News - Move for memorial to mark sacrifices in Blitz (Sheffield)

Campaigners fighting for a permanent memorial to those who died in the Sheffield Blitz have appealed to the public to give them ideas on how they would like to see the victims commemorated. Neil Anderson who wrote Sheffield's Date With Hitler to mark the 70th anniversary of the attacks and Terry Deary, creator of the multi-million selling Horrible Histories series, are behind the project.

Their campaign has already attracted hundreds of names on a petition, won cross party support at the Town Hall and the pair are now exploring ways of raising funds as well as planning a future competition for the public to come up with design ideas.

Mr Deary, who has just published a children's fiction novel, Put Out The Light, set in the Sheffield Blitz, said: "I've been amazed how little there is to mark the Sheffield Blitz and the sacrifices the city and its people made in December 1940.

"Those two nights totally changed the course of the city's history and profoundly affected the lives of everyone here.

"We need a memorial to show our respect for those who died and to create a focus for those who live to pause and reflect for a moment in our busy lives."

Mr Deary and Mr Anderson said they were keen to get the thoughts of the public on what they would like to see and build on a petition which was launched at the special Sheffield Blitz commemoration event held on The Moor, an area of the city centre that was devastated by the first night of the raid.

Mr Anderson said: "Ideas we've had to date include a high-profile Sheffield Blitz Trail with plaques on key sites around the city centre.

"Many people want a highly visible memorial.

"There are many ideas which all have cost and time implications and we want to get the views of Sheffield people."

The public are invited to sign the online petition at www.acmretro.com and leave their comments regarding what they would like to see as a fitting tribute.

 

From: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/localnews/Move-for-memorial-to-mark.6707464.jp

 

Sheffield's Blitz Children Relive Dark Days for Exhibition

MEMORIES came flooding back for some of those who lived through the Blitz when they helped relaunch an exhibition at South Yorkshire's Aeroventure Museum.

 

Some of the survivors of the Sheffield Blitz of December 1940 travelled to Lakeside in Doncaster to see for themselves a depiction of what they witnessed in the darkest days of the Second World War.

Five Sheffield pensioners accepted an invitation from the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum on Airborne Road, which has marked the 70th anniversary of the devastation with a reconstituted exhibition showing what the city centre was like on the night the Luftwaffe dropped their bombs across a wide area.

The museum purchased a Blitz diorama which used to be housed at the old John Banner building in Attercliffe in the 1990s and it has now been relocated to a more prominent position and with better lighting, recreating the searchlights during the blackout.

Chairman Frank Donnelly said: "Last September The Star published a request from the museum for the memories of people who were children aged six to 16 at the time of the Blitz. We received 15 terrific letters from a variety of boys and girls, each with their own experience to tell.

"Many recall the sheer terror of their feelings in air raid shelters, quite a few recall the excitement of those times, evacuation, and pride in their relatives doing everyday things like being firemen, air raid wardens, and serving in the Armed Forces. All these letters will become a permanent part of the display for posterity."

Museum spokesman Ian Kingsnorth said: "Everyone who turned up for the event had a very good time and it was moving to hear their recollections.

One chap had been evacuated to Melton Mowbray at the start of the war but drifted back to Sheffield because there had been no bombing just weeks before the Blitz. They were getting quite emotional talking about what they saw. I think it also helped people take stock of the fact that they had been spared."

 

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Sheffield39s-Blitz-children-relive-dark.6660900.jp