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BBC News
15-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Man's 15-year quest to uncover Sheffield Blitz history
A man has dedicated 15 years of his life to uncover what happened to his grandmother and other families during the Sheffield Blitz in Anderson decided to take on the project after the chance discovery of an unpublished memoir following Dorothy Glover's death at the age of 93 in Anderson, who runs a PR consultancy in the city, said his upcoming four-book set titled "Sheffield Blitz - The Definitive Collection" would reveal the untold war secrets families believed had gone to the Anderson said: "This isn't just history, it's a time machine into your family's hidden past and a record to ensure their stories are never forgotten." Dorothy Glover was in her 20s when bombs rained on the city on 12 and 15 December 1940, killing hundreds of people and leaving thousands Glover spoke very little of the war during her lifetime but left behind her memories in the form of a book, discovered after her death just before the 70th anniversary of the Blitz. To Mr Anderson's surprise, she did not write about the horrors of the war but much simpler aspects of life."It talks about the nights spent in a communal air raid shelter in the Fir Vale area," Mr Anderson, who is the chair of the Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust, said."It was all the petty squabbles that used to kick off between the neighbours night after night."The discovery of her memoir sparked Mr Anderson's desire to find out more about what he described as a "big part of Sheffield's story". "This was something that totally reshaped [the city] but there was so little to mark it," he said."That really put me on a journey, I thought I'd love to do more to mark what actually happened."His research included interviews with hundreds of survivors, weeks spent in archives in both the UK and Germany, and collaboration with the Imperial War Museum. Mr Anderson said part of his collection focused on why Sheffield had one of the lowest evacuation rates in the country and why bombs were still falling four years after the Blitz. "I started this journey with one question: What really happened to my family during the Sheffield Blitz?", said Mr Anderson. "Like so many people, my grandparents lived through the bombings but never spoke about them. "I had to find the answers for myself - and for everyone else still wondering."To officially launch the collection, Mr Anderson will host a free event on 11 June at Sheffield Central the collection's discoveries is a set of original German bombing maps, smuggled out of Germany after the war, hundreds of rare photographs as well as a full lists of every civilian casualty in World War to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Daily Mirror
07-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
'A tiny mouse saved my mum's life during World War II'
A survivor of the Sheffield Blitz during World II has told how an incredible stroke of luck saved her life Ruby Gascoigne owed her life to a tiny mouse who scared her into shutting up the sweet shop early. A few hours later the store was blasted to bits during the blitz of Sheffield in World War II. The city centre store would normally remain open until 8pm as it was near a cinema and families would grab some snacks. Ruby once explained: 'The nights were gloomy and eerie in the Black Out. The window could only show a very small light to denote being open. 'Around 6.15pm I was scared as a mouse was running around the shelves. I wasn't staying to do with the mouse, so I took a chance and locked up to go home' Ruby had only just got home when the sirens went and Sheffield was bombarded for nearly nine hours. 'The next morning I went to find out about the shop. Apparently it had been wiped out with a land mine in the first hour of the raid. The air raid shelter I should have gone in with the shopkeepers was demolished.' Amazingly the tin of cash she'd put under the counter was intact. As a result of being out of work, Ruby ended up working in Sheffield steelworks and on her first day was left in tears at the baggy boiler suit she had to wear. To stop the tears stayed up all night making alterations. Her daughter in law Lisa Gascoigne, 55, said: 'She never wore trousers again all her life. ' Her son Kevin Gascoigne, 68, 'Mum would share her stories all the time with us and the mouse story was her favourite. But her fear of mice continued all her life. 'Only a few years ago before she died she shot up to my brother's house and refused to go home because there was a mouse. We teased her and told her it was that one who saved her life coming back to visit.' He told how his mum joined the fight for a statue to the women of steel. 'She was determined she would not die until the statue was built. When it was unveiled she was really proud, all of them were proud. It was a fantastic day. It gave her a new lease for life.' VE Day: 80th Anniversary Magazine Specials To commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we bring you two special special collector's magazines that look back at events that led to the end of World War II in Europe and marked a new era. In the VE Day 80: Anniversary Collector's Edition we share photographs from the street parties that were held all over Britain, while esteemed author and journalist Paul Routledge paints a picture of how the day was bittersweet, mixed with jubilation and hope for the future, as well as sadness and regret for the past. Routledge also recounts the key events of the Second World War, including Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and Pearl Harbour. The magazine costs £9.99. Also available is World War Two - A History in 50 Photographs, a definitive pictorial account of the war. Carefully chosen from hundreds of thousands of images, this commemorative magazine shares 50 exceptional photographs - including many rarely seen shots - that capture the devastating moments, horror, hope and eventual triumph of World War Two. The magazine costs £6.99. You can buy your copies here! Ruby would often talk about her time in the steelworks and how she was teased by her male colleagues because she was so innocent and young. 'In the blackouts they would fill those old fashioned condoms full of water and leave them hanging from the roof, so when they ran through the factory to get to the shelter they'd be banging into these condoms.' Or they'd use poles to move the blackout curtains pretending to be ghosts. But in the end she quite liked working there," he said. Ruby ended up working in the lab making steel for the Mulberry harbours, portable harbours used off the coast of Normandy for D-Day in World War II. She ended up married to her sweetheart Frank Gascoigne, after both his parents, air wardens, were killed in the blitz. He died aged 64 in 1984. Ruby, who died aged 94 in 2018, almost didn't marry Frank after he got too jealous of all the men who knew her. 'Because Ruby had worked in Steelworks with lots of men, they were forever saying hello to her in the cinema queues, 'you all right Rube?' Kevin explained. 'He was upset about it and she told him 'either you get your head round it now or we are over'. It cleared the air and they went on to five children together and were very happy. "
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Blitz artefacts wanted for expanded exhibition
A history group is urging local people to come forward with meaningful and sentimental objects from the Sheffield Blitz, as part of plans to expand a museum about World War Two. Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust wants to create a larger, permanent exhibition of items from the air raids on the city centre in 1940. Chair of the trust, Neil Anderson, said the expanded exhibition, at the National Emergency Services Museum (NESM) in Sheffield, would be established over the coming months, and aimed to "bring history to life". Items in the current collection include fused coins and a bible, but the trust are keen to secure heirlooms and memorabilia "that tell a personal story" of the event. The Sheffield Blitz, as it became known, was marked by two nights of German Luftwaffe air raids on the city centre and the city's industrial area, from 12-13 December and on 15-16 December 1940. Seven hundred people died as a result of the bombing. The Moor - nowadays a large shopping area - was devastated by the bombardment, along with Devonshire Green. The City Hall and Sheffield United's Bramall Lane football ground were also damaged, and 70 people were killed when The Marples Hotel, on Fitzalan Square near Ponds Forge, was flattened. A blue plaque was subsequently erected where the hotel stood to honour those killed. The new exhibition is being funded by a donation of more than £91,000 to the Blitz Kids project, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. "To ensure the display tells the most powerful and personal story possible, the museum is asking the people of Sheffield if they have something they think might suit the exhibition," said Mr Anderson. Items already on show include coins from the wreckage of the Marples Hotel, which were fused together from the extreme heat - "a poignant reminder of the tragic loss of life inside the building", he said. The collection also includes a bible, the only item which survived a direct hit on a Sheffield home. "These deeply personal objects help illustrate the devastating impact of the blitz, making the history tangible for future generations," he said. "We know there are treasured objects hidden away in drawers and attics that could help tell the story of Sheffield's darkest hours. "Whether it's photographs, letters, medals, shrapnel, or household items that survived the bombing, the museum is particularly keen to find new objects that tell a personal story." The Sheffield Blitz Codenamed Operation Crucible by the Germans Almost 700 people died and 82,000 (out of 150,000) houses were damaged Around 330 aircraft were involved in the bombardment which lasted for nine hours overnight on 12 December 1940 A second raid on 15-16 December hit the industrial area, east of the city centre Mains water supplies quickly ran out and water needed to be relayed from public baths - and even the River Don - to fight the fires. Further raids were mounted by the Luftwaffe on the city later in the war, but they were not of the same intensity as the December 1940 raids. Source: SYFRS and Sheffield City Council Mr Anderson said thousands of visitors visit the Sheffield Blitz exhibition at the NESM every year, and a book featuring the stories of Sheffield's Blitz Kids - the last generation to have lived through the attacks - is in production. The National Lottery money will also fund a series of educational and community engagement activities, including training for volunteers in interview recording, web design and research. Anyone with an item connected to the Sheffield Blitz, which could be loaned or donated, should contact the museum on 0114 249 1999 or email info@ Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Sheffield Blitz National Emergency Services Museum Blue plaque for 70 killed during WWII bombing Blitz firefighter among WW2 dead remembered
BBC News
01-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Sheffield Blitz artefacts wanted for expanded exhibition
A history group is urging local people to come forward with meaningful and sentimental objects from the Sheffield Blitz, as part of plans to expand a museum about World War Blitz Memorial Trust wants to create a larger, permanent exhibition of items from the air raids on the city centre in of the trust, Neil Anderson, said the expanded exhibition, at the National Emergency Services Museum (NESM) in Sheffield, would be established over the coming months, and aimed to "bring history to life".Items in the current collection include fused coins and a bible, but the trust are keen to secure heirlooms and memorabilia "that tell a personal story" of the event. What was the Sheffield Blitz? The Sheffield Blitz, as it became known, was marked by two nights of German Luftwaffe air raids on the city centre and the city's industrial area, from 12-13 December and on 15-16 December hundred people died as a result of the Moor - nowadays a large shopping area - was devastated by the bombardment, along with Devonshire City Hall and Sheffield United's Bramall Lane football ground were also damaged, and 70 people were killed when The Marples Hotel, on Fitzalan Square near Ponds Forge, was flattened. A blue plaque was subsequently erected where the hotel stood to honour those killed. The new exhibition is being funded by a donation of more than £91,000 to the Blitz Kids project, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund."To ensure the display tells the most powerful and personal story possible, the museum is asking the people of Sheffield if they have something they think might suit the exhibition," said Mr already on show include coins from the wreckage of the Marples Hotel, which were fused together from the extreme heat - "a poignant reminder of the tragic loss of life inside the building", he collection also includes a bible, the only item which survived a direct hit on a Sheffield home."These deeply personal objects help illustrate the devastating impact of the blitz, making the history tangible for future generations," he said."We know there are treasured objects hidden away in drawers and attics that could help tell the story of Sheffield's darkest hours. "Whether it's photographs, letters, medals, shrapnel, or household items that survived the bombing, the museum is particularly keen to find new objects that tell a personal story." The Sheffield BlitzCodenamed Operation Crucible by the GermansAlmost 700 people died and 82,000 (out of 150,000) houses were damagedAround 330 aircraft were involved in the bombardment which lasted for nine hours overnight on 12 December 1940A second raid on 15-16 December hit the industrial area, east of the city centreMains water supplies quickly ran out and water needed to be relayed from public baths - and even the River Don - to fight the raids were mounted by the Luftwaffe on the city later in the war, but they were not of the same intensity as the December 1940 SYFRS and Sheffield City Council Mr Anderson said thousands of visitors visit the Sheffield Blitz exhibition at the NESM every year, and a book featuring the stories of Sheffield's Blitz Kids - the last generation to have lived through the attacks - is in production. The National Lottery money will also fund a series of educational and community engagement activities, including training for volunteers in interview recording, web design and with an item connected to the Sheffield Blitz, which could be loaned or donated, should contact the museum on 0114 249 1999 or email info@ to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
