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Bombing Brum

Rupert said:
I seem to remember that the ME109 had a duration over the target of about 9 minutes, it then had to high tail it for home. I can't remember if this was London or Birmingham. The ME 110 probably had a longer duration time.
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The ME109 would never have reached the Midlands but the ME110 was a larger twin engined aircraft which soon proved useless as a fighter plane.
Having no bomb load it could go far and to find something for it to do they probably sent them away from the south to create a bit of havoc elsewhere.
I think Goering had high hopes for it as a fighter plane but he was wrong as usual !
Does anyone remember how the engines of German bombers seemed to make a 'throbbing' sound when overhead.
 
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oldMohawk said:
Does anyone remember how the engines of German bombers seemed to make a 'throbbing' sound when overhead.
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It was because the engines where " Out of Synehroization " you can sometimes hear it on Multi engine planes to day.
 
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Three photos. The 1st one shows me, my, sister, and Dad, at my Nans in Turfpits Lane. The notice 'S P Here' in the window connects it to bombing and air raids. The 2nd shows me on our Air Raid shelter looking out for those planes shooting at your Grannies and Aunts. The 3rd photo with our Uncle Stan standing between us.
My brother-in-law, who lived in Cavandale Ave Kingstanding told me that any house with spare bedrooms had to take in bombed-out families, and for 9 months they gave up one of their two bedrooms and their front room to a couple from Handsworth.
 

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Peter Walker said:
I don't know whether I have written about this before, and it's not strictly bombing Brum either, but I thought someone might be interested to read about what records they have of air raids in the National Archives at Kew....
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Dear Peter, Have you any information on the bombing of Cox Street October to November 1940?

ladywood
 
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Ladywood

Just enter Cox Street in 'Location of Death' and have a look at this....dreadful records:

https://www.swanshurst.org/barra/results.asp

but not unusual. I have seen or heard something regarding this location before. I believe the people who were killed on the corner of Cox Street/Livery Street were sheltering in the cellar of a pub on that corner. Perhaps someone else may be able to confirm this for you?

Junie
 
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Michael Minton in his book "Heroes of the Birmingham Air Raids" makes a brief mention of this air raid. He notes that PC Charles Manners later received a commendation for courageous conduct that night "during an air attack, in Cox Street, off Livery Street".

He also notes that "the premises involved was the Jubilee Works, Buckingham Street" (although the map suggests to me that that location was a little distance away from Cox Street and I wonder if the reference is an error).

Chris
 
Junie said:
Big Gee

It was not uncommon in the daylight raids for a German fighter plane to dive down and machine gun civilians. I can clearly remember being in Garrison Lane Park with other children when a German plane did this and we ran down the air raid shelter steps to take cover. A lot of people do not realise we had daylights raids.

If ever you are in a meeting (such as Carl's) with a group of elderly people who lived through the war, ask them to raise their hands if any of them recall such an incident. You will be surprised how many put up their hands.

Junie.
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Dear Junie, thanks for your help, my mother and father were bombed out of their house in Cox Street.
They were lucky I think they went to the Lyric Cinema and chose to stay there through a raid that took place possibly, on the 21/23st October 1940.
A bomb hit, I think a water main and all the men women and children in the shelter [for that street] were [my father thought] were drowned.

Ladywood
 
oldMohawk said:
Thanks most interesting. I was on the receiving end of all Luftwaffe raids on Brum. As kids, my sister and me were asleep under the stone slab of our 1940's pantry when 'jerry' dropped an incendary bomb on our house, it certainly woke us up ! Don't know why we weren't evacuated but most kids in our road weren't.
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Evacuation was`nt compulsory, if your parents did not put your name down with Birmingham City Council Education Dept you were not evacuated, some kids came home after a couple of years, or months, even days, some were happy, some were desperately unhappy. Len
 
Peter,
Regrading the bombing maps and targets, have you any for Lucas at Gt Hampton Street and also for Summer lane : I am interested in the bombing of the latter as i relates to the Coronet factory. Do you have a list or amap of the bombing that occured in that area during WW2?
best wishes
gerry
 
Dear Gerry Brummir, In Birmingham Central Library on, I think the 6th floor in the geneology department, they have a map showing the fall of bombs in Central Birmingham. Black dots for HE and red dots for I think, incendaries.

ladywood
 
Hello Gerry Coronet

There should be a selection of these maps on the forum unless they have slipped into the ether! They have been posted now and again, for some time. Try Blitz thread.

cheers
 
ladywood said:
Dear Gerry Brummir, In Birmingham Central Library on, I think the 6th floor in the geneology department, they have a map showing the fall of bombs in Central Birmingham. Black dots for HE and red dots for I think, incendaries.

ladywood
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Many Thanks,
Do you know if a list was complied by anyone, I will contact the Library for a copy of the map, i guess they have different dates? 1940, 1941 etc?
Gerry (AKA Mr Coronet email at coronet@talktalk.net )
 
Yes it is very eirie seeing that .. to think that one of those bombs fell on my mums house and killed her brother and her dad .. which in turn changed their lives forever .
Thanks for that post .
 
A map was compiled every day showing where bombs had fallen during the previous 24 hours. These maps are dated, numbered, show times of duration of raid, and are available in Local Studies Department on the 6th floor of Central Library. At the end of the war a compilation map was made of all the individual maps. This compilation map is now only available in sections, because I believe it was cut into sections to make copying easier.

Junie.
 
There's so much interest in these maps that it's a great pity that they are not available online as a free and readily accessible resource.

If anyone is talking to the Central Library on this subject, could they perhaps ask if there is ever any possibility of their being included in the Library's section of the Council website? Failing that, would the Library be willing to permit anyone else to put them up? I should be happy to do so, as would no doubts others, especially Barra and perhaps one of this forum's Main Sites.

Chris
 
Junie,
That is so helpful to know this, I will have to ask the library or someone to help me as i am no longer in Brum.
Very best wishes,
Gerry
 
Chris,
:) You have great web site. Enjoyed A MEMORY OF
NEW STREET, BIRMINGHAM (WINTER 1942/43). SUPER.
Gerry

 
Junie said:
A map was compiled every day showing where bombs had fallen during the previous 24 hours. These maps are dated, numbered, show times of duration of raid, and are available in Local Studies Department on the 6th floor of Central Library. At the end of the war a compilation map was made of all the individual maps. This compilation map is now only available in sections, because I believe it was cut into sections to make copying easier.

Junie.
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Dear Junie I have seen the compilation map at the Central Library.
Thanks again for your help.

ladywood
 
Dear Ladywood,
Do you have a copy of the compilation map from the Central Library.
Gerry
:)
 
my grandfather who had served on the somme in the first world war was killed age 45 on the 16th october 1940 he lived in marshall st Holloway Head he went back to the house to get something with my mother she was injured but as i said he was killed
 
Does anybody have any information regarding the bombing of the BSA factory in Small Heath my father in laws father worked on the night of the bombing he and his mates dived into the canal to survive the bombs many people were killed that night and many of the bodies were never recovered
 
My grandad got Killed that night . He was in the pioneer corps . Just got home on leave that night .. had tea bathed the kids and put them to bed and then got a direct hit on house . Killed him and my uncle who was only 11 year old . The rest of the family buried for 9 hours and then sent away to orphanage :( All really sad :(
It wasnt a good night for brum :( We used to play on the BSA in the 60s and scare ourselves with ghost tales .
Jean
 
Terry,

The raid on BSA on the night of 19th/20th November 1940 was probably the worst single incident in the Birmingham Blitz. There is a lot of information online about this and I'm sure there has been discussion in the past in this forum, dealing with specific aspects of it which fortunately you are able to add to. Do a careful trawl with the help of the Search function to find them.

As for more general information, if you have not done it already a similar search with Google using a definition like "BSA bombing" will bring up a lot of material.

The BARRA/Swanshurst website contains a searchable database of all those who lost their lives. Stories of individual acts of heroism on that night (including the award of three George Medals) are contained in the book "Heroes of the Birmingham Air Raids" by Michael Minton.

Chris
 
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