I would like to thank local historian and author Neil Holmes
for his contributions to Liverpool Picturebook, in particular for his latest
series of articles which culminates today with this final chapter. I look
forward to sharing more of his work with you in the future.
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| A child sleeps in an air-raid shelter festooned with Christmas decorations, a not uncommon sight in December 1940 |
Today's article is the final one of three, which deals with
the devastation caused to Merseyside by the air raids that came to be known as
the Christmas Blitz. Over the space of a week just before Christmas 1940, over
700 people were killed in the region, making that month the second deadliest on
record. We now conclude that story, with the incidents of the third major night
of that period.
The night of the 22nd/23rd December 1940
For the third consecutive night at this time in 1940,
Merseyside was hammered with bombs. Some of the places hit in Liverpool include
Medlock Street, Ensor Street and the St Anthony's School shelter, where 11
people died, two of them priests. Huskisson Dock and Canada Dock were also hit
during the raid.
Bootle also came under attack, with Langton Dock and
Alexandra Dock hit. Four high explosives were dropped on the town and landed in
the following places:
1) Junction of Malvern Road and Markfield Road
2) Junction of Marsh Lane and Malta Road
3) Near to Carolina and Oregon Street
4) The railway near Kings Road, closing the line between
Seaforth and Liverpool for several days
The photo above shows the damage done by the second of those
bombs. The main focus of the wartime photograph is the shattered remains of a
Welsh Baptist Chapel. Although not obvious on an image of this size, around the
round window is written "Duw Cariad Yw" which stands for "God is
Love"
Since the war the roads off this section of Marsh Lane have
been swept away, leaving no trace of either the chapel or Malta Road. The
original line of the road would have ran to the left of the houses, roughly
where the gateposts are now. In their place the North Recreation Ground (also
known as North Park) has been extended.
Wallasey was also struck again, although on this occasion
only a few bombs were scattered across the borough, a welcome break that was
somewhat surprising as there was still several fires from the previous night's
raid burning fiercely, attracting the enemy's attention.
Crosby also came under attack again. Two high explosive
bombs landed on Cambridge Road, one landed on Waterloo Road and no less than
eight landed in fields in the Little Crosby area. A farm shed on Delph Road was
also struck by high explosives, whilst around seven incendiaries landed
"in woods".
Conclusion
The last act of this period was a report on the night of the
23rd/24th December of bombs landing in the river, opposite the Brunswick Half
Tide Dock. Although they wouldn’t have known it at the time, the people of
Merseyside could breathe a sigh of relief, for the next raid would not occur
until the New Year. This would give the authorities time to rebuild and recover
from a period that had stretched the resources to the limit.
The human cost as has been mentioned was terrible, with the
totals coming to the following:
Liverpool: 412 killed, 382 injured
Birkenhead: 63 killed, 105 injured
Wallasey: 119 killed, 91 injured
Bootle: 108 killed, 93 injured
Crosby: 10 killed, 38 injured
For the family and friends of all these casualties (and for
many others who were made homeless), the festive period was completely ruined.
The impact of the December Blitz must have been felt throughout the region, and
the loss of so many people should be remembered with great sadness.
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