Will some one help me with my history homework on sheffield blitz

[jmdee]

Wood Street?

[BrainThrust]

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

 

I wonder if her spelling is any better

 

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

 

Wilf

[flyer]

Wood Street?

Yes a tweek to the memory banks, after 60yrs i remember that name , Thanks

[cat631]

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.

[vhopkinson]

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.

[astronaut77]

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.

[DavidRa]

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

[BLITZER]

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.

[desy]

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

[skippy]

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.