Bomb Damage

Houses, churches, monuments, graves, etc.
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Leodian
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Post by Leodian »

I recall my mother once telling me there was a knock on her door (in east Leeds) during the war and it was a sister-in-law (so an auntie of mine) who was covered in soot/dirt. She lived in Armley and had come over from there after there had been a bombing raid in her area (I don't know the date of the bombing). Her home had not been hit but dirt had spread all over the area. I used to go to her home in the early to mid 1950s and recall that it was in a street off Armley Road (it would not be that far from today's Armley gyratory roundabout) with outside toilets to the homes (the homes have long been demolished).    
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

Tasa
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Post by Tasa »

Leodian wrote: I recall my mother once telling me there was a knock on her door (in east Leeds) during the war and it was a sister-in-law (so an auntie of mine) who was covered in soot/dirt. She lived in Armley and had come over from there after there had been a bombing raid in her area (I don't know the date of the bombing). Her home had not been hit but dirt had spread all over the area. I used to go to her home in the early to mid 1950s and recall that it was in a street off Armley Road (it would not be that far from today's Armley gyratory roundabout) with outside toilets to the homes (the homes have long been demolished).     I wonder if it was the same air raid which damaged property on Model Road? There are some photos of air raid damage on the Leodis website, and it's not far from Armley Road (although a bit further away from the gyratory). Model Road is still standing but this might help you with the date of the air raid your mother mentioned, which was on 22 September 1941. The photo caption also says there was an earlier air raid in March that year.This is one of the photos, but there are others if you type "Model Road" and "air raid" into the Leodis search facility:http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... 5_97015018

stutterdog
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Post by stutterdog »

Leodian wrote: I recall my mother once telling me there was a knock on her door (in east Leeds) during the war and it was a sister-in-law (so an auntie of mine) who was covered in soot/dirt. She lived in Armley and had come over from there after there had been a bombing raid in her area (I don't know the date of the bombing). Her home had not been hit but dirt had spread all over the area. I used to go to her home in the early to mid 1950s and recall that it was in a street off Armley Road (it would not be that far from today's Armley gyratory roundabout) with outside toilets to the homes (the homes have long been demolished).     Hi Leodian, what you describe sounds like the street that I lived in,as you say ,just off Armley Rd. It was Gloucester Ave or possibly Gloucester Rd. There were 4 houses damaged in the raid.One of them contained a family of 3 who were all killed. They were back to back houses so I dont know which house was the worst damaged. The houses were almost directly opposite our house. The street was opposite the filling station on Armley Rd. My mother told me the story of the night it happened . After the bomb dropped an old lady emerged from her house carrying her canary in a cage. She was covered in dust and she was crying. The people who died were not killed instantly or certainly one wasn't as my mother said you could here someone crying" Get me out, get me out". Very harrowing. My dad and the nieghbours where frantically trying to get to the family but they died in the wreckage,poor souls.
ex-Armley lad

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Leodian
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Post by Leodian »

Thanks Tasa and stutterdog. As I know what my auntie's surname was I may be able to find through electoral registers the address where she lived in Armley, which I may do at some stage.
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

Caron
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Post by Caron »

My nan lived on Ingram Road where there was also bomb damage. There are some pics on Leodis.

Jogon
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Post by Jogon »

Pudseyite wrote: Here is an interesting zoomable ARP Bomb Map of West Yorkshire http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF ... 66&z=9Hope the link works! PudsIs there stuff on Google more than just satellite/earth etc or do you need an account?Someone told me there were photos of an old part of N Yorks I was researching on Google but couldn't find.Also someone showed me to avoid wide-screen big links} click on chain}click for short url}copyhttp://g.co/maps/zbmtyInteresting bomb map

Bruno
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Post by Bruno »

My Dad was born in Januuary 1928 and has often told me about the night his school was destroyed in a German air raid which targeted Marsh Lane railway station. I thought it was about time I recorded his account, so here it is, in his own words as told to me a couple of weeks ago:I was living at number 2 Halton Moor Avenue, we moved there on Christmas Eve 1939 from Fewston View which was down towards Hunslet, but I continued to go to Richmond Hill Elementary School on Accommodation Road - I used to cycle down Red Road.  However, I stayed most of the time at Auntie and Uncles' house on Elsie Crescent where I had my own room.Richmond Hill School was at the top of the hill, you went across Prospect Hollow, where the pub was, it dropped downhill,  Marsh Lane station was just down there.There was a German air raid, and in the middle of the raid, during the night, we heard a bomb drop very close by.  The following morning when we went to school we weren't admitted.  We were lined up in the school yard and in the end they marched us down to Ellerby Lane School and stuck us into their spare spaces.  Eventually the two schools merged at Ellerby Lane.We older boys were taken back up to Richmond hill soon after to rescue books and pencils and anything that we could use.  The bomb had dropped right in the middle of the school; when we got there we went in at the door and found that the hall and stairs to the first floor were all tangled and messy, but we climbed up the stairs to the upper floor.  The floor sagged inwards to a hole in the middle which is where the bomb had gone in and exploded.  We walked round the edge of the hole and into the classrooms and rescued books and pencils and all kinds of equipment.  We had a grand piano which had been bought by fund raising efforts, it was perched on the edge of the hole.  We managed to pull it back from the edge, I can't remember if they got it out. 
The older I get, the better I was.

LS1
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Post by LS1 »

Great tale Bruno. Glad you posted it.

stutterdog
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Post by stutterdog »

Leodian wrote: Thanks Tasa and stutterdog. As I know what my auntie's surname was I may be able to find through electoral registers the address where she lived in Armley, which I may do at some stage. Hi Leodian, did you mange to obtain your Aunts surname when she lived in Armley? If she lived in either of the 2 streets I mentioned in my post, I probably knew her,as I knew most peoples names when I lived in the Gloucesters. It's pretty amazing really as I lived in a street in Farsley for 37 years up to 3 years ago and I only knew the names of 4 families! They were real communities in those far off days!
ex-Armley lad

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Leodian
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Post by Leodian »

stutterdog wrote: Leodian wrote: Thanks Tasa and stutterdog. As I know what my auntie's surname was I may be able to find through electoral registers the address where she lived in Armley, which I may do at some stage. Hi Leodian, did you mange to obtain your Aunts surname when she lived in Armley? If she lived in either of the 2 streets I mentioned in my post, I probably knew her,as I knew most peoples names when I lived in the Gloucesters. It's pretty amazing really as I lived in a street in Farsley for 37 years up to 3 years ago and I only knew the names of 4 families! They were real communities in those far off days! Hi stutterdog. Sorry but I never got round to finding where she lived. As I know her name (which I don't want to reveal publicly) I could find her address and so possibly give the street name. She died nearly 30 years back (her husband, who I can just recall, died very many years before that). They had a son but I don't know if he is still alive.
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

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