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North-East Diary
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Incidents28th April 1941 to |
15.30.. Northumberland.. Enemy plane machine-gunned a ship in Amble Harbour. No casualties.
15.43.. Northumberland.. Spittal.. Aircraft machine-gunned gun site of 310 Coastal Battery, Royal Artillery. Four HE dropped. Two in sea. One exploded in the Mill of Johnson and Darling Ltd after passing through four gas-chambers in the North of England Chemical Works (Sandstell Road, Spittal). Fourth bomb on common between East Street and Main Street. One person seriously injured, fifteen suffered shock and cuts; all treated at Spittal First Aid Post. Nine taken to and detained at Berwick Infirmary. Damage to North of England Chemical Works, Johnson and Darling's Manure Works, J.J. Cunningham's Manure Works. Nine dwelling houses badly damaged, seventy houses and seventeen shops with window and roof damage, nineteen other buildings damaged. Three windows broken at Spittal Police Station [NU0051].
Day 604. All times BST. Blackout ends: 05.04, begins: 21.04
Minor bombing incidents took place in the north of England, where a factory was damaged and casualties reported.
Night 604. All times BST. Blackout begins: 21.04, ends: 05.02
'SS Kalua' (722t) was attacked and sunk by enemy aircraft off the Tyne, ½ a mile NNE of the T2 Buoy at 55°00'02"N - 01°17'34"W.
Day 605. All times BST. Blackout ends: 05.02, begins: 21.06
Northumberland.. Bombs were reported to have been dropped at Tynemouth.
Night 605. All times BST. Blackout begins: 21.06, ends: 05.00
A Junkers Ju 88A, shot down by Spitfires of 72 Squadron, during a sortie to Whitley Bay, crashed into the sea off the Farne Islands at 15.00. The crew were all killed.
Day 606. All times BST. Blackout ends: 05.00, begins: 21.08
Public Alert: 15.08, All-Clear: 15.29
Co Durham.. Two people were killed in an incident centred around North Sands, West Promenade, Hartlepool.
Night.. Bombs were reported in Yorkshire.
Night 606. All times BST. Blackout begins: 21.08, ends: 04.57
Public Alert: 22.14, All-Clear: 23.12
1/506 Junkers Ju 88A-1 (0715). Believed shot down by Spitfires of No 72 Squadron during a sortie to Whitley Bay, and crashed into the sea off Farne Islands at 15.00. Lt H. Jark, Fw K. Pahnke and Uffz J. Schaare killed. Body of Obergefr J. Schumacher recovered from the sea and buried at Brandesburton. Aircraft S4+JH lost.
Day 607. All times BST. Blackout ends: 04.57, begins: 21.10
23.30.. Northumberland.. Eleven HEs and two Oil IBs fell on Clintburn Moor, Wark on Tyne [NY711804], [NY710790]. No damage.
Night 607. All times BST. Blackout begins: 21.10, ends: 04.55
Public Alert: 23.34, All-Clear: 23.49
'SS Nyula' (48t) was being used as a harbour defence vessel when she sank after a collision, she lies in 26 metres of water, two miles E of South Shields pier at 55°00'32"N - 01°20'38"W.
Day 608. All times BST. Blackout ends: 04.55, begins: 21.12
Bombs fell at Newcastle and at Port Clarence and Portrack in Co Durham and Middlesbrough in Yorkshire.
Newcastle.. A number of IBs fell on the town moor and the west end of Newcastle.
02.55.. Co Durham.. One UXB in River Tees at Port Clarence.
Co Durham.. Four HEs fell in fields at Saltholm Farm, Portrack, no damage.
Yorkshire.. Incidents at Middlesbrough.
Night 608. All times BST. Blackout begins: 21.12, ends: 04.53
Public Alert: 23.30, All-Clear: 00.13
Bombs fell at Newcastle, Tynemouth, Throckley, Catcleugh, Morpeth, Lynemouth, Gosforth, Clifton and Stannington in Northumberland, Sunderland, West Hartlepool, Gateshead, Tees Bridge Roundabout at Billingham, Lambton Park, Castletown, Ryhope and South Shields in Co Durham and York and Hull in Yorkshire.
00.30.. Newcastle.. One HE on premises of Javel Group at the edge of the Quay, fifteen feet from the High Level Bridge. Small damage to old industrial property and surrounding derelict property. Quay wall damaged for short distance. Rail traffic diverted until bridge examined.
Newcastle.. Three HE on the town moor, two on north side and one on south side of Ponteland Road about 100 yards west of junction with Grandstand Road. Craters about 20 feet across.
01.05.. Newcastle.. Twelve IBs Westfield, Oakfield Road and Woodlands, Gosforth. Two houses extensively damaged by fire. Inquiry into how fires got out of control reveals that one house was boarded up and internal doors locked.
01.15.. Newcastle.. Number of IBs on north of city, between Forsyth Road and Moorfield, no fires started. IBs Nuns Moor and Kenton Moor, UXIB at Dukes Moor.
23.30.. Northumberland.. One HE Westway, Walbottle Dene, Throckley, twelve houses damaged but habitable.
23.30,. Northumberland.. One HE in a field south of Clifton Colliery [NZ201830]. Bungalow damaged.
23.30.. Northumberland.. One HE Glororum Farm, Stannington district. Extensive damage to two cottages and to buildings at West Clifton Colliery.
23.45.. Northumberland.. Four HEs Cross Cleugh Fell, Catcleugh [NT693034] - near to the reservoir, but on open fell. One UXB exploded 12.40 on 4th.
00.10.. Northumberland.. Lynemouth.. 200 IBs in Dalton Avenue, Albion Terrace, Schoolyard, Eden Terrace, Chester Square area. Two seriously injured and six slightly injured. Five houses slightly damaged.
Northumberland.. North Shields.. Tyneside's worst incident of the war occurred when HEs fell on North Shields; one scored a direct hit on Wilkinson's Lemonade Factory at the corner of George Street and King Street, North Shields, where 190 people including many women and children were sheltering in the basement, 105 people died. Whole families were wiped out, including one of six. A soldier was called upon to identify his wife and four children, aged from two to fourteen. One of the heroines of this ghastly night was Mrs Ellen Lee, a woman warden who, although badly burned about the face, rescued thirty-two people from the shelter.
Of the other HEs that fell on North Shields, a single HE dropped on George Street, between Church Street and Queen Street. A single HE fell on the railway embankment near to Stephenson Street and a single HE fell at the high water mark on The Flatts. There was major property damage.
Gateshead.. A firewatcher died when HE hit Sowerby's Ellison Glassworks at Teams in Gateshead, also HE fell on Saltwell Park.
23.03-03.13.. South Shields.. Shortly before the siren sounded, approximately 600 incendiary bombs were dropped between the Stadium, Westoe and the Horsley Hill Estate. The few small fires which resulted were put out by the Street Firefighting Parties. No HE bombs were dropped in this raid.
23.45-01.11.. Sunderland.. Wear Street - Thompsons Saw Mill - 'SS Empress Surf' - South Dock area. Seventeen people were killed, fourteen seriously injured and thirteen slightly injured, when twelve HEs and many IBs fell in the above area. Eighty-five people were rendered homeless. Three large HEs straddled Fulwell, destroying the Caretaker's house at Redby Schools which was completely demolished, the school premises were also seriously damaged. In Duke Street, shelters were no match for the power of the bomb where Mr and Mrs Anthony Storey were killed together with their daughters Audrey (four) and Edith (thirteen months). A Mr and Mrs Frederick Forster were also victims, while 200yds. away in Westcott Terrace another nine lay dead. A retired policeman returned to his home in Westcott Terrace after a firewatching duty, and found his house in ruins and his seventy year old wife and forty year old daughter dead.
Fires were started, industrial damage was slight. Little damage was caused by two HEs on the South Docks and one HE at Clarke's Farm, Grangetown. Other HEs fell in the Fulwell and Roker areas, houses were demolished in Osborne Street and Fulwell Road. IBs caused damage in Hendon Road, Adelaide Place, Hedworth Terrace, Wear Street, Howick Street, Lawrence Street and Avon Street.
Sunderland thanked for assistance to Kingston upon Hull Fire Service May 8/9th.
An attack between 23.20 and 02.25 on a target area that stretched from Hartlepool to West Hartlepool and onto the northern part of Middlesbrough by twenty German aircraft which dropped thirty-two tons of HE and 2,160 IBs.
23.20-02.00.. Co Durham.. Chester le Street.. IBs fell at Lambton Park causing fires in woods. HEs thought to have fallen as windows were broken.
Co Durham.. Many IBs fell at Castletown, some explosive type, and HEs dropped between East Boldon and Castletown. Damage to house and shop windows.
Co Durham.. IBs fell at Ryhope causing fires to houses. A boy sustained injury to leg. Two HEs fell at Ryhope Colliery, no damage.
Co Durham.. Six HEs fell in vicinity of Tees Bridge roundabout, Billingham on A.1046 causing damage to fences and road. Two did not explode but did so later.
Co Durham.. West Hartlepool.. Two dead, two injured. Four HEs fell in field at Hart, causing damage to fences. Two did not explode but did so later. One HE fell at the rear of the Royal Hotel and two others on LNER property north of the passenger station. Hotel severely damaged and railway blocked. Gas and water main fractured, telephone and electric wires damaged. One HE fell on the Greyhound Stadium demolishing offices and grandstand. Two night-watchmen buried under wreckage and found to be dead on recovery. Blast caused damage to Cinema, Police Station and ARP Control Room. Fire broke out at Stadium but was quickly extinguished. One bomb fell on Slag Heap at South Durham Works causing damage to works railings only but a large amount of damage caused to residential property. Number of casualties through flying glass. Three other HEs fell at Throston Grange, without causing damage. Numerous IBs fell, some of the explosive type causing several fires.
23.50.. Hull.. One PM and one GM dropped on Alexandra Dock, Marfleet Lane. The GM damaged the Marfleet works of Messrs J.H. Fenner, belting manufacturers, which caught fire. There was damage to Alexandra Dock, industrial and railway property, with several outbreaks of fire. One person was seriously injured.
Yorkshire.. Bombs were also dropped at York.
Clocks go forward by one hour at 01.00..
Night 609. Blackout begins: 21.14 BST, ends: 05.21 DST
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 23.12 BST, All-Clear: 04.11 DST
Industrial Alarm: 23.10 BST, Release: 01.05 BST
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 23.10 BST, All Clear: 04.00 DST
'SS Royston' (2,722t) cargo ship, Hartlepool to London with coal was damaged by enemy aircraft and sank the following day in tow, off Spurn Point.
Day 610. All times DST. Blackout ends: 05.21, begins: 22.46
01.30.. Northumberland.. One HE in field at Westerheugh Farm, Stamfordham [NZ076741].
01.00.. Co Durham.. One HE and several IBs fell between Stanhope and Blanchland road W of Edmundbyers setting fire to fell. No further damage.
Co Durham.. One HE was dropped in a field between Cornsay and Esh Winning causing no damage or injury.
Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Hull.. An attack by seventeen enemy aircraft on dock installations at Hartlepool, started single fires, the raid lasted from 00.20 until 02.45. Middlesbrough was attacked at the same time. The bomb load on both centres totalled twenty-eight tons of HE and 5,616 IBs. Bombs also fell on Hull.
A Junkers Ju 88 landed on the sea following engine failure off Bridlington at 00.15. The crew were rescued and captured by a passing ship, the aircraft sank and was lost.
Another Junkers Ju 88 was shot down by a night fighter and dived into houses at 13-15 High Street, Idle, Bradford at 00.45. Two civilians were killed and two died later from their injuries, two others were also injured. The crew baled out and were captured.
Night 610. All times DST. Blackout begins: 22.46, ends: 05.19
Public Alert: 00.12, All-Clear: 03.45
Industrial Alarm: 00.30, Release: 02.52
Some 386 enemy planes passed over the area in waves of about thirty every seven minutes or so, they were to 'blitz' Clydeside. At Newcastle, enemy aircraft were overhead for most of the alert period. Bombs fell at Newcastle, North Shields and Cullercoats in Northumberland, Cleadon, Annfield Plain and Blaydon in Co Durham and Hull in Yorkshire.
01.30.. Newcastle.. Twelve HEs in Heaton, Byker, Battlefield areas. Three were delayed-action type and exploded after a few minutes. Fifteen houses seriously damaged. Damage to east end police station. HE at Apollo Cinema which was demolished, also damage to buildings in Shields Road West, Addison Street, Molineux Street, Tarset Street, Lime Street (three bombs - two in roadway, one on Newcastle Co-op, which was severely damaged), Shipley Street where all the fatalities occurred, Headlam Street and Fairless Street. Anti-personnel bombs did much damage to houses in Sandyford Road.
01.30.. Newcastle.. IBs in Goldspink Lane, Sandyford set a warehouse on fire, IBs also in Back Goldspink Lane, Doncaster Road and on Benton Golf Course. Fires were all brought under control in a short time. Four fatal casualties, thirteen seriously injured and twenty-three with minor injuries. Homeless were cared for at Victoria Jubilee Schools, Union Road for Byker area and St Dominic's School for Battlefield area.
Newcastle.. An AA shell fell on a surface shelter at the back of Dinsdale Road, and another fell unexploded in Kirsop Street, Jesmond Vale.
Northumberland.. Six people were killed in Heaton Terrace, North Shields and three in Garden Square, Cullercoats.
02.20.. Co Durham.. A single HE dumped from the Heinkel which crashed at Whorlton Park (see below) fell near the top of Shibdon Dene near the end of Widdrington Road (Quarry Gardens near Rydal Mount) and near to an air raid warden's post. The damage done to houses was as follows:- Totally destroyed, nil but demolition was necessary for three - Seriously damaged, but still useable, fifty-eight - Seriously damaged and evacuated, forty - Slightly damaged (excl. windows) 463. Forty-two people needed treatment at the First Aid Post.
00.50.. Co Durham.. Two HEs dropped in fields at Cleadon causing damage to doors and windows in nearby property. No casualties.
Co Durham.. One HE fell on fell land at Annfield Plain. No injuries or damage.
23.40.. Hull.. A medium sized HE fell on the King George Dock, damaging a warehouse. There was also some railway damage but no casualties.
Hull.. Twelve enemy bombers also attacked Hull between 23.41 and 02.05, fourteen tonnes of HE were dropped and damage was reported in the dock area.
A Heinkel He 111H damaged by a night fighter in an attack on Greenock, eventually crashed at Whorlton Park near Newcastle at 03.00. Three of the crew were captured and one was killed, and according to the book 'Front Line' another bomber fell into the sea at Druridge Bay, from which there were no survivors.
Night 611. All times DST. Blackout begins: 22.48, ends: 05.17
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 23.25, All-Clear: 04.05
Industrial Alarm: 23.38, Release: 03.50
Industrial Alarm: 04.24, Release: 04.57
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 23.04, All Clear: 05.03
An attack on Tyneside and Northumberland that lasted from 00.00 until 02.00 by twenty-eight enemy aircraft. Bombs were dropped at Newcastle, Seaton Sluice, Bedlington, Ashington, Woodhorn, Morpeth, Ouston, Longhorsley, Belford, Prendwick, Whitley Bay, Mitford Steads, Norham, Seahouses, Chathill, Blyth and Yetlington in Northumberland, Haverton Hill, Seaton Carew, Coundon, Crawcrook, West Hartlepool, Redmarshall, Brandon, Consett, Leam Lane and Boldon in Co Durham.
01.00.. Newcastle.. Six HEs at Walker, eight houses demolished, several seriously damaged, these were on the carriageway at Blackwell Avenue - Nidsdale Avenue, where two houses were just about demolished - Coquetdale Avenue, two houses demolished - Ennerdale Avenue (Rd?), two houses demolished, one person slight injury - Back garden of No 6, no casualties, slight damage - Welbeck Road, two houses demolished, two people slightly injured. Suggestion made that bombs were armour-piecing - samples sent off.
02.35.. Newcastle.. Four HE on Cremona Park. One demolished a garage, another hit Wilkin's chocolate factory at Cremona Park (present site of Minories and Buist's garages) and the other two (1 UXB) fell in open ground.
22.42-04.34.. Northumberland.. Seaton Sluice.. Three HEs, 1000 IBs, One Oil IB. Seaton Lodge Farm [NZ330772], Lookout Farm at rear of Seaham Grove [NZ332766] and Gloucester Lodge Farm [NZ323781]. Oil bomb at Gloucester Lodge. Large number of IBs in fields north of Delaval Hall.
23.57-00.05.. Northumberland.. Bedlington, Bedlington Station, East Sleekburn.. Three HEs and One Oil IB. Bedlington [NZ2582], Bedlington Station [NZ2782] and East Sleekburn [NZ2883]. Direct hit by HE at 11 Ravensworth Street, Bedlington Station, 11& 11a Ravensworth Street demolished. One HE W of Hartford Crescent, Bedlington, slight damage. One HE Douglas Farm, East Sleekburn. One oil bomb North Row, Bedlington Station, 104 North Row burned down. Fire in old colliery, Bedlington Station. Considerable damage to shops and houses. Electric current off in Bedlington Station. Two seriously injured, ten slightly injured.
23.59-05.06.. Northumberland.. One UXPM in a field 240 yards W of Ashington Colliery line to Linton [NZ263897].
23.59-05.00.. Northumberland.. Two HEs in a field 300 yards W of Woodhorn Grange and within 400 yards of Woodhorn searchlight [NZ2889]. No damage.
00.15.. Northumberland.. Enemy plane down at St George's Hospital, Morpeth [NZ200869]. Five German airmen arrested by hospital attendants and are prisoners at the hospital, one had a revolver. Aircraft on fire.
00.15.. Northumberland.. Twelve HEs dropped by one enemy aircraft, on the RAF Station, Ouston, Stamfordham. Sixteen RAF personnel slightly injured by splinters and machine gun bullets. Hangar damaged by shrapnel and fire, three planes destroyed by fire, AFS units from Newburn and Gosforth attended. Water mains fractured. After dropping the bombs, plane circled round, came low down and machine-gunned the aerodrome. Planes belonging to the aerodrome were in the process of landing at the time of the occurrence.
00.40.. Northumberland.. Police recorded:- Ouston Airport is on fire, Gosforth AFS sent unit, Newburn Fire Brigade has left for the scene.
00.20.. Northumberland.. One HE in a field 400 yards S of Harelaw, Longhorsley [NZ155911]. No damage.
00.29.. Northumberland.. One PM, 100 yards from shaft of New Moor Colliery, Ashington, NW of signal cabin [NZ265898]. No damage.
00.30.. Northumberland.. Twenty-five IBs South Hazelrigg Moor, Belford [NU0632]. Moor took fire, extinguished by Belford Fire Brigade.
00.30.. Northumberland.. Four Oil IBs on moor between Great Kyle and Prendwick [NU018129].
00.44-02.50.. Northumberland.. Whitley Bay.. Four HE and four UXB. Two HE in fields at [NZ341735], one HE in field at [NZ342745], one HE in field at [NZ342742]. Four UXB in gardens at rear of 75 Links Avenue, 63 Links Avenue, Claremont Road and St Mary's Avenue [NZ346730]. No casualties.
Northumberland.. Tynemouth Borough.. Two HEs fell at Heaton Terrace, Billy Mill, between the junctions at Verne Road and Langley Road. There were six fatalities. Two HEs fell in the vicinity of Front Street, Cullercoats (now northern part of Victoria Crescent). Two HEs fell on the foreshore at Cullercoats Bay. Two HEs fell adjacent to Birtley Avenue, Tynemouth, one beside Tynemouth railway station and the other on the railway at the southern end of the Avenue and finally, three HEs fell at Howdon Pans. There was damage to property.
01.45.. Northumberland.. Two HEs in two fields at Nunriding Hall, Morpeth [NZ133877], [NZ134877]. Damage to windows and roofs of farm buildings.
01.45.. Northumberland.. Mitford Steads.. One Oil IB, not fired, on side of road 150 yards N of railway bridge at Mitford Steads [NZ177845].
01.50.. Northumberland.. Two HEs in fields Shellacre Farm and Grindon Farm, Norham [NT9144].
02.00.. Northumberland.. Eight HEs in cornfields Howick Farm, Seahouses [NU266171].
Northumberland.. One HE cornfield on Newham Hall Farm, Chathill [NU181295].
Northumberland.. UXPM reported in River Wansbeck at Stakeford Bridge [NZ271859]. Proved to be a log.
Northumberland.. German plane crashed or force-landed on the north of Holy Island [NU1343]. Four German prisoners. Plane burnt out.
HE were also reported at Blyth and in an area NW of Yetlington, Northumberland.
Co Durham.. One HE on LNER sidings at Seaton Carew bursting a water main and blocking the line. Little damage. Four people were injured.
Co Durham.. Coundon.. Sub-heading given, but no information.
Co Durham.. One HE dropped at Crawcrook Fell Farm caused no damage. Nine HEs fell in the Crawcrook and Greenside districts, one UXB, one ewe and one lamb killed, two injured.
Co Durham.. West Hartlepool.. Two HE fell in Dock area damaging warehouses, offices and shops. No casualties.
Co Durham.. Twelve HE dropped in fields at Redmarshall, ten failed to explode.
Co Durham.. Nine HEs fell at Baal Hill Farm, Brandon - one UXB - causing damage to windows and roofs of farm.
Co Durham.. Delves Lane.. Four HEs fell in fields causing damage.
Co Durham.. Leam Lane.. Two UXBs fell at Jingling Gate, Leam Lane - no damage.
Co Durham.. Ten UXBs fell W of Boldon - no damage.
Co Durham.. Haverton Hill.. One HE fell on Davy and United Roll Foundry, (Toys' Foundry) causing severe damage to buildings, plant, an electric sub-station and the compressor house. A chimney stack 120 feet high was destroyed. The Steel Foundry, machine shop and cranage were seriously disrupted and power was cut off, seriously affecting melting, moulding and dressing shop operations. (Production was back to normal six days later). Two workmen were fatally injured, one a thirty-seven year old man from Spring Street, Thornaby and the other a forty-seven year old man from Norfolk Street.
Yorkshire.. Middlesbrough.. Sweethills.. A single HE fell at the end of Pearl Street and affected the whole of Sweethills, a huge crater was created and damage was caused in Pearl Street, most of Victoria Road and part of King Edward Street. Ten houses in Pearl Street (Nos 1-19) had to be demolished.
A Junkers Ju 88 was shot down and crashed on the north side of Holy Island at 04.00. The crew were all captured, they had destroyed their aircraft.
A Heinkel He 111-H crashed at St Georges Mental Hospital, Morpeth, narrowly missing the buildings, at 23.59. The cause of the crash is uncertain. The crew were all captured.
Night 612. All times DST. Blackout begins: 22.50, ends: 05.15
Public Alert: 23.38, All-Clear: 04.31
Industrial Alarm: 23.50, Release: 03.30
The barge 'Ril Ida' was sunk in an air raid on Hull and the auxiliary patrol trawler 'Susarian' was bombed by German aircraft off the Humber.
Northumberland.. An IB which fell on South Hazelrigg Moor, Chatton, destroyed about four acres of heather, but no other casualties or damage reported.
Day 613. All times DST. Blackout ends: 05.15, begins: 22.51
Bombs fell at Tynemouth Borough in Northumberland, West Hartlepool, Hartlepool and Billingham in Co Durham and Middlesbrough and Hull in Yorkshire.
Northumberland.. Tynemouth Borough.. Three HEs fell close to the Cramlington Colliery Railway between Flatworth Pit and High Flatworth. Three HEs fell on and beside the Backworth Colliery Railway at High Flatworth. Two HEs fell in open country between Preston Grange and Rake House. There was damage to property.
23.59-03.27.. Co Durham.. West Hartlepool.. Five people were injured when three HEs fell east and south of the Travellers Rest Hotel, Stockton Road causing considerable damage to residential property. Four HEs fell in open fields west of Catcote Farm, causing no damage or injury. One HE fell in the Slag Bank of the South Durham Steel& Iron Co Ltd., which failed to explode. A large number of IBs fell on the south side of the Borough but caused no serious fire. Five HEs fell on ploughed land near Brenda Road but caused no material damage. One of the injured was a Special Constable who was burned when dealing with an IB.
Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Billingham.. Attacks on Docks and Installations at Hartlepool by five enemy aircraft, West Hartlepool by nine enemy aircraft, Middlesbrough and a large Chemical Works at Billingham by five enemy aircraft.
00.35-02.41.. Hull.. Seventy-two German aircraft raided industrial and dock installations at Hull, they dropped 110 tonnes of HE (311 bombs) and 9,648 IBs, the raid was due to enemy aircraft being diverted from their primary target of Liverpool. There was extensive damage and major fires started at the Riverside Quay and the shopping centre as well as domestic, industrial and railway damage. An extensive fire was also seen to the west of the docks and near to three large mills situated at the riverside. Casualties were heavy and included 264 killed and 165 seriously injured. This was the night on which our pilots leaving the coast of Denmark saw Hull on fire. The barges 'Delite', 'Ladore' and 'Whitakers II' were sunk.
The first HE fell in Cleveland Street. It is said that when the extent of the raid was realised every man and woman in the Civil Defence Service, whether on rota duty, on reserve, or free from duty, reported to his or her HQ, despite bombs, shrapnel, or the difficulty of travelling, except on foot. This made it possible, within two hours, to halve parties, thus dealing with two incidents instead of one. The elder among the school children, boys and girls, even turned out to act as messengers, and since normal means of communication were either destroyed or partly out of action, their services were invaluable.
The basement of a five-storey factory held 927 people. Two PMs dropped, one on the east side of the shelter, the other on the west. Then a large HE fell on the roof of the building, yet the only casualty was that of a merchant seaman, who went home to change his slippers for boots and was killed outside his own house by blast. Though there were no fatalities in the factory itself, most of the occupants had lost their homes.
FIRE BRIGADES IN HULL ..... The first fires were reported from Montrose Street, followed by reports from Chapman Street, Cleveland Street, Spring Bank and Wright Street. Soon the telephonists were overwhelmed with messages from all parts of the city, the Regional Fire Officer at Leeds was informed of the position. The water mains had gone, this in the early stages, so use had to be made of the reserve supplies. At 01.10 reinforcements were asked for and the District Scheme was put into operation, the first brigade to arrive being the nearby Haltemprice service.
Enemy planes were dropping all types of bombs, at first, mainly IBs, but as the night went on it became evident that the technique was to start a small fire with an IB or an oil bomb, and then use HEs to damage surrounding property. An open roof would act as a chimney, helping to create an upward draught. Often the result was that before a fire unit arrived the building was an inferno. To add to the difficulties the river water was low and as already stated, the water mains was already damaged.
Many fires raged, some in the centre of the city were immense. On all the roads leading to the suburbs, houses, schools, churches, garages, warehouses and other buildings were ablaze, further reinforcements were asked for. In a number of cases fire-fighting units were made a tangled mass of wreckage by bombs which fell on them or near by. In one street buildings on both sides were on fire, the flames meeting in the middle to form a bridge a flame.
Whole streets were blocked with debris, impeding fire pumps, others had craters which brought the same delay, people were trapped in buildings and had to be rescued by fire escapes. Windows would grow red and then become molten; walls, roofs and ceilings fell in, adjoining structures caught fire from sparks or flying embers, the firemen fought on, concentrating on keeping the fires in as confined a space as possible. It was a night of 464 outbreaks, almost all of a major character. The first began round about midnight, at 08.36 the Regional Officer at Leeds received the following report:- " All fires under control.".
The crew of the fire brigade petrol tanker went out with 750 gallons of petrol aboard, besides a considerable number of tins. Their job was to see that the water pumps had sufficient petrol to keep them working. At one period the consumption reached 600 gallons an hour. Sometimes a fireman left his hose, or handed it to a mate and went to the tank to fill a can, sometimes a soldier or a civilian helped, but not a single pump stopped for the lack of petrol.
Firemen also climbed to the roofs of warehouses near the dockside and moving along the eaves kicked or threw hundreds of IBs to the ground. In eight hours three members of the brigade were killed, five seriously injured and detained in hospital, and twenty-two were attended to medically but permitted to go home. Scores more received attention at their stations or at first aid posts for cuts, abrasions and burns, refusing to add to the burden of the hospital staffs.
EVACUATION ..... The effects of this raid were so severe that the Emergency Committee decided that modifications of the original evacuation scheme were necessary and the outcome was that in the few days between May 9th and 11th, 1941, a total of 8,255 people were evacuated.
NEWSPAPER PRODUCTION ..... The branch office of the Yorkshire Post and the Yorkshire Evening Post, Paragon House, Paragon Street, was destroyed by the fire which swept the centre of the city during this air attack. The office formed part of a newly-built block of property, the whole of which was demolished. Spreading rapidly from adjacent buildings, notably a furniture store in Chariot Street and the Neptune Hotel in Paragon Street, the fire enveloped the office so quickly, it endangered the lives of the caretaker and his family.
Despite the total destruction of the office, emergency arrangements ensured contact with the head offices in Leeds and a report of the raid, as full as security would allow, was being printed in the Yorkshire Post and the Yorkshire Evening Post while portions of the branch office were still burning. Because of the dislocation of the telephone service, one of the reporters travelled to York by car and telephoned the report from the branch office there, to Leeds.
Offers of accommodation for bombed-out staff were received. The writing room and telephones at the Royal Station Hotel were at the staff's disposal, there was an offer of accommodation at the Corporation's Electricity Showrooms, and, later, while arrangements were being made for the occupation of temporary premises in Albion Street, the staff had the use of editorial offices of the Hull Daily Mail.
Yorkshire.. Hedon.. Eleven people were killed in an incident centred around Ashley Villas, where six members of the same family died, and Daisy Villas. Hedon is situated six miles E of Hull.
Night 613. All times DST. Blackout begins: 22.51, ends: 05.13
Industrial Alarm: 00.44, Release: 02.07
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 00.44, All-Clear: 02.50
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 23.16, All Clear: 05.08
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