May 1941 saw a renewal of the air assault on the region; a seven-night bombardment that devastated the city. However, many buildings were restored after the War, while the Custom House was controversially demolished. It involved 681 Luftwaffe bombers; 2,315 high explosive bombs and 119 other explosives such as incendiaries were dropped. Air Raid Precautions in the United Kingdom, Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liverpool_Blitz&oldid=1018223560, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 16 April 2021, at 21:42. Today one of the most vivid symbols of the Liverpool Blitz is the burnt outer shell of St Luke's Church, located in the city centre, which was destroyed by an incendiary bomb on 5 May 1941. news.bbc.co.uk/local/leeds/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9411000/9411583.s… At 21.30, the first high explosive bombs were dropped. 2. Another landed on the front steps without exploding but incendiaries destroyed equipment in the contractor's yard at the west end. The huge volume of explosives that were dropped by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) on Britain during the Blitz called for incredible feats of bravery. The explosion was so violent that some pieces of the ship's hull plating were blasted into a park over 1 mile (1.6 km) away. However, the first major raid came on 28-29 November when it was hit by 350 tons of high explosive bombs, 30 land mines and 3,000 incendiaries. German bombers had targeted its docks at… In one of the first acts of World War II, German bombers destroyed 75% of all the buildings, including a clearly marked hospital and church, killing approximately Wednesday 28th August 1940: RAF Rochford bombed heavily by 15 He111's at 13;00hrs dropping 15tons of High Explosives most landing on the airfield but some do fall around the site 9 raiders were shot down one of the raiding bombers crash lands on the airfield the airfield is forced to close at night and have single aircraft taking off and landing at day-light due to the damage to buildings fires and damage to … Descriptions of damage were kept vague to hide information from the Germans, and downplayed in the newspapers for propaganda purposes;[2] many Liverpudlians thus felt that their suffering was overlooked compared to other places. It took seventy-four hours for the fire to burn out. On the night of the 3rd and 4th of may alone, 400 fires were attended to by the fire brigade [12], Bootle, to the north of the city, suffered heavy damage and loss of life. [17], 1,741 people were killed and 1,154 people were injured, "Spirit of the Blitz - Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool museums", http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/1678/, "Coming danger - Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool museums", http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/70th-anniversary-durning-road-bomb-3391399, "Liverpool May Blitz remembered with parade and ceremony", https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-liverpool-blitz, http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/blitz/may.aspx, St Luke's Bombed Out Church Official Website. There were 50 raids on the city during this three-month period. Incendiary bombs were also reported on Cromer Road, but no fires were caused. Other industries were also heavily concentrated in Liverpool and across the Mersey in Birkenhead. Incendiary bombs were dropped first. [7] From 20-23 December, Merseyside was attacked on three consecutive nights. During the Greenock Blitz British night fighters from nearby Ayr engaged with the bombers and this meant 700 water mains and 80 sewers were damaged alongside gas, electricity and telephone services. Photographs. The Family Allowance was established and secondary schools were available for all children over 11. Recollections. The bombing decreased in severity after the new year. They caused extensive damage. May 1941 saw a renewal of the air assault on the region; a seven-night bombardment that devastated the city. https://www.culture24.org.uk/places-to-go/north-west/liverpool/art29714 Nearly 300 people were killed. At the beginning of the Second World War, Ireland declared its neutrality and proclaimed "The Emergency". [1] Winston Churchill described it as the "single worst incident of the war".[5]. "I see the damage done by the enemy attacks, but I also see ... the spirit of an unconquered people." [11] 500 roads were closed to traffic as well as railways and tram lines being destroyed. The exact total of casualties is unclear, though dozens of bodies were recovered and placed in a temporary mortuary which itself was later destroyed by incendiaries with over 180 corpses inside. In Bootle, 8,000 out of 17,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. Planes dropped more than 5 million tons of bombs on countries around the world. Liverpool was the most heavily bombed area of the country, outside London,[1] due to the city having, along with Birkenhead, the largest port on the west coast and being of significant importance to the British war effort. Some of the bombs that were used were B-43 nuclear bombs, B-61 nuclear bombs. [4], 28 November saw a heavy raid on the city, and the most serious single incident, when a hit on an air-raid shelter in Durning Road caused 166 fatalities. The autumn of 1940 brought the first German bombs to Liverpool. Civil Defence workers were among the casualties across Merseyside. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged and of those who were killed in the bombing campaign, more than half of them were from London. On 21-22 December the docks were targeted again and the neighbouring residential areas in Bootle were badly affected too. [14], The Times stated that between 31 March until 13 April 1941 "The Germans stated that the attack on Liverpool and the surrounding area was one of the heaviest ever made by their air force on Britain. The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the English city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe. Northern Ireland as p… During the first eight days of May 1941, Merseyside was bombed almost every night. © IWM (HU 36220A). These bombs were mainly used by the United States of America. The first major air raid on Liverpool took place in August 1940, when 160 bombers attacked the city on the night of 28 August. Liverpool was the eastern end of a Transatlantic chain of supplies from North America. As well as providing anchorage for naval ships from many nations, the port's quays and dockers would handle over 90 per cent of all the war material brought into Britain from abroad with some 75 million tons passing through its 11 miles (18 km) of quays. The National Health Service was introduced in 1948, giving free healthcare to all. Temporary Lieutenant (later Lieutenant-Commander) H R Newgass RNVR was awarded the George Cross (GC) for removing the fuse, detonator and timing mechanism from a German parachute mine which fell through the top of a large gasometer at Garston Gas Works, Liverpool, on 28 November 1940. Many roads and rail routes through the city were also blocked. It involved 681 Luftwaffe bombers; 2,315 high explosive bombs and 119 other explosives such as incendiaries were dropped. Liverpool, Bootle and the Wallasey Pool complex were strategically very important locations during the Second World War. The air assault in 1940 came to a peak with the Christmas blitz, a three-night bombardment from 20–22 December. Liverpool experienced its first air raid in August 1940 and was targeted regularly through the autumn of 1940 with 15 raids in September and nine in October. In WW2 bombs were used to attack and destroy countries and cities. The first bomb landed upon Seacombe, Wallasey, Wirral, at 22:15 on 1 May. However flames from dock sheds that had been bombed spread to the Malakand, and this fire could not be contained. For often, an unexploded bomb, lying deep in a garden or allotment, was then buried by the spoil from another … Affectionately known as "The Bombed Out Church" by the locals, St Luke's regularly hosts food and drink festivals, film screenings, art installations and many more events both in the ruins and in the surrounding garden. By July 1940 Britain stood alone with her Commonwealth and Empire against Germany, after Germany's military conquests of Poland, Denmark and Norway (Operation Weserübung), France and the Netherlands (Battle of France), most of which had been neutral. In addition to many smaller fires, one conflagration, it was claimed, was greater than any hitherto observed during a night attack.". [6] The raids saw several instances of direct hits on air raid shelters; on 20 December, 42 people died when a shelter was hit, while another 40 died when a bomb struck railway arches on Bentinck Street, where local people were sheltering. The Port of Liverpool had for many years been the United Kingdom's main link with North America, and would prove to be a key part in the British participation in the Battle of the Atlantic. Some details of the Liverpool blitz from first hand accounts and the reason why Edge Hill was a particular target. His bravery was awarded a George Cross as seen here. During the raid on Bootle on 8 May, all but one of the town's rest centres for air raid victims were destroyed. The following night the bombers returned. Please click on the images below to enlarge them and to read David's comments about them: The Bomb Sight web map and mobile app reveals WW2 bomb census maps between 7/10/1940 and 06/06/1941, previously available only by viewing them in the Reading Room of The National Archives. Photographs 6. The raids put 69 out of 144 cargo berths out of action and inflicted 2,895 casualties[nb 1], Liverpool Cathedral was hit by a high explosive bomb which pierced the roof of the south-east transept before being deflected by an inner brick wall and exploding mid-air, damaging many stained glass windows. While the city's docks were the main target, the surrounding streets of terraced houses, which housed the dock workers and their families, were also devastated. On the first night of raids the docks were hit and timber valued at approximately £4 million was destroyed in the resulting fires. By a quirk of fate one of the houses destroyed was number 102, which had been the home of Alois Hitler, Jr, half brother of Adolf Hitler and the birthplace of Hitler's nephew, William Patrick Hitler. There were no reported casualties. Targeted aerial attacks on towns and cities began on 7 September 1940 and wrought huge devastation until they temporarily drew to a close in May 1941. Winston Churchill later concluded that if the German attacks on Liverpool had continued 'the Battle of the Atlantic would have been even more closely run than it was'. Calton, Edinburgh. [8] The peak of the bombing occurred from 1 – 7 May 1941. German bombs called MK1 & MK2 were bombs, which struck fear in the citizens and also made buildings fall to the ground. The church was gutted during the firebombing but remained standing and, in its prominent position in the city, was a stark reminder of what Liverpool and the surrounding area had endured. [1] Around 4,000 people were killed in the Merseyside area during the Blitz. [10], The seven night bombardment resulted in over 6,500 homes being completely demolished by aerial bombing and a further 190,000 damaged [11] leaving 70,000 people homeless. 9,000 workers from outside the city and 2,700 troops helped to remove debris from streets. After the raids in May 1941, the German air assault diminished, as Hitler's attention turned towards attacking the Soviet Union. [9], One incident on 3 May involved the SS Malakand, a ship carrying munitions which was berthed in the Huskisson Dock. This first wave of bombings created over 200 fires. [13] One notable incident here was a direct hit on a Co-op air raid shelter on the corner of Ash Street and Stanley Road. St Luke's Church, one of many of the city's churches that were destroyed, was kept as a ruin as a permanent memorial of the May Blitz. [3], As months went by with no signs of an air-raid by the Luftwaffe, many parents brought their children back to Liverpool and, by January 1940, 40% of the evacuated children were back in the city.[3]. 1,900 people were killed, 1,450 seriously wounded and 70,000 made homeless. There was more men there than usual as it was the time they changed duty Rescuers later said: "Six men were killed outright and several others were seriously injured. This assault continued over the next three nights, then regularly for the rest of the year. Thank you to David Fiddimore for providing these photos of a steel plate used, probably during World War I, to create an air raid shelter on the ground floor of a house on Mayfield Road, Edinburgh.. The headquarters of the Cunard shipping line and the iconic Adelphi hotel were also damaged. Bomb Sight makes you discover London during WW2 Luftwaffe Blitz bombing raids, exploring maps, images and memories. The last German air raid on Liverpool took place on 10 January 1942, destroying several houses on Upper Stanhope Street. Between 1–6 September the evacuations, organised by Liverpool Corporation, saw 8,500 children, parents and teachers moved from the city to rural areas and small towns in Lancashire, Wales, Cheshire, Shrewsbury and Shropshire. On 18 September, 22 inmates at Walton Gaol were killed when high-explosive bombs demolished a wing of the prison. In total, it has been estimated that 60-70,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped on the United Kingdom during WW2 and over 60,000 people were killed by the bomb & rocket attacks. Liverpool's docks were vital in the Battle of the Atlantic. In September 1940 the government started to collect and collate information relating to damage sustained during Other architectural casualties of the Blitz included the Custom House, Bluecoat Chambers, and Liverpool Museum. By May 1941 the German Air Force had bombed numerous British cities, including Belfast in Northern Ireland in "The Blitz". Tonnages of cargo handled at the docks were substantially reduced. Two main electricity generating stations were damaged as were all main telephone lines. After the raids in early May, the German bombers switched their main focus to Hull. By the end German bombs had killed 2,716 people in Liverpool, 442 people in Birkenhead, 409 people in Bootle and 332 people in Wallasey.[16]. The raids continued intermittently until, prior to Christmas, three nights of mass bombing destroyed many of … The first bomb landed upon Seacombe, Wallasey, Wirral, at 22:15 on 1 May. Some of these were minor, comprising a few aircraft, and lasting a few minutes, with others comprising up to 300 aircraft and lasting over ten hours. These bombs… By November 1940, Bristol had already endured numerous air raids. The evacuation of children (Operation Pied Piper) at the start of the war, in September 1939, was a pre-emptive measure to save the population of urban or military areas from German aerial bombing. During the height of the May Blitz, conditions in communal air raid shelters were said to be 'indescribable'. Mayfield Road. Steel Shutters. Several hundred bombers had been used, visibility was good and docks and industrial works, storehouses and business centres, had been hit. Although its eventual explosion is often attributed to a burning barrage balloon, this fire was put out. The raids put 69 out of 144 cargo berths out of action and inflicted 2,895 casualties Other kinds of bombs are B-41 nuclear bombs and AN-22 bombs. Yet, in an article last year in the Bradford Telegraph & Argus (T&A), it is stated that the city suffered an even heavier bombardment on 14 March 1941! 2 dock and the surrounding quays were destroyed and four people were killed. The 'Blitz' – from the German term Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') – was the sustained campaign of aerial bombing attacks on British towns and cities carried out by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) from September 1940 until May 1941. which fell through the top of a large gasometer at Garston Gas Works, Liverpool, on 28 November 1940. Plotting a stick of 6 bombs and only being able to account for 5 gave bomb-disposal squads a fairly good idea where the missing one might be. David Fiddimore. The entire Huskisson No. St Paul's Cathedral, rising above the bombed London skyline, is shrouded in smoke during the Blitz. By 22.30 Coventry was effectively cut off from the outside, as very few phone lines had survived the bombing … [6] On 21 December, another hit on a shelter killed 74 people.[6]. The historic St George's Hall was hit by incendiary bombs but Civil Defence workers and firefighters saved the building from any serious damage. Over 45,000 bombs were dropped on Britain during the campaign. During the May Blitz, nearly 70 out of 140 berths in Liverpool's docks were put out of action. The peak of the bombing occurred from 1 – 7 May 1941. Despite valiant efforts by the fire brigade to extinguish the flames, they spread to the ship's cargo of 1,000 tons of bombs, which exploded a few hours after the raid had ended. [15] The house was never rebuilt and the whole site was eventually cleared of housing and grassed over. These included 28 Air Raid Precautions (ARP) wardens and Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) workers killed and 14 seriously injured. During the … Many were booby-trapped so that when they exploded, hundreds of red-hot metal shards shot out. It eventually became a garden of remembrance to commemorate the thousands of local men, women and children who died as a result of the bombing of their city and region. [1] This death toll was second only to London, which suffered over 40,000 by the end of the war. 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