Written by my friend an author, Neil Holmes this article appeared on the site before on the run up to Christmas. It is important to remember how difficult Christmas was for the people of Liverpool during the second world war...
The run up to Christmas Day should be a time of joy and
peace, but for the people of Merseyside, the final few days before Christmas
Day in 1940 were a terrible time. Although the region had been on the receiving
end of enemy raids since early August, these were often sporadic and many were
of limited impact. Over the space of just a week (with most of the damage
coming in just three days) over 700 people were killed across the region. For
most boroughs, the month of December was the second deadliest one of the war.
It is therefore important to tell the story of this terrible period of the
region’s history. Over the next three weeks, I will describe a little of what
happened during this period.
The period began in a minor way, with a small raid on
Birkenhead on the night of the 18th/19th. Bombs fell on Rocky Bank Road in
Tranmere, killing Helena Halliday. Although she lived at number 30, she fell at
number 27. Like many small raids, although unfortunate for Helena and her
family, local residents could be thankful that the bomb did not land on the
nearby Birkenhead Municipal Hospital, better known as St Catherine’s. Had the
hospital been hit, the casualty list would have been much higher.
The night of the 20th/21st December 1940
After a night without incident, the raiders returned in
force for the next three nights. The first raid lasted around 8 hours, with
parachute mines, high explosives and incendiaries dropped on Liverpool. Even
the police reports remarked that "extensive fires broke out and
considerable damage caused".
Amongst the targets in Liverpool struck by incendiaries were
the Town Hall, Municipal Buildings, the Cunard Offices and the Landing Stage,
all of which suffered fire damage. A parachute mine came to earth near the
Adelphi Hotel causing damage to nearby properties.
Another mine landed at Waterloo Dock and killed 9 people,
whilst much of the rest of the North Docks were pelted with high explosives.
Bootle also took a hammering, with the raid commencing with
a scattering of incendiaries that landed between the Docks and Hawthorne Road.
These were followed by high explosives and Parachute Mines which did serious
and extensive damage.
Amongst the roads hit were Keble Road, Queen's Road, Radnor
Drive, Southport Road, Brookhill Road, Morningside Road, Kings Road, Millers
Bridge, Rimrose Road, Hawthorne Road, Gloucester Road, Vaux Crescent, Bianca
Street, Viola Street, Benedict Street, Olivia Street, Berry Street, Pembroke
Road and Aintree Road.
To illustrate the destructive power of the raids and in
particular the parachute mines is this picture, which was taken in Benedict
Street shortly after the raid. It shows numbers 120-136 where five people were
killed during the raid. Another lady in her 80s was killed at number 110. Her
name was Elizabeth Little, and she was a member of the Women’s Voluntary
Services, an organisation that was set up in 1938 to assist civilians during
the air raids. It is an astonishing example of the resolve of local people that
a woman in her 80s would still “do her bit” to help the war effort.
Meanwhile Wallasey took a heavier than normal battering,
with this night representing the start of a three night nightmare that would
end with 121 deaths, 102 serious injuries and 156 light injuries. My current
sources do not break down in most cases which roads damaged on what days, but I
hope to do more research in the new year and be able to track down more
details.
Instead I will provide a snapshot photo from each night's
raid. This image shows Dalmorton Road between numbers 69 and 75. Four people
were killed here during the raid, Marjorie Cain at number 69 and the Finn
Family (Ernest, Winifred and George) at number 71.
In the background of the wartime photograph a barrage
balloon can just be made out, these were deployed to force enemy bombers to fly
at greater heights.
All of the houses have been rebuilt since the war in largely
the same style.
Meanwhile Crosby was hit, with one parachute mine landing at
the rear of 70 Cambridge Road, Waterloo, which luckily failed to explode
immediately, allowing the area to be evacuated (it later exploded in the early
morning of the 22nd).
One high explosive bomb landed in Muspratt's field, two
landed in the grounds of Crosby Hall, and another two on fields near little
Crosby Road. Incendiaries were scattered on Bowersdale Park, Kingsway,
Middleton Road and on the foreshore between Hall Road and a nearby AFS (Auxiliary
Fire Service) station.
In an interesting example of just how precise the Crosby
records are, there is even a mention of an Anti-Aircraft shell falling on 32
Cranfield Avenue, which buried itself so deeply under the house that it was
impossible to remove and so the crater was filled in. Three months later the
shell exploded, damaging drains nearby!
Next week: The entire region comes under heavy attack, with
major incidents in all areas.
