Bomb Damage

Barwicker · Post by **Barwicker** » Mon 16 Apr, 2007 6:01 pm

One of the images on Leodis.net shows damage sustained from bombing at Leeds Museum in Park Row. The image is dated 15 March 1941 so presumably the bombing raid was just before that date.

TABBYCAT · Post by **TABBYCAT** » Mon 16 Apr, 2007 9:46 pm

RE the bomb damage in Beeston, there are two pictures of the damaged houses in Flaxton terrace, on the leodis website.just enter Beeston for area and Flaxton terrace for search words, I remember these houses as a kid in the 60's some of the woodwork still in place and the gable ends of the houses either side cemented over, I never new until years later how they come to be like that.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Tue 17 Apr, 2007 7:39 pm

Here's the city square surface air raid shelters. They don't look very substantial and proved not to be as they were flattened by a direct hit. You can see the two underground toilets with the fancy balustrades. There still supposed to be fully intact & were just covered over in the 60's. Interesting to note that should the Germans get to London then these 2 toilets were to become the new headquarters for the ministry of home defence.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Tue 17 Apr, 2007 7:43 pm

Bomb damage in Cardigan road Headingley. The same air raid damaged a 130 houses in this part of Leeds. We got off quite lightly with only 9 raids & 77 fatalities compared to Hulls 82 raids with 1,205 killed

Talloulabelle · Post by **Talloulabelle** » Wed 18 Apr, 2007 12:44 pm

As you would imagine there's some damage out at Yeadon - the airport and nearby AVRO engine factory were prime targets.If you go up Bayton Lane travelling from Yeadon to Horsforth there's a pull in on the left as you near the top of the hill which is affectionately known as The Bomb Holes - a popular place for plane watchers. Also I have been told that the engine factory heading for Carlton village (where Austin Hayes is now) had the roofs painted green and cardboard cows on them to disguise the factory!What I'd give to see a Lancaster taking off from up there!

Post by **cnosni** » Thu 19 Apr, 2007 1:08 am

My Grandad served in the navy in world War one,saw action at the Battle of Jutland on HMS Caroline (still a commisioned Royal Naval vessel,2nd oldest in the Navy,3rd oldest in the world and only surviving Warship left from Jutland though only now a floating office for the Royal Naval reserve in Northern Ireland.By the second world war grandad was past his fighting days,though i believe he was a naval reservist (will have to check with Auntie Dolly again!) and he worked at the post office on the mail trains at Leeds City Station.Any way he was asleep one night awaiting to go on shift either that night or early in the morning during the war when an air raid kicked off.My grandmother and the 8 children at the time went to the air raid shelter for safety,but the old sea dog would not go.These bangs did not bother him,remember he was at Jutland and he remained in his pit.They lived on Quarry Hill in Moynahan house,overlooking York Road and St Pats church and this evening a particularly close explosion occured.Looking at the various reports on bombing involving Quarry Hill it must have been the night the Old woodpecker Pub was destroyed in september 1940.St Pats was badly damaged and there were some casualties and a lot of structural damage to the flats but more than that the old sea dogs pride was damaged for all to see.The blast blew him out of bed and he ran out of the flat,naked from the waste down all the way out and down into the shelter.God knows what my grandma thought,and what about the neighbours!Suffice to say he always made his way to the Air Raid shelter after this!

TomD · Post by **TomD** » Thu 19 Apr, 2007 10:53 am

haha great story!my grandad still has his collection of shrapnel! i think he used to live around Harehills way

farbank · Post by **farbank** » Thu 28 Jun, 2007 8:40 pm

Farbank: I recall the night raid when the old Woodpecker pub was destroyed. My dad who was exempt from military service, because he was an engineer at John Fowlers, making bren-carriers. And had joined the local Civil Defence, operating from Brownhill School, Harehills Ln. Came home to our 'anderson' to see if we were all ok. He had just been to the junction of Easterly Mount/St.Wilfrids Grove, to remove an incendiary bomb that was burning its way thro' the pavement. He used a tool he had made at work, from a sweeping brush handle, and with gripping jaws operated by a handle. To pick up the still burning bomb, and plunge into a bucket of dry sand.The upshot was, whilst there, he let me come out of the shelter and stand with him . With our backs to the house, we could look out due south across the city. The sky was all brilliantly lit up with a red glow. And you could hear the walls etc. of the buildings as they collapsed.And of course as soon as we could the next morning we were off as fast as our legs would go to see the damage.[ And get our collection of shrapnel added to]. But doesn't anyone remember just over the road from Quarry Hill Flats, the damage to Marsh Lane goods yard.? A lorry had been blown over in the blast of a nearby bomb, and shed its load of EGGS all over the road.!Though there was police guarding the scene, they turned a blind eye as seemingly ,every ablebodied woman from the flats was there with their pudding basins. Filling them up. Whole or broken didn't matter.My brother being that much older than me, pushed me under the coppers arm and told me to take off my jersey. And start shoving eggs into the tied up sleeves.It only lasted a few minutes, because a senior police officer turned up. Then those guarding the area began chasing everyone away.Still, it totted up a lot of 'brownie' points for me and our kid.But my mam still clipped his lug, for telling me to 'get in there'.!

Scandy Bramley · Post by **Scandy Bramley** » Fri 29 Jun, 2007 2:26 am

Funny but still horrible stories, Cnosni and Farbank. Thanks for sharing, but I can't imagine what it must have been like to be involved in an air raid. The forge at Kirky was the obvious target, but was the Marsh Lane incident just bad bomber sighting? Given that adolf was going to use Quarry Hill as his HQ when he invaded Britain?

farbank · Post by **farbank** » Fri 29 Jun, 2007 5:30 pm

Who can tell after all these years whether it was deliberate or bad aiming.? But from probably 40,000ft. up, and given all the engineering firms just t'other side of the river. I reckon it was a damn close thing.! But given the number of homes destroyed and peopled killed, and with such a diversity of spread of damage, I would imagine it's a case of '' over the target, bombs away, let's get out of here''I appreciate Kirkstall Forge was a prime target, and some were killed there that night. But many raids were supposed to be after Avro's at Yeadon. Or Barnbow. [According to Lord Haw Haw on next evenings radio broadcast].