Liverpool Blitz
Encyclopedia
The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing
of the British
city of Liverpool
and its surrounding area, at the time mostly within the counties of Lancashire
and Cheshire
but commonly known as Merseyside
, during the Second World War by the German
Luftwaffe
.
Liverpool, Bootle
, and the Wirral
were the most heavily bombed areas of the country outside of London, due to their importance to the British war effort. The government was desperate to hide from the Germans just how much damage had been inflicted upon the docks, so reports on the bombing were kept low-key. Over 4,000 residents lost their lives during the blitz, dwarfing the number of casualties sustained in other bombed industrial areas such as Birmingham
, Coventry
, and Hull
. This death toll was second only to London, which suffered 30,000 deaths by the end of the war.
Liverpool, Bootle, and the Wallasey Pool
were strategically very important
locations during the Second World War. The large port on the River Mersey
, on the North West coast of England
, had for many years been the United Kingdom's main link with North America
, and this would prove to be a key part in the British participation in the Battle of the Atlantic. As well as providing anchorage for naval ships from many nations, the Mersey's ports and dockers would handle over 90 per cent of all the war material brought into Britain from abroad with some 75 million tons passing through its 11 miles (17.7 km) of quays. Liverpool was the eastern end of a Transatlantic chain of supplies from North America, without which Britain could not have pursued the war.
at the start of the war, in September 1939, was a pre-emptive measure to save the population of urban or military areas from German aerial bombing. The evacuations were organised by Liverpool Corporation and though some children were transported to smaller towns nearby, many went to rural areas in North Wales
and Cheshire
.
This assault continued over the next three nights, then regularly for the rest of the year. There were 50 raids on the city during this three month period. Some of these were minor, comprising a few aircraft, and lasting a few minutes, with others comprising up to 300 aircraft and lasting over ten hours.
28 November saw a heavy raid on the city, and the most serious single incident, when a hit on an air-raid shelter in Durning Road caused 166 fatalities.
The air assault in 1940 came to a peak with the Christmas blitz, a three-night bombardment towards the end of December.
The bombing decreased in severity after the New Year.
May 1941 saw a renewal of the air assault on the region; a seven night bombardment that devastated the city.
The first bomb landed upon Wallasey
, Wirral
, at 22:15 on 1 May. The peak of the bombing occurred from 1 – 7 May 1941. It involved 681 Luftwaffe
bombers; 2,315 high explosive bombs and 119 other explosives such as incendiaries were dropped. Half of the docks were put out of action inflicting 2,895 casualties and left many more homeless.
One incident on 3 May involved the SS Malakand
, berthed in the Huskisson Dock
, which was set alight by a barrage balloon
that had drifted free and had caught upon the ships upperworks. Despite valiant efforts by the fire brigade to extinguish the flames, the fire spread to the ship's cargo of 1,000 tons of bombs, which exploded. The blast destroyed the dock itself and caused a huge amount of damage to the surrounding quays. The explosion was so violent that some pieces of the ship's hull plating were blasted into a park over 1 miles (1.6 km) away; casualties were few.
Bootle
, to the north of the city, suffered heavy damage and loss of life . Over 6,500 homes in Liverpool
were completely demolished by aerial bombing and a further 190,000 damaged.
.
The last German air raid on Liverpool took place on 10 January 1942, destroying several houses on Upper Stanhope Street. By a quirk of fate one of the houses destroyed was number 102, which had been the home of Alois Hitler Jr., half brother of Adolf Hitler
and the birthplace of Hitler's nephew, William Patrick Hitler
. The house was never rebuilt and the whole site was eventually cleared of housing and grassed over.
, located in the city centre, which was destroyed by an incendiary bomb on 5 May 1941. The church was gutted during the firebombing
but remained standing and, in its prominent position in the city, was a stark reminder of what Liverpool and the surrounding area had endured. It eventually became a garden of remembrance to commemorate the thousands of local men, women and children who died as a result of the bombing of their city and region. Other architectural casualties of the Blitz included the Custom House
, Bluecoat Chambers
, and Liverpool Museum. However, many buildings were restored after the War, while the Custom House was unnecessarily demolished.
Those dark days had also been illuminated, too, by bright flashes of heroism. Heroism such as was displayed by a group of ten LMS railwaymen who, heedlessly, took their lives into their hands when, on the night of May 3, an ammunition train in a siding at Clubmoor
was set alight. A 34-year old goods guard, George Roberts GM , was later awarded the George Medal
in recognition of the leading part which he played in this heroic mass life-saving affair, All along the train wagons were exploding, but the men calmly uncoupled the rear section before the flames had spread to it and shunted it out of danger. 34-year old John Guinan, though officially off duty, rushed from his home in nearby Witton Road to the scene of the disaster, and continued uncoupling wagons despite repeated and violent explosions. Signalman Peter Stringer also displayed remarkable courage for, after being blown from his signal-box, he grimly returned to his post to continue with the dangerous and complicated job of shunting.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in May 1941 said after visiting Liverpool and the surrounding area,
"I see the damage done by the enemy attacks, but I also see ... the spirit of an unconquered people."
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
city of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and its surrounding area, at the time mostly within the counties of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
but commonly known as Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, during the Second World War by the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.
Liverpool, Bootle
Bootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
, and the Wirral
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
were the most heavily bombed areas of the country outside of London, due to their importance to the British war effort. The government was desperate to hide from the Germans just how much damage had been inflicted upon the docks, so reports on the bombing were kept low-key. Over 4,000 residents lost their lives during the blitz, dwarfing the number of casualties sustained in other bombed industrial areas such as Birmingham
Birmingham Blitz
The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German Luftwaffe of the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, beginning on 9 August 1940 and ending on 23 April 1943...
, Coventry
Coventry Blitz
The Coventry blitz was a series of bombing raids that took place in the English city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the German Air Force...
, and Hull
Hull blitz
The Hull Blitz was the Nazi German strategic bombing campaign targeted on the Northern English port city of Kingston upon Hull, almost invariably referred to as Hull, during the Second World War...
. This death toll was second only to London, which suffered 30,000 deaths by the end of the war.
Liverpool, Bootle, and the Wallasey Pool
Wallasey Pool
Wallasey Pool was a natural tidal inlet of water that separated the towns of Wallasey and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Originally flowing directly into the River Mersey, it was converted into the sophisticated Birkenhead Dock system from the 1820s onwards by land reclamation, with...
were strategically very important
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
locations during the Second World War. The large port on the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, on the North West coast of England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
, had for many years been the United Kingdom's main link with North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and this would prove to be a key part in the British participation in the Battle of the Atlantic. As well as providing anchorage for naval ships from many nations, the Mersey's ports and dockers would handle over 90 per cent of all the war material brought into Britain from abroad with some 75 million tons passing through its 11 miles (17.7 km) of quays. Liverpool was the eastern end of a Transatlantic chain of supplies from North America, without which Britain could not have pursued the war.
Preparations for war
The evacuation of childrenEvacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
Evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
at the start of the war, in September 1939, was a pre-emptive measure to save the population of urban or military areas from German aerial bombing. The evacuations were organised by Liverpool Corporation and though some children were transported to smaller towns nearby, many went to rural areas in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
.
Beginning of the blitz
The first major air raid on Liverpool took place in August 1940 when 160 bombers attacked the city on the night of 28 August.This assault continued over the next three nights, then regularly for the rest of the year. There were 50 raids on the city during this three month period. Some of these were minor, comprising a few aircraft, and lasting a few minutes, with others comprising up to 300 aircraft and lasting over ten hours.
28 November saw a heavy raid on the city, and the most serious single incident, when a hit on an air-raid shelter in Durning Road caused 166 fatalities.
The air assault in 1940 came to a peak with the Christmas blitz, a three-night bombardment towards the end of December.
The Christmas blitz
A series of heavy raids took place in December 1940, referred to as the Christmas blitz. 365 people were killed between 20 – 22 December. 2009}} The raids saw several instances of direct hits on air raid shelters; on 20 December 42 people died when a shelter was hit, while another 40 died when a bomb struck railway arches on Bentinck Street, where local people were sheltering. On 21 December another hit on a shelter killed 74 people.The bombing decreased in severity after the New Year.
The May blitz
The first bomb landed upon Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
, Wirral
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, at 22:15 on 1 May. The peak of the bombing occurred from 1 – 7 May 1941. It involved 681 Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bombers; 2,315 high explosive bombs and 119 other explosives such as incendiaries were dropped. Half of the docks were put out of action inflicting 2,895 casualties and left many more homeless.
One incident on 3 May involved the SS Malakand
SS Malakand
SS Malakand has been the name of at least two ships, both of the Brocklebank shipping line, named after the Malakand area of the Indian sub-continent.One SS Malakand was a 7,000-ton cargo liner built by Harland & Wolff in 1905...
, berthed in the Huskisson Dock
Huskisson Dock
Huskisson Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England which forms part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Huskisson Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and two branch docks to the east...
, which was set alight by a barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
that had drifted free and had caught upon the ships upperworks. Despite valiant efforts by the fire brigade to extinguish the flames, the fire spread to the ship's cargo of 1,000 tons of bombs, which exploded. The blast destroyed the dock itself and caused a huge amount of damage to the surrounding quays. The explosion was so violent that some pieces of the ship's hull plating were blasted into a park over 1 miles (1.6 km) away; casualties were few.
Bootle
Bootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
, to the north of the city, suffered heavy damage and loss of life . Over 6,500 homes in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
were completely demolished by aerial bombing and a further 190,000 damaged.
End of the blitz
After the raids in May 1941, the German air assault diminished, as Hitler's attention turned towards attacking the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
The last German air raid on Liverpool took place on 10 January 1942, destroying several houses on Upper Stanhope Street. By a quirk of fate one of the houses destroyed was number 102, which had been the home of Alois Hitler Jr., half brother of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the birthplace of Hitler's nephew, William Patrick Hitler
William Patrick Hitler
William Patrick "Willy" Stuart-Houston was the nephew of Adolf Hitler. Born to Adolf's half-brother Alois Hitler, Jr., and his first wife Bridget Dowling, William later moved to Germany and subsequently escaped, eventually going to the United States where he enlisted to fight in World War...
. The house was never rebuilt and the whole site was eventually cleared of housing and grassed over.
Aftermath
Today one of the most vivid symbols of the Liverpool Blitz is the burnt outer shell of St Luke's ChurchChurch of St Luke, Liverpool
St Luke's Church in Liverpool, England, is located on the corner of Berry Street and Leece Street opposite the top of Bold Street. It was designed by John Foster, and construction of the building began on 9 April 1811, with consecration taking place on 12 January 1831.On Monday, 5 May 1941, St...
, located in the city centre, which was destroyed by an incendiary bomb on 5 May 1941. The church was gutted during the firebombing
Firebombing
Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs....
but remained standing and, in its prominent position in the city, was a stark reminder of what Liverpool and the surrounding area had endured. It eventually became a garden of remembrance to commemorate the thousands of local men, women and children who died as a result of the bombing of their city and region. Other architectural casualties of the Blitz included the Custom House
Custom House, Liverpool
The Liverpool Custom House was damaged during the Second World War, and demolished in the late 1940s....
, Bluecoat Chambers
Bluecoat Chambers
The Bluecoat is an arts centre in School Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside, England and claims to be the oldest arts centre in Great Britain. It is a Grade I listed building and is meant to be the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool The Bluecoat is an arts centre in School Lane, Liverpool,...
, and Liverpool Museum. However, many buildings were restored after the War, while the Custom House was unnecessarily demolished.
Those dark days had also been illuminated, too, by bright flashes of heroism. Heroism such as was displayed by a group of ten LMS railwaymen who, heedlessly, took their lives into their hands when, on the night of May 3, an ammunition train in a siding at Clubmoor
Clubmoor
Clubmoor is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council ward.At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 13,387...
was set alight. A 34-year old goods guard, George Roberts GM , was later awarded the George Medal
George Medal
The George Medal is the second level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.The GM was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage...
in recognition of the leading part which he played in this heroic mass life-saving affair, All along the train wagons were exploding, but the men calmly uncoupled the rear section before the flames had spread to it and shunted it out of danger. 34-year old John Guinan, though officially off duty, rushed from his home in nearby Witton Road to the scene of the disaster, and continued uncoupling wagons despite repeated and violent explosions. Signalman Peter Stringer also displayed remarkable courage for, after being blown from his signal-box, he grimly returned to his post to continue with the dangerous and complicated job of shunting.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in May 1941 said after visiting Liverpool and the surrounding area,
"I see the damage done by the enemy attacks, but I also see ... the spirit of an unconquered people."
Notable victims
- Mary LawsonMary Lawson (actress)Mary Elizabeth Lawson was a stage and film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. In addition to her performances on stage and screen, Lawson was known for her romantic affairs, including with tennis player Fred Perry and her future husband, the married son of the Dame of Sark...
, film and stage actress - Francis William Lionel Collings BeaumontFrancis William Lionel Collings BeaumontFrancis William Lionel Collings Beaumont , also known as F. W. L. C. Beaumont or “Buster” Beaumont, was the heir to the Seigneur of Sark, a Royal Air Force officer, film producer and the husband of actress Mary Lawson...
, heir to the Seigneur of Sark and RAF officer
External links
- Photographs
- The May Blitz on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Liverpool Museums, further information
- BBC website with further information
- Additional information on the SS Malakand
- Timeline
- Some details of the Liverpool blitz from first hand accounts and the reason why Edge Hill was a particular target.