Re: World War II
During Whitsuntide 1941, a three day holiday that encompassed Sunday 1 June through Tuesday 3 June in that year, the Manchester region underwent its second heaviest air raid of the war. Salford and Stretford suffered heavy destruction -- fourteen nurses were killed when the Salford Royal Hospital sustained a direct hit.
Trafford Park sustained HE bomb direct hits -- Manchester United's stands and grounds were severely damaged and the team had to use Manchester City's grounds until the end of the war. LCC stands and grounds were also severely damaged -- including a huge crater next to the test cricket pitch. |
Re: World War II
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Re: World War II
On Christmas Eve 1944, a formation of specially configured HE-111 Heinkel bombers (I/KG53 squadron) flying over the North Sea launched 45 V1 Flying Bombs (Doodlebugs) aimed at Manchester 31 of which reached the target area. Fifteen fell on Manchester, the remainder impacting in surrounding towns and sparsely populated outlying areas. BBC Report -- Doodlebug attack on Manchester
One hit a row of terrace houses in nearby Oldham killing 37 people, including some evacuees from London, and seriously wounding many others. The blast damaged hundreds of nearby homes. Six people died when one landed on Chapel Street, Tottington, near Bury. One of the errant V1s impacted in a farmer's field at Gregson Lane near Bamber Bridge just outside Preston. This crash site has recently been examined and recorded by the Lancashire Aircraft Investigation Team (V1 Gregson Lane 24.12.1944). This V1 raid was a rude Christmas Eve shock for people in the Manchester area, for local officials had been hinting that the danger from air raids was was pretty much over for us in the North. D-Day had heightened the expectation that the war was winding down, besides, the unexpected V1 raids had been directed against London. Certainly no one expected an air raid siren alert followed by the sound of Doodlebugs chugging across Lancashire skies during that Christmas of 1944! The V1 raid on Manchester occurred exactly four years after the first major Air Raid on the city -- the horrendous firestorm Blitz of Christmas 1940. |
Re: World War II
One V1 that impacted near Oswaldtwistle carried a load of propaganda leaflets. Leaflets from these V1s were also found at Brindle, near Manchester and Huddersfield, Yorkshire.
Evidently a large number of V1s were loaded with propaganda leaflets. This subject is covered in meticulous detail by Herbert A. Friedman in his Web page article The German V1 Rocket Leaflet Campaign. This fascinating article explains how the leaflets were stored and dispersed and includes an impressive number of V1 related photographic images and numerous actual propaganda leaflet reproductions. It is also a treasure trove of V1 Flying Bomb information. The British government was pretty secretive about V1 impact sites for they did not want the Germans to know the number of those that reached the target area and exactly where they had fallen. |
Re: World War II
A plan and description of the WW2 Stanhill German Prisoner of War Camp near Oswaldtwistle can be found at:
http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/di.../PoWs/pows.htm |
Re: World War II
Never realised the doodlebug had that kind of range. We learn something new everyday.
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Re: World War II
My mum tells me stories about what she and her brothers and sisters did during the war except the stories what she tells arent lancashire ones because she was brought up and got married in northern ireland and didnt come over here until 1949/50. But because the republic of ireland was neutral they had tins of peaches etc that you couldnt get in the UK due to rationing so people went over the border for them especially as she only lived about 3 miles from the border.
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Re: World War II
The first British WW2 film I remember was It's in the Air (George Formby 1939) -- the following link is George Formby singing and playing Our Sgt. Major from that movie.
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Re: World War II
One of the most memorable Christmasses of my life was 1940. That Christmas Manchester was hit with a monumental air raid and one of the most intense incendiary bomb attacks of the war -- a fire storm ensued in the center of the city.
My father took me to the top of Crown Point, on the moors south of Burnley, where we could see Manchester burning -- the spectacular fires lit up the night skies across the horizon. We worried about the safety of our relatives -- an aunt of mine (one of my mother's sisters) who lived in Salford and a close cousin of my mother who lived in Stretford next to Trafford Park -- and were greatly relieved to later learn that they had survived unscathed. |
Re: World War II
Hey jamesicus, that is some interesting web site you got there
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Re: World War II
Thank you for the feedback, park381. I sincerely appreciate comments relating to my web site and my postings here. Your interest -- and that of others providing feedback -- makes my efforts worthwhile.
James |
Re: World War II
Mother and self lived on Burnley road in Blackburn, with Grandparents whilst my father was away in the war, I don't have much recall of events due to my tender age at the time, but there were tales of a german bomb being dropped near the power station at Whitebirk.
I do however remember visiting the POW camp at Stanhill in later years. |
Re: World War II
A B17-G bomber "The Lady Helen", 231425, from Burtonwood AB was attacked by fighters and crashed into the mountains near Steyr in February, 1944. Survivors of the crash were captured as POW's. The pilot was named Lt. Donald Smith. The other crew members were : Lt. Sims, Co-Pilot; Lt. McConnell, Bombadier; Lt. Dender, Navigator. S/Sgt Eugene Eisele was the Ball Turret gunner but was lucky enough not to be on this mission. Some of the targets were,Cassino IT--Ploesti RO--Munich GE--Budapest HU.
http://jp29.org/jim02.JPG http://jp29.org/jim04.JPG http://jp29.org/jim03.JPG http://jp29.org/jim05.JPG http://jp29.org/jim01.JPG S/Sgt Eugene Eisele, ball turret gunner, 49 missions Photos courtesy of, my friends, the Eisele family. |
Re: World War II
There was another aircaft that crashed in our area of Lancashire. On 21 January 1943 a British Halifax bomber (DT581) that had strayed off-course crashed on Hoar Side Moor not far from Black Hameldon, which was later to claim B-24 42-50668 in 1945 (see previous posting of mine).
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/Halifax%20DT581.htm |
Re: World War II
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http://timewitnesses.org/english/doodbug.html |
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