BLITZ CRONOLOGY
1940
21 Jan
1st large use of AFS at a fire on board the MV DIOMEDES Gladstone
Dock,
Bootle, 6 AFS P with LFB SAV & CFO Owens also at ship owners request.
8/9 Aug
First bombs dropped on Merseyside at Prenton, Wirral
17/18 Aug
First bombs on Liverpool Brunswick, N Coburg & S Queens docks, LOR, LMS Caryl
St LMS Goods Stn
Grain silo
19/20 Aug
First incendiaries fell on Eaton Rd, Robert Davies Nursing Home
28/29 Aug
Mossley Hill Parish Church seriously damaged
Kingsmead Dv & St Annes Rd, Aigburth hit
29/30 Aug
Damage across the City apart from the Centre
31 Aug / 01 Sep
Custom House set on fire and Fm machine gunned
Surface shelter on Cleveland St hit
2 Cotton warehouse on Vandries St & Stone St badly damaged
03/04 Sep
Kensington
Lark La & Ullet Rd areas
Aigburth Vale High School incendiaries
Lodge La Ropeworks incendiaries
Pollards garage, scent works incendiaries
1
04/05 Sep
Edge Hill Goods station
Lister Dv Power station and surrounding properties
Dunlop rubber works
Tunnel Rd Cinema
Palace Ice Rink
Several churches & schools
05/06 Sep
First use of Flammenbomb [oil bombs] on Liverpool
Claudia St, Walton
Washington St
St James Rd
Liverpool Cathedral - windows broken
Norfolk St
06/07 Sep
Liver Grease Oil & Chemical Co. Norfolk St gutted
Milners Safe Works Smithdown La - 14 ambulances damaged
Liverpool Cathedral
Children‟s Convalescent Home
10/11 Sep
West Derby
Woolton
Speke Rd
11/12 Sep
Belle Vale Rd - oil bombs & HE
12/13 Sep
SW Langton dock
Wellington Rd - two houses demolished
Carnatic Rd - house seriously damaged
14 Sep
Gladstone & Alexandra Docks hit by 1 aircraft with HE & incendiaries
15/16 Sep
Anfield
Fairfield
Walton
Norris Green
Speke Airport fields
Palace Ice Rink
Prescot Rd
Huntley Rd - house demolished
2
3 RAF killed by delayed action bomb
Carlton Cinema, Moss La incendiaries
1 AFS Fm killed at 95 Gt Homer St on 16th
17 Sep
Rootes Factory - daylight raid
Speke houses daylight
Lockerby Rd church
PC killed Currie St
8 AFS firemen killed direct hit on Green La AFS station
18/19 Sep
Walton Goal 22 killed
St Michael‟s station
Brownlow St
Fazakerley Nurses Home
Southwood Rd
19/20 Sep
Walton
Anfield
West Derby - Hilary Rd, Rossmore Gdns
21/22 Sep
T J Hughes store, London Rd
Mersey Underground Railway tube penetrated
Rimrose Rd timber Yard
Alexandra Dock warehouse
Byng St warehouse
23/24 Sep
Minor raids in the north of the City
Walton Park Chapel
Robson St church & houses
24/25 Sep
Glegg St Cotton warehouse
Stanley Dock tobacco warehouse
Silcock‟s Cattle Food Mill
Love La
Gt Howard St
Church St
Parker St
Clayton Sq
26/27 Sep Thur / Fri
1st Large raid on Liverpool
Wapping Dock - GM awarded
]
3
Dukes Dock ]
15 cotton warehouses lost
Kings & Queens Dock
]
Brunswick Dock-fires out of control
Coburg Grain silos saved
Cunard Building
Custom House
MD&HB Building
Brunswick St
Admiralty Store Canning Pl
Highlighted the shortage of and unsuitability (too old) of some fire watchers
Regional Re-enforcement scheme first activated, 221 people killed
LPFB who had gone via the tunnel to assist Birkenhead were withdrawn
27/28 Sep
Gt Homer St houses
Banks Rd School Garston
29/30 Sep
A total of 55 fires requiring 34 LFB & 4 Bootle P, 2 TL & 10 other P [50 in all]
Everton houses
Aigburth houses
Aigburth Free Church gutted
Dukes Dock Warehouse oil cake, grain and flax
1 AFS Fm killed on 30th by a falling wall at Dukes Dock
01 Oct
E Toxteth Dock incendiaries
Mersey Tunnel entrance
07/08 Oct
Gt Mersey St, Welch Chapel demolished & houses
Stanley Rd
Lichfield Rd, Wavertree
10/11 Oct
Knotty Ash
Everton Valley
Mossley Hill
Mill St
Manningham Rd, Anfield
2nd raid
Hogarth Rd
“
Ritz Roller Rink, Catherine St damaged
11/12 Oct
S John St
James St
Redcross St
4
Paradise St
Hanover St
Castle St
Alexandra Dock
Langton Dock - Harbourmasters House
Hill St
2nd raid
Bankhall
“
13/14 Oct
Gladstone Dock
N Hornby Dock
Myrtle Gdns tenements hit by 2 HE, 11 dead
Gadsby St
Woolton Orphanage
16 Oct
Louisa St - 2 shelters hit
Walton
Everton
17 /18 Oct
Fazakerley Sanatorium W Wing demolished
Morrison School - AFS stn UXB
West Derby
18 Oct
Norris Green houses
St Clements Church, Beaumont St
S of City
19 Oct
Tuebrook
High Park St demolished houses
St Silas Church, Dingle
Seaman‟s Orphanage, Newsham Park HE failed to explode
1 AFS Fm killed at Dukes Dock
21 Oct
Rootes Factory area daylight raid 0728
21/22 Oct
Dacy Rd
Priory Rd - 2 trams badly damaged
Aigburth Rd
25/26 Oct
Richmond Park - 3 houses demolished
5
Holy Trinity School, Richmond Park
Old Swan ropeworks
26/27 Oct
Netherfield Rd area poss mines 33 houses 4 pubs seriously damaged
First use of „screaming bombs‟
28 Oct Mon
Dock estate some HE
Near miss by Anglican Cathedral
3 AFS Fm killed N E Queens Dock AFS station hit
29/30 Oct
Thomas St Nos 2 & 4 workshops and warehouse demolished
Telephone Exchange
S Castle St area
Bold St incendiaries
Speke Railway sidings
Garston Matchworks
01/02 Nov
County Rd incendiaries
Gt Howard St incendiaries
E Lancashire Rd incendiaries
St John‟s school, Bootle
04/05 Nov
Townsend Av HE 17 houses damaged
Wavertree Playground
08/09 Nov
Childwall Valley Rd area
Wambo La, North Farm slight damage
12 Nov Tue
Wavertree Rd Post Office
Edge Hill Goods station area
Sidney Pl - 3 houses demolished
Saxony Rd
Edinburgh Rd
Barrage balloons not operational due to high winds, bombers flew at lower levels
14 Nov
1st devastating raid outside London on Coventry
18 Nov Mon
14 HE 111 bombed [9 1946-2035 & 5 2135-22.45] using DR they dropped:
6
5 SC250, 15 SC 250mV, 3 Flam 250, 80 SC 50, 48 SC 50 mV, 48 BSK (1,728IB)
Sefton St Warehouses early am
Guest St
“
Teulon St Anfield - 3 houses demolished, many damaged
Aigburth Vale High School
St Ann‟s School & Church, Aigburth
3/5 Wingate Rd demolished
Aigburth area
Lightning and storms
22/23 Nov
Gt George St area
28/29 Nov Thu / Fri
Major attack by 324 A/C HE-111, DO-17 & JU-88 [1915-0315] Initial raid
incendiaries dropped 860 BSK [30,960 incendiary] & then came 356t of HE inc 151
½t bombs, Flambo & 30 1t parachute sea mines of which 8 failed to explode
Junior Instruction Centre, Durning Rd hit by a mine - building collapsed.164 people in a
basement shelter killed worst single loss of life from bombing in 1940/41 in the UK.
Botanic Pk - mine
Wavertree Rd 1 sq m area 2,000 made homeless, huge fires1.5m cu ft of gas lost at
Wavertree Gas Works
Bootle severe damage
1 AFS Fm killed North Drive off Mill La, Wavertree
29/30 Nov
Rathbone Rd, Wavertree short raid
Then 19 days respite
20/21 Dec Fri / Sat
205 A/C in 8 streams, at 18.36-03.03, 205t of HE [12 SC 1800, 2 SC 1700, 61 SC
1,000, 109 SC 500, 6 LZZ 500, 149 SC 250, 35 LZZ 250, 320 SC 50 & 761 BSK
(27,396) were dropped on Liverpool & Birkenhead
Timber yards at Sandhills La - 35P & 2 Fire Floats
Forth St cotton shed
burned for 26 hours
Forth St cotton warehouse
burned for 16 hours
Dublin St food warehouse
Cunard Building
Town Hall
Municipal Buildings Dale St
1 LPFB killed by HE bomb Juniper St
1 AFS Fm killed on 21st Canada Dock warehouse
9 inc 1 AFS Fm killed Waterloo Dock grain warehouses by parachute mine
3 Birmingham AFS Fm killed at Stanley Dock Warehouse, incorrectly recorded
by CWGS as 24th Dec
Adelphi Hotel - parachute mine
7
Regional Re-enforcement scheme activated, 12 major fires, 57 outside P assisted
on 20th & 82 on 21st 10 going on to Bootle. Liverpool was responsible for their
assisting P as well. Of these Manchester FB despatched 200 men and 30 pumps,
these were recalled on Dec 22 when a major incendiary raid began on Manchester.
Sat 21/22 Dec
299 a/c attacked 1945-04.20dropped 280t of HE [16 SC1800, 2 SC 1700, 61 SC
1,000, 1 LZZ 1,000, 142 SC 500, 3 FLAM 500, 2 LZZ 500, 241 SC 250, 1 FLAM
250, 50 LZZ 250,728 SC 50 & 940 BSK (33,840 IB). The glow from the fires was
seen by 250km away. It was after this raid that Bootle was declared „the most
bombed town‟
St Georges Hall
Bentinck St railway arches - HE hit and collapsed 42 killed
Gladstone Dock
Carriers Dock
Cotton St warehouse
burned for 18 hours
Dunnett St warehouse
burned for 48 hours
Canada Dock
Waterloo Dock
Nelson Dock
Stanley Dock
Princes Dock
Wapping Dock
Kings Dock
Fish Market
Highfield St electricity station
Hatton Garden
Holy Cross Church
North Market
Cazenau St
Prescot St Police station - parachute mine
Bedding factory Prescot St
St Nicholas & Our Lady
Hanover St, Evans Sons Lescher & Webb‟s factory destroyed-1st UK commercial
manufacturers of sulphonamide drugs
RN Store Melia‟s Building Love La - parachute mine
P into bomb crater Roe St
Grafton Rooms
Olympia Theatre
Goodlass & Walls paint factory
Gt Crosshall St
Regional re-enforcement scheme enacted, 180 fires however few water mains failed
A cloudless night
Sun 22/23Dec
Langton Dock
8
Alexandra Dock
1 AFS Fm killed on 22nd Canada Dock
2 Blackpool [22nd & 23rd] 1 Liverpool AFS Fm 23rd killed Huskisson Dock shed
1 AFS Fm died at Trafalgar Dock not due to enemy action
Medlock St - 1 dead
Ensor St Garage - 6 killed
Rootes factory, Speke
Lessons:
A. Shortage of ATV; 294 authorised & 247 on strength, too many off these off the
run -98 mainly due to a shortage of motor engineers in the Workshops.
B. Make better use of regular firemen‟s experience. 2 temp promotions to Insp (DO)
& 20 to Sgt were now made
C. Arrangements for reinforcements were poor
D. Lack of LFB/AFS wireless. Only 1 channel was said to be available and that fully
in use by Police, CO didn‟t want to „change horses in mid stream‟
E. Need for 2 more fire floats - difficult to obtain
F. Shortage of Fire wardens - 2,000 troops drafted in
Cdr Aylmer Firebrace the former CFO of the London County Council brigade had
been given a roving brief by the Home Office on maters of fire defence visited
Liverpool and Bootle.
51 raids in 1940, 26 Firemen killed
1941
01 Jan
CFO Owens‟s awarded the MBE in New Year Honours List
Wed 01/02 Jan
11 Redcross St sack warehouse HE
Mercer Ct
Brunswick Dock HE & parachute mine exploded nearby in the River
03/04 Jan
Newsham Pk allotments
Sandforth Rd houses & stable
single aircraft
“
Very cold weather & snow restricted flying 05-08 Jan
09/10 Jan Thu
4 A/C bombed Liverpool a secondary target, Manchester being the main target
Herculaneum Dock -serious damage
Dingle Oil Depot slight
King Edward St
9
1 AFS Fm killed at Bibby’s Mill on 10th
Mossley Hill Church Vicarage
Broad La
Lorenzo Dv
Blind School, Yew Tree La
Alexandra Dv
Sefton Pk
Chillingham St, Dingle
Thurstane St, Dingle - extensive parachute mine exploded in the air
Huyton PO exchange
Virgil St
White City Greyhound Track
Dutch barn, Holt Farm, Gateacre
Police Stores, Everton Terrace
Everton area incendiaries
Sat 15 Feb
GPO garage, Commercial Rd demolished
Aigburth Vale area
The Fire Precautions Business Premises Order was adopted; vital businesses must
now have provision for combating fires
Then 3 weeks respite
Wed 12/13 Mar Wed / Thu
316 a/c bombed the main targets Birkenhead & Wallasey 21.00-03.09 dropping 303t
of HE, 40 LC 50 parachute flares & 1,782 BSK (64,152 IB) oil storage tanks at the W
end of the W Float were hit, Cammell Lairds yard, mills and granaries.
Some attacked Liverpool with 126 fires in the City
Lace St tenements
1 AFS Fm killed Atherton St, S Castle St a parachute mine exploded into a fire
Central Post Office, Victoria St
Municipal Annexe, Dale St - 1 LPFB, 1 AFS P
S John St telephone exchange - 5 AFS P, HLL, 1 TL
Lancaster House, Old Hall St -1 LPFB, 4 AFS P, HLL
Littlewoods Racing
White Star Bld - 1LPFB, 1AFS P, TL
Glegg St warehouse - 1 LPFB, 1 AFS P
Cotton Exchange
Gas Co, Athol St - 1 LPFB, 2 AFS P
5 Edmund St - 1 LPFB, 3 AFS P
London & Liverpool Laundry, Linton Gv - 1 LPFB, 3 AFS P
Regional Re-enforcement Scheme - 13P [1 Whiston, 2 Widnes, 2 St Helens,
1 Prescot, 2 Newton-le-Willows, 2 Runcorn UDC, 2 Runcorn RDC, 1 Manchester
Area, 3 TL‟s from Southport, Wigan & Birkenhead all ret by 14th
Clear night
10
13 Mar Thu
65 A/C from Luftflotte 3 attacked Liverpool & Birkenhead 21.00-23.03 dropped 58t of
HE & 122 BSK (4,392 IB)
Alexandra Dock shed S3 - SERIOUS
City centre slight
14/15 Mar
Speke
Kirkdale station area 9 HE on sidings
Then 3 weeks respite
07/08 Apr Mon /Tue
59 A/C 22.00-01.30 dropped 65t HE & 13,566 IB, by DR Clydeside was the main
target
Beaconsfield Rd
Menlove Av - 200 incendiaries
Lister Dv - incendiaries
Adoration Reparatrice Convent & adjoining church, Edge La HE
15/16 Apr Tue / Wed
51 A/C attacked Liverpool & Birkenhead, 01.23-03.10 dropped 49.4t of HE [5 SC
1,000, 4 SC 500, 135 SC 250, 4 SD 250, 12 LZZ 250, 94 SC 50] & 8,433 IB, Belfast
was the main target
Everton
Saunby St, Garston
Aigburth
Gt Homer St
City Centre
16 Apr
10 TrP & 100 Fm under Insp Lonsdale sent by Destroyer to Belfast, together with 32
P & 200 Fm from Glasgow, 5 Heavy P & 50 Fm from Preston & 13 P
from Eire.
Crews remained for about a week.
26/27 Apr Sat
92 A/C attacked 22.30-00.53, dropped 113t HE [9 SC 1,000, 15 SC 500, 154 SC 250,
20 SD 50, 65 mines (16 LM‟A‟, 49 LM‟B‟) & 15,336 IB
Townsend Av / Muirhead Av - parachute mines
Wayville Cres, Mossley Hill - incendiaries
Ballantyne Rd - parachute mines
Almost total cloud cover, Churchill visited Merseyside
01 May Thu
43 A/C attacked 22.50-00.08 dropped 48t of HE, 4,032 IB
New Bird St cooked meat factory
Kempston St
11
85 London Rd
Lime St station glass roof
W Brunswick Dock shed
Grafton St
Cazeneau St
Speke Rd bridge
Claremont Rd
Garmoyle Rd
Wellington Rd
Crawford‟s Biscuit factory, Binns Rd - serious fire
02/03 May Fri
65 A/C attacked 21.58-00.15
Dropped 105t of HE [15 SC 1,000, 73 SC 250, 24 FLAM 250, 125 SC50, 13 LMA, 53
LMB] & 6.042 incendiaries
Huskisson Dock
Sandon Dock
Challenor St GWR Depot
Bridgewater St warehouses
Norfolk St warehouse
Chaloner St warehouse
NE Queens dock shed
Brunswick Goods yard
Grafton St
Buckland St
Lumber St
Cornwallis St - parachute mine
U Pownall St rice mill
Duke St, Gas Co
Weaver Buildings, Drury St burnt out
Corn Exchange, Fenwick St HE
S Castle St - parachute mine 2 trams destroyed
Strand St houses
HMS WELLESLEY, Royal Southern Hospital
James St Mersey Railway station
Exchange station
Water St India Building blast damage
Cunard Building blast damage
Georges Dock Building
Mersey Tunnel Building blast damage
Mersey Docks & Harbour Co Building - 17P including Southport & Birkenhead
LOR
U Huskisson St houses
Bedford St HE
London Rd HE
Pembroke Pl HE
Pemberton Rd & Derby La Police station - parachute mine
12
Binns Rd Automatic Telephone Co factory - oil incendiaries
St Brigid‟s Church & crypt - 10 killed
Linnet La, Waverley Rd, Ullet Rd, Mannering Rd, Coltart Rd, Kingsley Rd parachute mine
LOR Wapping station
Bowland Av - parachute mine
Maple Gv - parachute mine
Egerton Rd - parachute mine
Hospital Park Av, Ministry of Pensions - parachute mine
Ibbotson‟s La - parachute mine
Smithdown Rd Cemetery - parachute mine
Church House destroyed by fire
St Athanasius Church, Fountains Rd HE
Chancel St houses
Hunslet Rd & Donsby Rd- parachute mine
Adlam Crescent Railway Signal Works
Childwall Valley Rd HE
Fern Grove HE
1 AFS Fm killed at home 31 Fisher St of U Parliament St on 2nd
1 AFS Fm killed at Grafton St on 2nd
2 AFS killed at Riversdale Rd on 2nd [1 died 3rd in David Lewis Hospital]
4 Police GM awarded for actions at Cornwallis St & 1 for actions at Fountains Rd
Regional re-enforcement scheme
03/04 May Sat
The worst night of the war for Liverpool
298 A/C attacked 22.00-03.40. Dropped 363t of HE [Inc 2 BM 1,000] some
discharged rockets on the ground. 49,706 IB
Air Raid Red 22.30, White 04.50 105 incidents 2300-0000, 59, 0001-0100, 30, 0100-0450
The FB organisation failed utterly, the heavy early attack should have highlighted the
need for reinforcements to be asked for then as they took time to martial
The hour changed that night from BST to DBST, may have caused some confusion.
Rocket, Queens Drive E shaped underground shelter- 30 killed direct hit
Alt St, Princes Pk - 17 houses destroyed
Mill Road Hospital - parachute mine. Whilst the Royal Northern & Southern hospitals
had been evacuated as
they were vulnerable being close to the docks Mill Rd
was still in use and was a main clearing station where ex
Liverpool Corporation
buses were used as ambulances carrying 10 stretcher
patients each to be
evacuated once given initial treatment
C & E blocks demolished by a mine including half the maternity unit, 70 RP Corps
came to assist the Rescue Parties. P Durning Rd & Hospital AFS det.
14
ambulance drivers, 17 staff & about 52 others were killed plus some who died later
of their injuries
GM awarded to Dr L.Findlay the Hospital‟s Medical Supt & OBE to Matron
1 Corporation Driver killed at Mill Rd Hospital
13
The planes 2nd mine (2 carried to „balance up the bomber‟) probably landed on
nearby Plumpton St. Sgt Garrigan awarded a GM there for rescue work
College St North/Westbourne St hit at 0110 by a parachute mine
St Mary‟s Highfield St destroyed
Gildart Gardens shelter hit
Addison St school - shelter hit
St Martins Market Hall (Paddy‟s Market)
Cazeneau St Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Market, destroyed
St Sylvester‟s church, Sylvester St destroyed
Creswick St - 22 killed
St Mary‟s Walton hit by a few incendiaries yet destroyed FB took 45 mins to attend
Walton Goal - 12 prisoners killed
Rice La Walton Police station
Index St, Walton - 43 killed by a parachute mine
Walton houses
Anfield Rd School
Leyfield Rd school
Grayson Rollo Clover Docks Ltd works, Sandhills
Kinross Mill
Tillotson‟s, Vauxhall Rd
Kirkdale Railway station
St Andrews Church Hall - Rest Centre 6 WVS killed whilst washing up & 31 others
Henry St Leyton Paper Mills
Church St Tatler Cinema
Lewis‟s Dept store hit 0044 sprinklers destroyed and a bomb broke the main in the
street outside. Oil bombs used and embers spread the fire to Blacklers store which
was also lost as was much surrounding property. No 17 P from Speke attended
0055
Central Station
SS Malakand, with 1, 000 t of high explosive bombs on board at 2230 a burning
barrage balloon fell onto her No 1 hatch. This fire was put out but incendiaries
set
the adjoining dock shed alight and the fire spread to the ship. At 07.30 the first of 2
huge explosions took place exploded and devastated Huskisson No2 Dock.
Huskisson Dock AFS attended with 2 TrP one of which
failed after 20 mins
then an AFS MP from Speke arrived 0100 and attacked
the shed fire which
prevented access to the ship. ATV & TrP from St
Helens also sent (crew
included George Eglin later a Liverpool Echo writer) but they were diverted to a
warehouse fire in Effingham St, Bootle, no
other appliances were sent as the
RN had ordered the salvage vessel
„SALVOR‟ to assist; she arrived in the
vicinity just as the first
explosion
occurred. Captain Kinley & Sect Off John
Lappin of the AFS had gone to Hatton Garden for assistance & met the CFO who
sent the SAV which had cutting gear to help sink the ship. SAV with Sgt 18 Riley,
307H Smith, 387 H Hemmings , 397H Woodhead and a policeman attended. A
ships lifeboat
was being prepared to allow access to the hull to cut holes in
her and sink her
when the explosion occurred. 1 AFS Fm killed
1 AFm Died in Hospital
Fire Float Morag sunk in Huskisson Dock
14
Prince‟s Dock
Riverside station
Dukes Dock
Canning Dock
Salthouse Dock
E Wapping Bain
Gower St Stewarts warehouse
N Kings Dock SS Clan McInness
Wholesale Fish Market
William Brown St library destroyed
Liverpool Salvage Corps HQ Station hit 0012, 3 Salvagemen & 3 family killed and
ST damaged (DCSO Maj Hodgson, Supt Harry Cooke, SM Howell Jones & Mrs
Allister)
Victoria St Government offices destroyed-still a bomb site
Victoria St Inland Revenue Building
Victoria St Central Post Office destroyed 6P (5 LFB, 1 AFS), 4TL, HLV, MDU)
India Buildings - P with 4 firemen inc Fm Bob Owens
Magistrates Court
James St
Blue Coat Chambers
South John St severe damage
South Castle St entire are destroyed
Custom House gutted
Paradise St
Fenwick St Corn Exchange destroyed with Weaver Builds
Central, Bank & North telephone exchanges in Castle St lost with 22,000 lines 25 of
Liverpool‟s total. BEM to Night Supervisor. No phones in area after 0130
Oriel St Liverpool Central Oil Co destroyed
Caltrop‟s Lucky Star Mills with 300,000 jute sacks and 2,800t of animal feed, James
Crean‟s destroyed
J. Bibby & Sons Banastre St meale warehouse
Pall Mall wool & tobacco warehouses
Cheapside Peerless Refining Co, destroyed
2354 Littlewood‟s parachute factory, 3 firewatchers killed,
Tyrer‟s Wine Distillery Elam & Co Printers on Hanover St destroyed P from Speke, 2
AFS P, AFS HLL
Evans & Sons Lescher & Webb factory destroyed again
Goodlass & Walls paint factory - P & 2 AFS P Hatton Garden
Cottle‟s bakery Duke St 3 trapped in basement and could not be rescued in time,
Breck Road railway sidings ammunition train set on fire GM to Guard George
Roberts, 3 BEM to other railwaymen. No 11 P from Derby La & later 2 AFS P
Alexandra, Canada, Langton Dock sheds
Breckside Corporation Depot
Hermia St - parachute mine
Stanley Rd - parachute mine
Fountains Rd - parachute mine
Newman St - parachute mine
15
Carisbrooke Rd - parachute mine
Margaret Rd - parachute mine
Index St - parachute mine
Peter Rd - parachute mine
Dallas Gv - parachute mine
LOR again
Rose La Sudley Rd School
Smithdown Rd Council Depot
Law Society library
At 01.23 sixty fires said to be burning in the City, 56 in the suburbs & 3 in the docks,
119 in all per the Home Office, viewed now as a serious understatement
1 AFS Fm killed at Townsend La
1 AFS Fm killed at Kirkdale Station on 3rd
2,600 troops were drafted in to help with the clear up
Sun 04 May
The timber yard fire at Sandhills spread to affect the Salvage Corps North station
Many fires still burning & UXB abounded.
SS Malakand exploded shortly after 0745, followed by a 2nd less serious one. Still
only 1 AFS P in attendance. SAV crewed by Sgt Smith, Sgt Riley & PC 387‟H‟
Hemming had just arrived. Blast spread cakes of Lever Bros green soap over a
wide area 1 AFS Fm killed in MALAKAND explosion
20-30 in all killed including a couple incinerated in a car, a seaman on the SS Clan
McWhirter and 5 workmen in a shelter by the LOR
Regional re-enforcement scheme was enacted 01.00 on the 4th
3TL, 100P, 300 man relief, 4 HLL, 4 Petrol Vans, 4 Mobile Canteens, 10 Special
Officers
For the first time salt water steel above ground mains were laid, trams could not
cope with these and they were disruptive to traffic
Manchester WVS called in to support the feeding of rescue and fire parties
By night 6 large fires were still burning
04/05 May Sun / Mon
55 A/C attacked 00.30-03.30. Dropped 57t of HE, 11,563 IB, Belfast was the night‟s
main target
St Sylvester‟s infants & junior schools
Bankfield Cold Store, Brunswick Pl
Mulberry ST Nurses Home
Gt George St Belgians Seaman‟s Hostel
Catherine St houses
Fairy St houses
Mountjoy St
Magnum St houses
Northumberland St clinic
Walton La School
Scotland Rd Rotunda Theatre
16
Athol St Gas Works direct hit
Hadfield‟s Fertiliser Works
Bingley Rd 4 houses destroyed
Anfield football ground
Mon 05/06 May
27 A/C attacked 00.25-02.15, Dropped 34t HE, 6,228 IB
Clydeside was the main target
No2 Ward Royal Infirmary
Pembroke Pl T J Hughes store
St Silas Church, Pembroke Pl - severely damaged
Coburg Dock Av, Dining Room - severely damaged
Northumberland St tenements
Lodge La - houses
Christian St Public House
Glasgow St Emido Flour Mill
Walton La Council school hit by a mine at 0140
Rotunda Theatre, Scotland Rd
Gt George Sq
Harvey St houses
Smithdown Rd houses
St Nicholas & Our Lady Church
Lancelot Hey warehouse
W Kings Dock shed
S Canning Dock shed
Hardy St chemical works
Park La chemical works
52 S Castle St
Gt George St Congregational Church
Dukes Grain warehouse
Renshaw St - serious fires
Duke St Gas Co and houses - serious fires
Bold St
Colquitt St
F L Calder College of Domestic Science
Anglican Cathedral - slight
Park La Salvation Army Hostel
1 AFS Fm killed at Leeds St
Regional re-enforcement scheme - large scale reinforcements made all the
difference
Thick cloud
Tuesday 06 May
The Regional Commissioner Sir Harry Haig became alarmed by fresh
outbreaks of fire after he thought all were under control and asked the Home
Secretary to send someone who could take executive control of the LFB. Cdr
17
Firebrace had been in Liverpool since the afternoon of the 4th and he was
chosen.
MV MAHOUT still on fire with a dangerous cargo and 2P from Westminster Rd plus
the CT from Banks Rd were sent, the latter made foam for 2 hours and the fire was
extinguished.
Inner, Middle & Outer cordons set up by the Police.
06/07 May
27A/C attacked 00.10.-01.35
Dropped
Hatton Garden GPO parcel office
Oxford St Heart Hospital
Abercromby Sq St Catherine‟s Church destroyed
Kensington HE
Mill St Wilson‟s Flour mill
Mill St Police stn incendiaries
Moses St, PC Tarbuck awarded BEM 6 killed
Custom House destroyed - Salford‟s TL & fire float Silver Foam used
Bents Brewey Johnson St
Dale St Blast damage Liverpool, London & Globe also affected Town Hall
Albert Dock warehouses
S Queens & Coburg dock sheds damaged
S. Dingle oil jetty hit and pipes ruptured. AFS P, No11 P Derby Land & CT Banks Rd
together with VIGILANT attended, last 2 not needed
N Brunswick Dock Police hut
E Harrington dock shed
W Harrington dock shed
S Coburg dock shed
Charters St engineering works destroyed
LOR
Town Hall scars visible today from a small bomb in High St
Landing Stage & Ferry Goods station
Brunswick Gardens tenements
Cheshire Lines station Brunswick Dock
Regional re-enforcement scheme 300 outside P in use
Killed in Liverpool between 1-6 May 1,046, 850 on 3/4
Wed 07 May
Firebrace attended the Liverpool Emergency Committee meeting, having taken
charge of Liverpool and Bootle FB‟s. London did things differently but not
necessarily better, local officers were however very tired and needed some relief
07/08 May
166 A/C attacked 00.10- 03.40. Dropped 232t HE [ 44 SC 1,000, 47 SC 500, 446
SC/SD 250, 9 LZZ 250, 6 FLAM, 547 SC/SD 50, 8 Type „A‟ & 18 Type B mines] &
29,064 IB
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2nd worst night of the blitz, Merseyside the main target Air Raid Red 00.02
72 a/c diverted most of 1st wave to Hull due to the weather over Liverpool
Regional Re-enforcement Scheme implemented
Bryant & Mays match factory in Litherland, the largest in Europe destroyed
Bootle General hospital, Linacre La (in the old isolation hospital) A fleet of 10
stretcher ambulances (converted buses) arrived at 0300 to evacuate the patients
Bootle ARP HQ Knowsley Rd wrecked
Marsh La mortuary, in the old baths destroyed with 180 bodies
Marsh La station
Stanley Rd bridge
Johnson‟s dye factory
Langdale Mills, Stanley Rd destroyed
Merseyside Food Products margarine works severely damaged
Stanley Rd Metropole Theatre, destroyed
ARP shelter under the Co-Op hit and a side wall blown out causing the roof to
collapse 30+killed inc some fighting a nearby fire
Bootle Town Hall and environs hit
Bootle Boys Secondary School
Lambeth Rd School
Harland & Wolff
Knowsley Rd Scott‟s Bakery
E block Walton gaol
Walton Hospital
St Alexander‟s church finished off
Kirkdale carriage sidings
St Martin‟s market
Gildart Gardens - serious fire
Dickson St stables - serious fire
Juniper St distillery
Beatrice St shelter hit
Norris St shelter hit
Pembroke Pl workshop
Fairclough La builders yard destroyed
Scotland Rd houses
Sandholme St - parachute mine
Teulon St - parachute mine
AFS P & Lancs County Police Mobile Canteen destroyed
Townsend St warehouse demolished
Townsend St Sacred Heart Convent & Church
Grundy St Sandon Motor Works
Forth St AFS station seriously damaged
Morris & Jones provision warehouse 4P + AFS P Ilkeston, P Congleton, TL Macclesfield
Strand Tower Building
Sir Thomas St, Morris & Jones warehouse
Pembroke Place
Municipal annex, Dale St
N Docks hit
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Canada Dock shed
Gladstone Dock sheds at 0412 - 22 fires on the dock estate
Daffodil Rd, Wavertree parachute mine
2 Bolton AFS Fm killed at Boundary St
Regional re-enforcement scheme
No raids for 3 weeks until the 28th May
11 May
Firebrace prepared a critical report. On comms, reinforcement procedures & water
supplies. Despite the loss of phone lines the RN had over 400 direct lines to
Western Approaches HQ in Derby House and the Police bomb proof radio station in
Allerton was available
Under Reg 29A of The Defence Regulations 1940 the Minister of Home security
could make all appointments in a local authority which related to Civil Defence
26 May
Firebrace left and his deputy Supt APL Sullivan from London was appointed as
A/CFO until 16 Aug when NFS formed.
Sullivan speeded up the installation of surface pipelines and water tanks, Sector
posts were abolished and all P kept at the AFS stations, the 2 docks divisions were
abolished and the AFS took over the manning of the 8 District Control Rooms
freeing senior officers to attend fires.
A direct line was installed between Hatton Garden and the Regional Commissioner‟s
Office in Manchester
Additional telephonists to cope with the increased volume of calls
More fire floats, ATV, cars and M/C.
Reinforcing procedures overhauled, instead of OIC at an incident saying assistance
required & the District Officer deciding what to send the OIC would specify what he
required as was the case in London.
500 conscripted men posted to the Liverpool AFS
29 May
Croxteth Estate fields
Beaumont St 8 houses damaged
31 May
N Coburg Dock shed
NW Toxteth Dock shed
NE Brunswick Dock shed
Coburg grain silos
Stanley Park Av HE
Pinehurst Av HE
01 June
Gladstone Dock area
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N Alexandra Dock No 3
NW Hornby Dock shed
County Rd HE
Breeze Hill HE
25 June
Macketts La, hut in nursery destroyed
NE Princes Dock locomotive shed
W Waterloo Dock
Rose Hill incendiaries
Linner Rd, Speke
24 July
Raid no damage
AA shell damage County Rd & Everton
18 AUG NFS ESTABLISHED
12 Oct
Nuisance raid on outlying areas of Huyton & Ormskirk
22 Oct
Raid no damage
01 Nov
Croxteth Estate cottage
Total 25 raids, 14 Fm killed
1942
10 Jan Sat
4 HE bombs
111/119 U Stanhope St destroyed
Stanhope St houses
Princes Rd, St Margaret‟s Church
15 killed
09 Aug
Flares only over Norris Green were dropped the last visit by enemy bombers no raid
In all 509 alerts on Merseyside with 90 air raids,
77 on Liverpool
1940 51 (1 severe)
1941 25 (5 severe)
1942 01
26 Fm killed
14 Fm killed
-
There were 5 mass internments of bodies all at Anfield Cemetery.
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2 in Dec 1940 & others on 13th, 17th & 23rd May.
In all 2,736 were killed in Liverpool & 424 in Bootle by air raids.
In the UK in WW2 60,000 civilians killed half in Gtr London & 4,000 on Merseyside.
The worst material losses to the nation was the timber also 7% of the UK‟s cattle
feed oilcake stock was lost in May. An inland timber sorting depot at Simonswood,
Kirkby was opened Jan 1941 as a consequence; it was viewed as less vulnerable,
being away from the docks.
At least 1 large shelter still exists under Wavertree Pk, Edge La
53,109 people in 6,226 street fire parties by May 1941
6,191 stirrup pumps
50,000 fire watchers at commercial premises
16,000 fire watchers at 10 dormitory depots
The School of Instruction in Norton St & at 52 huts erected around the city trained
over 105,000 people
The LPFB /AFS trained 4,000 to man 136 TrP
Shelter spaces
Public
Domestic
MAY 1940
55,585
366,731
MAY 1944
80,204
700,510
Water mains - 700 repairs in May 1941, main workshops in Pall Mall gutted
Gas mains over 500 breaks
German bomb types:
Sprengbombe-Cylindrish
thin cased GP bomb 55% explosive
50kg
GP
100kg
GP
250kg
GP
500kg
GP
1,000kg
GP
Hermann
1,800kg
GP
Satan
8‟ 11” long
Sprengbombe-Dickwandig
thick cased semi-armour piercing 35% explosive
Fragmentation spreading shrapnel to 1,000m
1,000kg
SAP Esay
1,400kg
SAP Fritz
„Langzeitzunder‟ LZZ = Long time delay fuse which could be added to the above
1kg
Incendiary
usually carried in BSK „Breadbaskets‟ 3 panelled
aluminium containers which held 36 bombs.
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Released from the grey green canisters 5
secs after being dropped. Alternatively 5
could be fitted to the casing of larger bombs
eg; Satan. Some were fitted with an antipersonnel charge. An HE 111 could carry
1,152 in „Breadbaskets‟ one of which was
dropped every 50m.
500 kg
1,000kg
Sea Mine A ) Luftmine
Sea Mine B ) 20% failed to explode -fuses had not been set
for land use
60 litre
500
250
Flammenbomb
Oil or oil & petrol, gave out twice as much heat as an
incendiary but would usually burst on roofs, had little
penetration capability
The original 2 beam system „KNICKEBEIN‟ [crooked leg] was in part replaced from June
1940 by the 4 beam „X-GREAT‟ system, using Lorenz receivers.
KGr-100 was re-rolled as a Pathfinder Group from June 1940 after service in Norway.
Typically 11 or 12 aircraft would mark a target with IB.
Aircraft types:
Heinkel 111
Junkers 86
Dornier 217
Messerschmitt 110
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