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Bomb damage in unidentified streets

ChrisM said:
ITMA's German spy, Viv. "This is Funf speaking...." A bit more sinister than Col. Chinstrap, ("Don't mind if I do") Mrs. Mopp ("Can I do you now sir?") and many others but, like them, never forgotten.

Chris
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I don't think I'm going too far off-track, but in all certainty "Funf" was a comedy character assassination on Lord Haw-Haw; by sheer chance whose story was told on BBC Radio 4 earlier this week

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wxx6x
 
Trawled through the Shoothill site to see If I could match up any iof the buildings with other photos. #2 and #11 seem to be Torrey Grove. Not sure where exactly this is in Birmingham. Viv.
 

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Vivienne14 said:
Trawled through the Shoothill site to see If I could match up any iof the buildings with other photos. #2 and #11 seem to be Torrey Grove. Not sure where exactly this is in Birmingham. Viv.
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Hi Viv - I think Shoothill might have made a mistake with the tag on that image. It is near the other Torrey Grove images showing houses in their list and looks like a possible mistake. Torrey Grove shows on Apple Maps as a residential area with no large industrial buildings.
 
Also , the map for c1938 (no industry) is almost identical to that of 1951, with no evidence of any destruction
 
Vivienne

I agree with Mike and Phil, the type of house in Torrey Grove Alum Rock are of the Inter War Municipal type that were built between the first and second world wars and as has been stated they show no sign of bomb damage. I have been unable to find another Torrey Grove in Birmingham, you will note I'm not saying there wasn't one because if I say there wasn't you can be sure there was.
 
I suppose the problem is that most of the damaged buildings were never rebuilt. Image 4 is identified and in the identified image 12 the multi-storey building on the right with it's windows blown out is still there above Brook Street premises with same windows see https://goo.gl/maps/shfKc. What remained of the severely damaged building has been demolished and replaced. It seems that the site behind the bill board in the 1950s forum pic below is where the bombed damaged building stood.
New_St_1950.JPG

Original pic is here https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=8484&p=437790#post437790
 
To save people wasting there time, there is a Torrey avenue on the Northfield/longbridge border, but it also is just residential both before and after WW2
 
Thanks Phil. Good detective work. And yes, many of the damaged buildings would have been cleared making it more difficult to find these places.

Thanks Mike. That seems pretty conclusive then that it's not Torrey Avenue.

Viv.
 
I just have a hunch that images 5 & 6 are in or near Moor St. Perhaps a prewar/postwar map comparison might identify any postwar open spaces. The identified image below from Shoothill in post#55 shows at least one bomb damaged site and those overhead lines are in the view and some strange scaffolding on the top of the nearest building.
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Old Mohawk,

if you go to my post No.21 you will see that Moor Street or Carrs Lane was where I suggested the building was, anyway it was where I put my money.
 
Phil

You are spot on with Moor Street, and here is the proof.
 

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Astoness said:
well done all thats another one sorted...
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I'm having slight doubts about Moor Street Lyn ...

I've been looking on the britainfromabove website which has some interesting images of the immediate postwar Moor St scene and show below enlarged images with the appropriate reference links.

This 1949 view shows the bombsite (1) and the advertising hordings (2) which can be seen in Phils pic post#74 and in the pic in post#55.
Is it possible from old maps etc to say what business was on the bombsite ?
moorst1949.JPG

From https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw026252?x=407456&y=286953&extent=1000&ref=41

One year earlier in 1948 there appears to be 13 nissen huts on the site (1) what were these for - military ? Also there appears to be a possible bombsite on left side of Carrs Lane being used as car park (2)
Moorst1948.JPG

From https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw015327?x=407456&y=286953&extent=1000&ref=49

Looking at the whole length of the street there is the bombsite from post#55 (1), a bombsite immediately opposite the station (2) which appears to be the rear of the large bombsite in the High Street, the possible bombsite in Carrs Lane (3) and a possible bombsite marked (4)
Moorst1949_2.JPG

From https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw026252?x=407456&y=286953&extent=1000&ref=41

I'm not entirely sure the unidentified bombsite in Viv's image 5 is in Moor Street !
 
Phil

If you compare the bomb photo and the one that I posted you will see that there is no discernible difference to the buildings after the hoarding on either photo.
 

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Great result everyone. Thanks Alan (Radiorails) for the early tip-off. Truly of the Yard has been proved wrong this time !

Thanks for all that digging around too. Well worth all your effort, thanks. Viv.
 
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Hi Phil - I agree that the buildings and the hoarding are the same but Shoothill had already identified the pic below as shown
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moortitle.JPG

With regard to the pic above we have confirmed that Shoothill's identification of Moor St was correct.

The unidentified pic I've been chasing and referring to is Viv's image 5 shown below.
index.php
 
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Sorry Phil,

but I must have lost the plot or come in the wrong door somewhere as I was going by your comments in post #70. I didn't know that Shoothill had made an addition to their photo.
 
Maps do not show anything much about the buildings. I would estimate that the bomb site (1) was occupied by nos 34, 36 & 37, though it is difficult to be certain or determine exact;y where Paternoster Row and Gresham's passage exactly were on the photo. kellys shows :
34 Magnet House, General Electric Co; Prelli, Reliance Telephone Co; Fraser & Chalmers;Claude -General Neon Lights Ltd
36 Evans & Adlard, paper makers
37 Drakes (Universla Providers Ltd), clothiers; Timson Bros, motor car accessories
 
Think I've dropped out of the plot too Phil and Phil. So I think we're saying we're still looking for #5 and #6. Is that right? Phil (Oldmohawk) that analysis of the various bomb sites that you've done is great - maybe it will prove useful in identifying or discounting others too. By this I mean for example #8 - again a hunch but it looks to me like the sort of building around Moor St/Carrs Lane. Viv.

image.jpg
 
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Hi Viv - I been flying all day over 1940s Brum in the britainfromabove biplane searching for image 5 but have to say I'm intrigued by those Nissen huts and seem to remember reading somewhere on the forum about German POWs clearing bomb damage. Maybe they were billeted in those huts.
 
oldMohawk said:
Hi Viv - I been flying all day over 1940s Brum in the britainfromabove biplane searching for image 5 but have to say I'm intrigued by those Nissen huts and seem to remember reading somewhere on the forum about German POWs clearing bomb damage. Maybe they were billeted in those huts.
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When you hang up your goggles Phil, here's a list of POW sites. Can't see one listed but it was compiled in 2003 and probably incomplete, so it still could have been a camp. Viv.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/nov/08/prisoner-of-war-camps-uk
 
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Personally I think it unlikely that they would be billeted in a city centre, however, it may be that the huts were where they ate and kept equipment. Looking at the POW list the nearest to Birmingham seems to be at Stratford upon Avon. I know POW's were employed doing other work later on in WW2. Some stayed in the UK and married here I understand.

Maybe this needs a thread of it own, assuming enough Members have memories of POW's in the area.
 
I read the POW thread and some interesting comments posted there. I did a search but it was not successful, anyway thank you for the link. We do, then, have another thread for POW's. Actually there must be another one as I remember commenting on the trenches for street lighting and widening of the River Cole some time ago.
 
Let's now turn our attention to residential properties as we've probably exhausted clues for the time being on the commercial properties damaged during the War. Here are three:
 

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Not sure about exhausting commercial properties as I have seen no mention of a certain bus depot south of the city centre. Maybe that place was too obvious or well known.
One remarkable thing shows up very clearly in pic 3 and that is how effective the taping over of windows was. Yes one or two seem to have succumbed - assuming they were taped initially or maybe the tape came off.
 
Hi Alan. That's why I've numbered each photo clearly, then we can go back and forth and comment when inspiration strikes again. Just think we've reached a cul-de-sac with some of the commercial properties. Sorry but I don't think I know the depot you're referring to.

Funnily enough I drive past a very large building on my way to work which is in the process of being demolished. And they have cross-crossed every single window with tape in the sane way as in WW2. I assume it's the for the same reason. Is it to stop the shards of glass shattering everywhere and causing more injury? Vivienne.
 
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