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The Blitz

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Viv
My mum has never recovered .. they were not councilled back then . Just given a cup of hot strong tea and had to pick themselvfes up and get on with it . Mum had 3 nervious breakdowns .. she cant sleep with the lights out even now and on Bonfire night she is terrified ..
Yes we are very fortunate :)
Regards Jean
 
I'm sure I must have mentioned this before somewhere (and apologies if I have) but I once transcribed a radio interview with a Luftwaffe pilot who had recently bombed Birmingham. It is here. It also contains a link to a German newsreel recording one 1941 raid on the city.

Chris
 
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i have so much respect for the folk who came through the war unscathed..or so we think they did..been on the BARRA site many times and to read of the loss of life and the ages of them is heartbreaking..in one instance just a mother survived an air raid...she lost her husband..4 children and mom and dad..how on earth do you pick yourself up from that...wont go into too much detail ie names and addresses but in the early 50s dad was doing his window round in a street that had been heavily bombed..the lady of the house always gave dad a cuppa so he tapped on the door but got no reply..then he noticed that the door was not completely closed so he pushed it open a little and shouted the womans name and then caught a smell of gas..he rushed into the kitchen and found her with her head in the gas oven..dad saved her life but from that day forward she always left the window money on the sill outside and no more cups of tea for dad...what drove this lady to try and take her life we will never know...it may not have been anything to do with the horrors of wartime but im betting it was..

lyn
 
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talking about the war got me thinking again...for 6 long years folk just got on with the task of trying to stay alive and dreading a telegram to say a loved one had been killed or taken a prisoner of war and with it all the hardships they had to endure...no thinking time you see..no time to grieve..then when the war ended it was phew thank god thats all over..followed by weeks of street parties and well deserved celebrations..then reality hits and all the memories come flooding back at what they had lost and who they had lost...some would choose never to talk of the war again and some were quite willing too..everyone is different..as jean said her mom was badly affected and these days help would be given to those who needed it but back then you had to sink or swim...i cant even begin to put myself in these very brave peoples shoes but my admiration for them will always be there...they gave up so much and asked for nothing in return..

lyn
 
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What a sad and poyniant tale Lyn, people who experience such horrors seldom ever outwardly display any emotion but inside their minds are such deep sorrow. Thanks for sharing that with us and what an impact that had on yourself.
paul
 
morning paul and yes when dad told me only a few years ago about the lady he saved it really got me thinking deeply about both ww1 and ww2. and could this be the reason for this ladies state of mind....its easy enough for those of us like myself to look at pics and read up on it and flippently say how awful times were without a real understanding but we must never ever forget...im not sure these days what is taught in schools but i have made sure that my children fully understand that they are only here now because so many gave so much for this country...

lyn
 
A very sad story about lyns dad and the lady who tried to take her life. Mom and Dad used to tell us kids some stories of the impact the war had on them.Not only Mom how her lodgings was destroyed when she was staying at her brothers overnight with my older brother and sister both under 3. When she returned had lost everything. But als Dad who was abroad in the army and witnessing his pals being killed. They got through it though but like many many others were left with the scars of war. No councelling offered in those days.
 
morning topsy and how lucky that your mom was not at her lodgings at the time of the bombings...so very hard for the young mothers to cope without their husbands around...my nan went through both wars she was a teenager during ww1 and lost her husband just before ww2 broke out leaving her with 3 daughters..she never re married and lived to be nearly 101

thanks for telling us topsy

lyn
 
Bless your Nan Lyn, . What a wonderful age to reach after going through all that trauma. Some of our elders were tough cookies when you think about it.
 
My dear old mom always insisted on putting out all lights, and I still do today, my dad always shouted at us kids "Put that Light out, the place looks like crystal palace from out here"
paul
 
I think most who were kids just post WW2 had that type of experience stitcher, same as eat all your food up"Leave clean plates", and mend and make do! etc.
paul
 
I distinctly remember our Mom drawing the 'black out' curtains at night then sending me out to walk round the house to make sure no chinks of light were showing, otherwise the Air Raid Warden would be knocking on the door. Ordinary curtains were not suitable as the light would shine through them. Funny the things that stick in your mind. Eric
 
My Mother was widowed in August 1940 when my Father died leaving her with a 3 year old and 7 months pregnant with me.

Though I was never close to my Mother, I can see that it must have been a very hard time for her to be in that dreadful postion during the war.

Life is so much easier for a single Mother today.
 
rowan said:
My Mother was widowed in August 1940 when my Father died leaving her with a 3 year old and 7 months pregnant with me.

Though I was never close to my Mother, I can see that it must have been a very hard time for her to be in that dreadful postion during the war.

Life is so much easier for a single Mother today.
Click to expand...

Hi Rowan,

Yes, your mother must have been absolutely in despair. August 1940 was probably our darkest hour of the war. We expected that any day the German invasion would begin and the air raids were just starting. We knew we would put up a good fight but, in their hearts, no one really believed we could win

Your mother must have wondered what was to become of her and her two children, one already here and another on the way. It may well have affected her mind.

Take care - Old Boy
 
We had a chimney catch fire one night, and it was a cross between Dad's Army and Faulty Tower's. Dad put it out after much shouting from air raid wardens and as soon as all were satisfied it was out the siren went and the Germans started bombing us.. Regards, David.
 
nh.jpeg I know these next few images are not in Birmingham, but what you see in them was replicated in many parts of the city.
Bomb damage at Westminster, luckily the the occupants of these houses were taking shelter in the Central Methodist Hall
 
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School children carry on with lessons within the safety of an underground shelter.
 
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These things were given enough fuel to reach a certain area of Engand. When the fuel ran out the bomb virtually fell from the sky.
 
One of my relations created this bronze statue "Reconciliation" which now stands in the ruins of the nave. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1334046947.351644.jpg
 
What a great thing for you to have a relative who was involved with that great statue Viv. The demise of Coventry Cathedral is/was known about in other countries, I do not know why because similar dreadful incidents were very widespread. I can confirm this by telling you that I earned a few quid taking taxi passengers to view the ruins on a number of occasions, they used to ask to see "the bombed church in Coventry". I always made a day out of it by encouraging them to see The Triumph M/Cycle works in Meriden as well. When the works were demolished foreigners used to take photos of the Sign where the works used to be and also of the street name plates of the new roads. These passengers were businessmen attending the NEC mainly and were from several countries within Europe. I did have a group of Africaans once who also wanted to see Kenilworth and Warwick Castles on the same day as the Cathedral.
 
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A bomb damaged train, because the name is visable perhaps someone will know where this happened.
 
From Wikipedia:

LNER Class A4 No.4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood was an A4 Class locomotive of the LNER. Originally named Gadwall, it was later renamed Sir Ralph Wedgwood, after the chief officer of LNER for 16 years.

The locomotive, along with B16 class No. 925, were damaged beyond repair during a Baedeker Blitz air raid on York on the night of 28/29 April 1942. The remains of the locomotive were scrapped at Doncaster. 4469's chime whistle was fitted to LNER Class Y8 engine #560. The tender was stored until 1945, then repaired and attached to LNER Thompson Class A2/1 No. 3696.

A plaque was placed on the spot, now within the Great Hall of the National Railway Museum, by the Gresley Society on 29 April 1992, the 50th anniversary of the raid.
 
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I have no information about the first two but there must have been scenes like in Birmingham.
The third one happened in london and just look at the damage a stick of bombs caused.
 
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