The Home Front

[Rod]

Please can any of you help with stories and memories of the Home Front during WW2 for our new section

 

[Oisin]

Rod,
Dunno if you want to transfer some of the stuff from my Gun Site thingy (air raid maps etc) but if you do, I have no obejection. In the meantime, I'll dig into our family archives and see what we've got. The new section is lookin' good already - another nice move.

 

[Rod]

Thanks paul...... I have other Plans for your Gun Site Thingy :lol: I want to build up content on the Handsworth Site too, so it will be used for the Home Front section of the Handsworth site methinks?

Id appreciate you having a butchers for other content though..

Hope Im not asking too much of folk?

 

[Pomgolian]

New Section...

Top marks guys it's looking great. 8)
Because of his poor sight my Dad was not in any of the armed services during ww2 and my Mom would never let him talk about his experiences at home in the war, all we kids heard about was her time in the A.T.S. and her army, Navy and Air Force friends. Which I know was very important, but it would have been nice to know about how life was for people like my dad who were working just as hard on 'The Home Front'. I do know that he was in the Red Cross and helped as an ambulance assistant, he also helped with rubble clearing after air raids on Birmingham. So coming from Aston and living at 230 Park Lane he more than likely help clear those sites mentioned in the new section. He once told me about seeing the big air raid on Coventry and standing under 'The Minories' by Lewis's seeing the sky light up just like a big fireworks extravagance.

Chris

 

[John Young]

New Section (Miller Street Garage)

My friends father was a Bus/Tram driver during WW2 & a Fire Warden during the little spare time that he or anyone else had in those times.
His Dad told us of the terrible destruction of his Bus Station & the memories of which haunted him for the rest of his life.
William (Bill) to his mates just finished late shift & "parked up" then waited for his "Clippie" to get her handbag, coat & "things" like ladies always do :roll: The Drivers always walked "their" Clippies home on dark & dangerous nights but this time she said "Its ok Bill, you go on, I am meeting the girls & we are going home together, Thanks Luvvy".
Bill had walked to Aston Cross by the time the Air Raid sirens wailed then he heard the explosions & turning round he could see the inferno erupting in the sky & just knew somehow that it was his Garage hit.
He ran back to what he called "Dantes Inferno", he helped the Firemen, Wardens, Police, local people, Everybody did their best but it was total devastation, they toiled all night, rescued a few lucky souls,
Bill finally collapsed with exhaustion & emotion when he found His Clippies coat & handbag amongst the smouldering ruins.
To All Our Heroes, Thank You, :cry: John

 

[Rod]

Thanks for your memories, I have added them to our new section. Hopefully more will follow and the section will grow.

 

[Rod]

John I'm hoping long term, that we can find out information of bombing locations with regard to Aston. I'd like to get it on the site. Thanks for the information and photos.

Rod

 

[Peter Walker]

Miller Street tram depot bombing

The following material comes from a valuable piece of research by C A Mayou entitled "Electric Tramcars in BIRMINGHAM - Depots and Allocations" published in 1974 by the Birmingham Transport Historical Group. This records in incredible detail the routes on which each of the 843 electric trams (plus a few departmental cars) ran, and at which depot they were based from 1901 until 1953.
Miller Street Depot was hit by an oil bomb on the night of Thursday 9 April 1942. According to Mayou, it "struck the offices and canteen and almost completely burned out all the cars on roads 1 - 5, besides damaging thjre others do badly that they were never repaired. There were several casualties, in spite of the heroism shown by the staff in trying to rescue their comrades". 24 cars were destroyed and 3 were not repaired.

 

[jennyann]

Hi Rod: If you are collecting some information on WW2 as it relates to Aston. I have found this information in a booklet which was handed out at this exhibition called “City of War” which took place in the summer of l985 at the Birmingham Art Gallery and Museum. I took my children to this event. They were eight and five years old at the time.

“LUCAS’S were involved in the making of more than 20,000 Boulton & Paul
Electro-hydraulically operated gun turrets- the entire supply at Great King
Street and Formans Road prior to l941 together with large numbers of hystraulically operated turrets for Lancaster and Wellington bombers. Before the war Lucas
Started making Spitfire wing sub-assemblies for Castle Bromwich and by VE Day produced l2,500 sets”.

ICI METAL GROUP- based primarily at Witton which with the other ammunition factories under it’s control produced a substantial proportion of the country’s ammunition requirements. It’s products covered at least 67 different kinds of cartridge, and ranged in scale from 20mm cartridges to large QF cases, from detanotrs to anti-tank devices. These latter included the PIAT anti-tank mortar an important innovation that was developed at Witton in 1942, and which was produced in association with four hundred forms and subcontractors

This piece from the same booklet gives some information on the
progression of the bombing of Birmingham in WW2. I haven't a scanner
so I copied it so please forgive any spelling errors.


THE BLITZ- Taken from the “City of War” publication issued for the exhibit
At the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery-Summer l985

Between 8 August 1940 and 23 April, 1943(St. George’s Day) Birmingham experienced a total of seventy-seven enemy raids. Over 2000 people were killed and 3000 seriously injured: 12 houses were damaged- 4000 of them beyond repair and over 1000 shops, offices, factories and public buildings were destroyed.

These bald statistics of the Blitz do little to convey the countless individual tragedies- the death or injury of relatives and friends, the destruction of homes and the horror and fear caused by aerial attack.

The first enemy rain on Birmingham occurred on the night of 8/9 August 1940, when a lone bomber, probably unsuccessfully searching for Fort Dunlop or Castle Bromwich aeroplane factory released its bombs over suburban Erdington before heading for home.

( A friend of mine parent’s lived on Enstone Road where the bomb landed. There is a link on this Erdington site with a photo. This small street is a cul de sac and all the windows were blown out of the houses. My friends Grandma was blown from the front door, down the hall and into the kitchen without any injury, just shaken up)https://www.geocities.com/goosemoorlane/history.htm)

The first attack was followed for nearly three weeks by a series of small raids, again concentrating on targets in the East of the City. However, on the night of 25/26 August 1940, the bombers changed their tactics and raided the City Centre destroying the Market Hall and causing twenty-five civilian casualties. This was followed by another night attack on the city centre and then a respite of a month.

On the afternoon of 27 September, 1940, the Luftwaffe began a series of daytime raids Aimed against industrial targets. Fort Dunlop was attacked, and a 1,000kg. bomb caused considerable damage but no casualties. On 13 November the Austin aero factory was
attacked in daylight with the loss of six lives and twenty-six injured. Meanwhile, sporadic night attacks took place in September and October with the worst raid occurring on the night of 24/25 October. A heavy incendiary raid in the centre of the City caused inumerable fires and many tall buildings, including Marshall & Snelgrove’s store were completely burnt out. In the raid on the following night a single bomb killed nineteen people at the Carlton Cinema, Sparkhill.

Raids on Birmingham in the early part of November were light and infrequent but the struction of the centre of Coventry on the night of l4 November was the first sign that the main weight of the Luftwaffe attack had shifted from London to the Midlands. The apprehension of Birmingham people that their City would be the next target was realised five nights later and on the evening of 19/20 November the City was attacked by a force of 350 bombers. Few parts of the City escaped unscathed that night whilst the civilian casualties were higher than any other raid and 1,353 people were killed or injure. Among the numerous industrial premises damaged that night was the BSA works at Small Heath where the New Building was hit by high-explosive bombs and completely burnt out, killing fifty-three workers buried under tons of rubble and machinery. On the night of 22/23 November Birmingham was attacked by 200 bombers causing 600 serious fires and much loss of life, whilst the destruction of water mains in this raid and the one of 19 November left the City in a perilous position to sustain another attack. However, the Luftwaffe failed to follow up its advantage and on the following night its attack shifted to Southampton. Birmingham was again attacked in force on ¾ December whilst on the night of 11/12 it sustained it’s longest raid of the war lasting over l3 hours. Again the Luftwaffe failed to follow up its success, and switched its attack to the ports. Raids on Birmingham were resumed in March and April 1941 And on the night of 9/10 April the city experienced it’s last really heavy raid of the war. The City was showered with 650 high-explosive bombs and 170 sets of incendiaries by a force of 250 bombers and 1,121 people were killed or injured.

The most significant destruction was wrought on the City Centre, where a fire at the corner of High Street and New Street was soon completely out of control and many buildings were destroyed. Another conflagration destroyed numerous buildings on the east side of the Bull Ring and at the same time the Prince Of Wales Theatre in Broad Street was burnt out.

A few more raids followed in the Spring and early Summer of 1941 and then Birmingham was free of attack until July 1942, when in raids on 28 July and 30 July over nine hundred people were killed or injured mainly because they failed to take shelter. Apart from a single raid in April 1943, the City then remained undisturbed for the rest of the war. Unlike London and the south east, Birmingham escaped the horrors of the V1 and V2 rocket attacks, and in fact became a reception area for “Doodlebug” refugees. But there was no let up for the defenders of the City who had to be on the alert to the end of the war.”

 

[jennyann]

My Mother's Father, John had moved in with my father and mother during the war. He was living in Brantley Road Witton and then moved to
Hidson Road Marsh Hill. Although there was an Anderson shelter in the
garden the favourite spot was in the pantry close to the stairs where my Mother her first born son and her Father shoehorned in whilst Hitler's bombers looked for the ICI and GEC.

My Father was often holed up in Bournville Power Station hoping that Gerry hadn't got that station on their list for several nights or that he wasn't blown off his bike as he cycled the many miles from Erdington to Bournville and back. He slept under a heavy wooden table when on night shift with only a cat and mice for companions.
I was on the way in l941 and my Mother knitted furiously in the bomb raids to prepare for my birth. Mother told me how frightened she was most of the time especially after that menace Lord Haw Haw would spell out local targets for that evenings bombing via the radio. My Grandfather was very restless. He was 80 years old. Mom and Dad removed the bulbs from the landing and hall lights. The large long window on the stairs then didn't have to have any black out since everyone used shaded torches to find their way around on the stairs and in the hall.

Grandfather had his own torch and frequently used to get up in the night to make tea. He was unsteady on the stairs and would flash his torch
around all over the place on his way to the kitchen. My parents didn't know about this and one night there was a loud knock on the front door. The head of local patrol officers told my parents that for several nights strange darting lights had been seen coming from our landing window and were going straight up into the sky. The officer wanted to know what was going on. It some time before it was realized that Grandfather was the culprit....almost accused of signalling to the German aeroplanes that came over frequently. All was sorted out and a blackout curtain was hastily made for the landing window!!!

 

[Rod]

Brilliant effort THANK YOU!! I think I might have to make another page so I can get it all on. This really is marvelous stuff for those who come to view the sites. The stories you have posted and research you are doing really brings it all alive.

 

[sylviasayers]

Home Front

There were quite a large number of bombing raids in Aston some of the bomb sites I remember are:

Park Lane near to the Black Horse pub right across to Tower Road.

Sutton Street near the junction with Park Lane.

Upper Sutton Street near junction with Victoria Road.

Thomas Street corner of Park Lane.
Thomas Street opposite Yates Street church and part of the church.

Shops in Park Lane opposite "The Eagle" and some houses just beyond
going towards Aston Cross.

Corner of Burlington Street and Newtown Row/High Street where Woolworths was later to be built.

Both sides of New Street.

Inkerman Street

Queens Road, and the lower end of Church Road

Wilkinson Street/The Retreat right across to Phillips Street almost opposite Millers.

Corner of Victoria Road and Church Lane or Road.

Lodge Road/Witton Road.

These sites were left as they were for many years right up to the late 50s and beyond that's why I remember them so well.

My dad also did firefighting at Fort Dunlop after he had worked a 12 hour shift.

He also told me that he helped in Avenue Road where a large number of people wer killed, apparently a family wedding was due to take place or had taken place and most of those killed were related. Due to the embargo on news I don't know whether the details were ever in the press and I don't know the year as I was so young then.

s.

 

[di allen]

My dad used to tell us a story about when he was in the Home Guards in WW2 and caught a spy signalling to the german bombers in the grounds of the College at New Oscott. Can any one verify this story and/or add to it? Di, an exiled brummie.

 

[lencops]

Birmingham woman calls for help to name anonymous bombing victim.

Nov 2 2010 by Jasbir Authi, With thanks to the Birmingham Mail. Len.

A BIRMINGHAM woman is calling on Blitz survivors to help give an anonymous bombing victim a name.
Jacqui Fielding, aged 53, from Solihull, is trying to get to the bottom of an intriguing tale about her great uncle Alfred Wakeling, his second wife Mabel and a mystery woman who was mistakenly buried with them.
Both Alfred and Mabel were killed when bombs hit their Hockley pub and were believed to have been buried together at Key Hill Cemetery in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.


But weeks later, Mabel’s body was found in the pub and to this day no one has been able to identify the woman buried with her great uncle.
Ms Fielding, who is interested in researching family history, said all she knows about Alfred and Mabel is that they had not long been married when the bombs hit and both had three children each from their first marriages.
Mabel had run an off-licence in Hingeston Street and Alfred had managed a cycle works in Hockley.
Ms Fielding said: “Alfred and Mabel had recently taken on the tenancy of the Vine Inn public house on Carver Street, Hockley, Birmingham when on the night of December 12, 1940, the pub took a direct hit. Alfred was killed outright and his body was found near a dead woman thought to be Mabel.
“Their funerals went ahead and took place at Key Hill Cemetery.
“They were buried in separate coffins in the same plot.
“It was some weeks later, when clearing away the debris that Mabel’s body was found sitting on a chair in the cellar with her knitting on her lap, she had been buried alive and apparently by the state of her hands and nails she had tried to clear away the rubble.

“Mabel’s second funeral took place, again at Key Hill Cemetery, and she is buried in the same plot, with a second burial reference number.”
Ms Fielding has copies of the Fatal Casualties List and Town Clerks War Death List, which states the first two bodies were removed from the pub on December 12, 1940, together with details of their burials at Key Hill.
She said: “So who is the mystery woman buried with Alfred and Mabel?
“Was she a passer-by who was never reported missing or did Alfred invite her in to shelter? Nobody knows anything abut this woman. It’s very sad.”
The Wakelings are listed on the Tree of Life memorial in Edgbaston Street near St Martin’s Church and the historic Bull Ring markets.
They are also remembered with honour and commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Their deaths are also recorded in Birmingham’s Hall of Memory.
Ms Fielding said: “Other cities such as London and Coventry published casualty lists but Birmingham didn’t because we were very secretive.
“We were the capital for industry, we were making bombs, guns and parts for air crafts and if the German’s knew they were destroying us, it would have attracted more bombings.”
“I would love to meet up with any of Mabel’s relatives if they are alive.

 

[Fashionz]

This is slightly off topic, but, there is an unexplained murder here called 'the Dean murder' Your mention of spies reminded me. The theory is that Dr. Dean had some knowledge of German spies signaling Boston from the top of Mt. Monadnock. There are still people around here that refuse to talk about it. The war did funny things to people.

My dad used to tell us a story about when he was in the Home Guards in WW2 and caught a spy signalling to the german bombers in the grounds of the College at New Oscott. Can any one verify this story and/or add to it? Di, an exiled brummie.