment .

ELIZABETH BELLAMY NEE PIGOTT – STORY OF HER DEATH Elizabeth Pigott (my gt grandma) was born in Sheffield in 1859 to Hilderbert De Lacey Pigott & his wife Elizabeth nee Gregory. Hilderbert was a grinder born in Hatfield, Yorks but his family moved to Sheffield in the 1830's. He married Elizabeth Gregory 20 Dec 1849 in Sheffield. They had 11 children of which Elizabeth was the 5th. After school, Elizabeth got a job as a cigar maker & met William Bellamy, a blacksmith in the steelworks. They married 26 Dec 1880 at St Thomas' church, Brightside. Initially, the couple lodged with Elizabeth's brother Hildabert, as her father had died. Soon afterwards the couple moved to their own house at 31 Lucas St. & subsequently lived 148 & then 150 Petre St before moving into 43 Writtle St. Elizabeth gave up work when the children came along; Hilda 1881, Erwin 1885, Amy 1886, Lilian 1889, William1890, Harold 1893, Elsie 1894 & Albert1901. Lilian, my grandma, became a tea room waitress on leaving school & met & married William Morris (a gas fitter) on 25 Dec 1914 at All Saints Church. They lived with Lilian's parents at 43 Writtle St (off Sutherland Rd) & had their first child, my mother Marjorie Morris on 2 Oct 1915 who was born at 43 Writtle St. Shortly after midnight on night of 25/26 Sept 1916 the Bellamy family were at home at 43 Writtle St. The air raid alarms had sounded & Elizabeth got up & ran to the bedroom where my 11 month old mum Marjorie lay in a cot. As Elizabeth passed the bedroom window shrapnel from a high explosive bomb which had landed on the road outside, went in through the window & inflicted terrible injuries to her shoulder & back exposing her spinal column. She was taken to the Royal Hospital but died 3 hours later. Thankfully my mum was uninjured. Elizabeth was buried in Burngreave Cemetery on 29 Sep 1916. Husband William arranged for the following inscription on her headstone "Blessed are the pure in heart. In loving memory of Elizabeth, the beloved wife of William Bellamy who was suddenly called away on 26 Sept. 1916 age 57 years. "A bitter grief, a shock severe, to part with one we loved so dear". The raid was carried out by Zeppelin L22 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich which arrived over the city at about 12.20 am. In its raid on Sheffield it dropped 20 high explosive bombs & 30 incendiary bombs. 28 people were killed & 19 injured. Nine houses & a chapel had to be demolished & 62 houses were damaged. It appears the house at Writtle St must have been damaged because for the following 2 years or so William lived elsewhere. On 12 Oct 1918, William Bellamy married again, to Annie Elizabeth Hodkinson (a widow). In 1925 a Sheffield Directory shows him back living at 43 Writtle St so the house must have been repaired in the meantime. An account of the air raid is given below. The Sheffield Daily Telegraph of the same day reported. "The husband of one victim said his wife was rushing across the bedroom to get at her child when a bomb struck her in the back." A memorial put up on Effingham Rd. by chairman of Baltic Steel co )which was hit in Zeppelin raid on night of 26 Sept 1916 when 36 bombs were dropped between Burngreave Cemetery and Darnall) states : "Lest we Forget" . On September 26th 1916 Nine Men, Ten Women and Ten Children Were Killed by a German Air Raid on Sheffield. One of the bombs fell close to this spot. The Raid During the early afternoon of Monday 25 September 1916, five Zeppelins took off from their bases in northern Germany with orders to attack England. Three of the airships were heading for London and the South of England. The remaining two Zeppelins, L-21 and L-22, respectively commanded by Kapitänleutnant Frankenburg and Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich were to attack the North Midlands industrial towns. Dietrich's target was Sheffield. Many of Britain's leading armament and munitions firms were based in Sheffield; it was therefore a prime target for the German Zeppelins. Indeed, Sheffield had been the intended target on previous raids, but on each occasion the attacking Zeppelins failed to find the city. L-21 crossed the Lincolnshire coast at 9.45 pm, about 45 minutes ahead of Dietrich in L-22. It was heading in the general direction of Sheffield and triggered an air raid warning. Throughout the city electric 'buzzers' warned people to take cover. This was Sheffield's 14th air raid warning, but so far the city had escaped attack. For some the warnings created a sense of panic and they fled to the city's parks and woods hoping they would be safe from falling bombs. Many followed the official advice and took refuge in their cellars. Others saw the warnings as a spectacle believing that Sheffield's inland location and surrounding hills would make it impossible for a Zeppelin to find the city at night. Shortly after the warning was given, Thomas Wilson, a 59 year old engineer's fitter of 73 Petre Street, came out of his house to and chatted with neighbours. He was sceptical of the Zeppelin threat and told a next-door neighbour that they would never come to Sheffield. Ninety minutes later he became one of the raid's first fatalities. At 10.56 pm, as L-21 approached Sheffield, Captain Edward Clifton, Royal Flying Corps, took off from Coal Aston airfield in a BE 2C biplane nightfighter to intercept it (the old airfield site now lies beneath the modern Jordanthorpe estate). The weather over Sheffield was cloudy with poor visibility. Finding the Zeppelin in such conditions was hopeless and Captain Clifton attempted to land back at Coal Aston, but crashed on high ground. Although the aircraft was damaged he escaped injury. L-21 turned away just before reaching Sheffield and skirted around the north of the city before heading off to drop its bombs in Lancashire. About 12.20 am L-22 arrived over the city. At 585 ft 5 in long with a maximum diameter of 61 ft 4 in, even by modern aviation standards its size was impressive. The airship was constructed from an aluminium framework covered with waterproofed cotton. Within the framework were eighteen gas cells filled with hydrogen, a lighter than air gas, which kept the machine in the air. It was powered by four petrol engines and had a top speed of around 60 miles per hour. The Zeppelin flew across the city to the Fulwood and Redmires areas and then turned east towards Attercliffe. L-22 accelerated to full speed and began zigzagging its way across the city, a tactic employed to make it a more difficult for defending anti-aircraft guns to score a hit. The first bombs, two incendiaries, were dropped around 12.25 am and fell in Burngreave Cemetery, near to the Melrose Road entrance. Other than scorching some grass and a notice board no damage was caused. The first high explosive bomb fell in Danville Street killing 49 year old Frederick Stratford, who was struck by shrapnel whilst in bed. In nearby Grimesthorpe Road a bomb fell on No 112 and exploded killing 76 year old Ann Coogan and her 56 year old daughter, Margaret Taylor. At 73 Petre Street, Thomas Wilson, who had retired to bed, heard the exploding bombs and rushed to his bedroom window. His timing could not have been worse. As he looked out a bomb fell on a nearby outbuilding and exploded. He was struck on the chin by a bomb fragment and died instantly. The next bomb, a high explosive, fell on Writtle Street (now Maxwell Way). Shrapnel from the bomb hit 57 year old Elizabeth Bellamy in the back as she rushed across her bedroom. She was taken to the Royal Hospital, off West Street, where three hours later she died from her injuries. Two high explosives bombs fell in Cossey Road causing dreadful loss of life. The first landed on a block of three terrace houses comprising No's 26, 28 and 30. In No 28 Alice and Albert Newton were killed as they lay in bed. Luckily, their infant son was spending the night with his grandmother in a nearby street and was unharmed. George and Eliza Harrison lived at No 26 with their two daughters and two grandchildren. After the warning had sounded they were joined by their neighbours from No 24, William and Sarah Southerington. George and William stayed in the living room while everyone else took shelter in the cellar. All eight were killed in the explosion. The Southeringtons' house suffered only minor damage and had they stayed at home would probably have survived. The second Cossey Road bomb landed on No 10 killing Levi and Beatrice Hames and their one year old son. In Corby Street (now Fred Mulley Road) a high explosive bomb demolished No 142 killing Selina and Joseph Tyler and their five children. The same bomb also killed 11 year old Richard Brewington of 134 Corby Street and fatally injured Martha Shakespeare of 143 Corby Street, who died later in the day in the Royal Infirmary, Infirmary Road. The last casualty of the raid was in Woodbourne Hill where William Guest, a Corporation wagon driver, was killed in the street by a bomb as he tried to warn the occupants of a house that they were showing a light. The final few high explosive bombs fell near to Manor Lane, but did little damage. The Zeppelin then flew over Darnall and Tinsley Park Colliery where it dropped several incendiary bombs, before heading out to sea and returning safely to Germany. Although a number of anti-aircraft guns were located around Sheffield, cloud prevented their crews from seeing the Zeppelin. A gun sited at Shiregreen was the only one to take action. It fired two rounds in the approximate direction of the airship without result.

Hi PhotoJames, The .pdf file I have on Sheffield BISRA is 47,841 kb . Any idea how I can send it to you ? John

Hi PhotoJames, I am not in Sheffield now but live on Teesside . I have a pdf file about BISRA Sheffield labs particularly Official Opening in 1953 showing pictures & layout drawings but its too big to put on here . Any idea how I might get it to you ?

The site which includes the Cementation furnace was in fact the labs & officer of the British Iron & Steel Research Association (BISRA). I worked there 1967 to1976 when it was shut with Metallurgy & Mechanical Working being transferred to Swinden Labs Rotherham (shut a about 5 years ago) & Steelmaking to a new laboratory at Teesside Labs Middlesbrough (now Material Processing Institute). BISRA had a small Lab on that site from about 1959, the main buildings were built & opened in 1953 by the Duke of Edinburgh. BISRA had other Laboratories at Battersea (London) & Swansea plus a HQ at Buckingham Gate, London. After BISRA closed the site was purchased by HSBC who eventually shut it a few years ago. Daniel Doncaster's factory was on Penistone Road not far from BISRA.

Sheffield Indexers The Sheffield Indexers - free searchable genealogy records for Sheffield have comprehensive searchable list of burials at many cemeteries inc Burngreave , Attercliffe, Shiregreen , St Thomas Brightside. Check those out to family burials.

I got the slipper once at Hinde House School during my stay there 1956-1960. Can't say it particularly upset me. Just accepted it and carried on !

Hi Runningman, Very true !

Hi Runningman, Keith Pound must be getting on now. Presumably he has retired? Cheers, John

I suspect the Outward Bound style course you refer to was to Hollowford at Castleton which was a joint venture between Sheffield Industrial Mission, Education Authority & Industry I think. I went there for a week in 1961 being sent by English Steel Corp. The Warden was Rev Keith Pound a guitar playing vicar who went on to be Chaplain General to the Prison Service & an honorary Chaplain to the Queen. I remember going climbing on Stanage Edge the climb being Tango Crack. I also remember nearly being blown off Mam Tor in a gust of wind when I was wearing a cycling cape. Thankfully someone grabbed me & pulled me back . I never wore a cycling cape for walking again!!