Book - A glimpse of life as it was in Victorian workhouses (Sheffield)

IN Victorian times the workhouse was a word that carried dread. There was a stigma attached to anyone who was admitted to a workhouse and once inside conditions were extremely harsh.

“Initially people who went into workhouses were seen as lazy idle scroungers and this would deter people from going in. Some would rather starve on the outside than go into a workhouse,” says Margaret Drinkall, author of Sheffield Workhouse.

Although it was the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act which abolished systems of poor relief and established workhouses throughout England and Wales, they had existed as far back as Elizabethan times and the book cites material from accounts of the town trustees in 1567 to Fir Vale workhouse in the 1900s.

Funded by ratepayers, the main workhouses in Sheffield were on Kelham Street and at Fir Vale, along with Pitsmoor referred to as a school but where children were kept, and Hollow Meadows, a farm which was intended to provide the workhouse with produce but became a place for test labour of able-bodied inmates,

The records of the Sheffield Workhouse were destroyed in the Sheffield Blitz, but the author has used archive material, newspaper reports and the remaining guardian minutes from 1890 to capture something of the lives of inmates as well as the work of the Board of Guardians.

Sheffield was hostile to the 1834 act and resented having to pay to set up workhouses and were not happy with the Board of Guardians, elected on a yearly basis. The guardians were an argumentative lot, according to Drinkall, often defying the Local Government Board and at loggerheads with the work staff, or officers.

But it was the inmates themselves who most interested the author. “One of the drawbacks, though, is the voices of the people were not heard. The only time names were mentioned was when they were punished for bad behaviour. I would like to have known more about them.

“One of the things I enjoyed researching was reading the Master’s Book, the letters he received and sent out. For example, there was an application on behalf of a Mrs Shaw who was a widow living with her son and his wife. The letter said she had worked all her life, taken in washing, and never in her life asked for parish relief but the son had fallen ill and there was no money. That showed it was ordinary people who went in there, people down on their luck.”

Most of the notes and letters confirm how hard life in the workhouse was.

“The conditions were terrible, especially the food. But at least there was food and children were taught to read and write. A lot of the kids had been almost feral when they arrived The guardians worried about them and came up with the idea of emigration to Canada or Australia of orphans,” says Drinkall. “I often wonder about how much the children understood what was happening to them.”

Life was pretty grim for the officers too. “They were on duty 24/7 and one of the biggest bones of contention among staff was that they had to ask permission from the Master to go out. It must have been demeaning for people like schoolteachers and they must have seen themselves as inmates.”

One way in which the Sheffield guardians showed enlightenment was the decision in the 1890s that the workhouses should run on hospital lines. “Up until then they had got inmates to act as nurses but they decided to train nurses as part of the formation of a hospital system. That’s where the word matron comes from in hospitals,” says Drinkall.

“Fir Vale, the one surviving workhouse building in Sheffield, was turned into a hospital in the 1930s. That makes me wonder if that is what’s behind the fear of hospitals among old people.”

The retired Rotherham Borough Council worker dedicates all her time to researching and writing about South Yorkshire’s history. Earlier this year she published Sheffield Crimes and next up is Rotherham War and Peace, looking at the town in the inter-war years.

Sheffield Workhouse is published by the History Press at £12.99.

From: http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/local/a_glimpse_of_life_as_it_was_in_victorian_workhouses_1_3719005

News - Nottingham remembers the Blitz 70 years on with Council House bombing reenactment

IT was a haunting sound that harked back to one of Nottingham's darkest hours.

As the air raid siren echoed around the Old Market Square, memories flooded back from May 8 and 9, 1941.

More than 200 people were killed in the Blitz as German bombers targeted the city during the Second World War.

A mock reenactment of a bombing of the Council House took place on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the grim event.

Around 200 people who gathered to watch were told to take cover as smoke billowed around the iconic building.

The Lord Mayor, Councillor Brian Grocock, then emerged on the balcony shouting for help.

Within minutes, a fleet of vintage fire engines arrived on the scene to put out the blaze and rescue Mr Grocock.

The firefighters, wearing tin hats, sprung into action with one member of the crew raised 20 feet into the air on a ladder to tackle the fire from above while others led the Lord Mayor to safety.

The scene brought memories flooding back for 74-year-old Irene Hardman, who was living in Bertram Street, in The Meadows, at the time of the Blitz.

She said: "When the sirens started up we all ran out into one of the brick shelters in the street. I didn't really understand what was going on but I remember one of our neighbours playing an accordion and we were all singing in the shelter while the planes were overhead."

She added: "When I heard the siren again it was just as I remember. I think it's wonderful that young people can come and get a feel for how it was for us."

Sylvia Sheppard, 77, of Carlton, said her father, Cyril Hawtin, served as a firefighter on the night of the Blitz.

She said: "He went to the Co-op Bakery, in Meadow Lane, after it was bombed and an awful lot of people were killed.

"We were living in Cycle Road, Lenton, at the time and I remember there was a lot of bombs dropped around us as well, including at the Raleigh factory.

"I remember my mum telling us to duck down and put our heads towards the fireplace as the bombs fell."

Ten-year-old Charlie Hawthorne-Bales, of Hucknall, watched the reenactment with his nan, Norma Bales, 69.

He said: "My nan's told me about the black-outs and the Blitz and I thought this was really interesting. The siren was noisy and I really liked the smoke and the old fire engines."

More than 300 civilians were killed in Nottingham during the Second World War, including the victims of the Blitz.

They are all named in a wartime exhibition on display in the Council House from today until Friday.

Donations were collected at the event for the £20,000 Nottinghamshire Firefighters Memorial Appeal, which will honour the names of nearly 40 Notts firefighters who have died on duty.

An open weekend also took place at Central Fire Station on Saturday and yesterday to remember Nottingham's worst night of the war.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Nottingham-remembers-Blitz-70-years/article-3534091-detail/article.html

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

 

New site for Sheffield Blitz Memorial

COUNCILLORS responded to a plea by a man who survived the Sheffield Blitz during World War Two by voting for a memorial to victims of the 1940 bombings to be moved or replaced with one in a more prominent position.  Patrick Strafford, aged 85, who was 15 in the blitz and later served in the Normandy Landings aged 19, when he was shot twice, challenged members of Sheffield Council to make the move to honour the 2,000 people killed or injured in the Luftwaffe raids on the city.

He told a hushed Sheffield Council chamber how he managed to make it home from the city centre as enemy planes were overhead - only for a delayed reaction bomb to go off damaging his home after the all-clear had been given and he had gone to bed.

"The ceiling came in," he recalled to councillors.

Mr Strafford said: "A memorial for the civillians killed or injured in the Sheffield Blitz should be prominent - its should be in a central area where people can see it, so that what people went through at the time is not forgotten."

A motion had been put forward to the council meeting yesterday afternoon by Labour Coun Pat Midgley, who represents Manor Castle, that the current memorial at Devonshire Green should be replaced with one in a place that is "more visible and prominent".

Her proposal had cross-party support. Replying to Mr Strafford, Lib Dem leader, Coun Paul Scriven, said: "We do have a memorial but it isn't in as prominent a position as it should be, not just to remind us of the terrible turmoil the city went through but to remind ourselves of the steely determination of so many like you.

"Many people suffered great loss but your example is living testament to the people who were real heroes and were absolutely determined not to be broken."

 

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/New-site-for-Blitz-memorial.6680692.jp

Should Sheffield have a monument to Blitz victims?

A NEW memorial to the victims of the Sheffield Blitz could be created under plans proposed by a city councillor.

Coun Pat Midgley, Labour member for Manor Castle, said: "This city endured two nights of intense bombing from air raids between December 12 and 15, 1940, killing and injuring over 2,000 local people and making 40,000 Sheffielders homeless."

She is proposing that fellow members of the authority "recognise the current memorial to the Sheffield blitz at Devonshire Green" but "resolve to consider creating a more visible and prominent memorial to commemorate not only those who lost their lives but also Sheffield's defiance in the face of such devastation."

Councillors will vote on whether to approve her motion at their full meeting at the Town Hall on Wednesday.

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Should-Sheffield-have-a-monument.6675614.jp

In my own opinion it should, I used to work on “The Moor” and always thought it had just been redeveloped rather than obliterated by German bombs.

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

 

Blitz 70th: Silent tribute to remember Sheffield victims

A SNOWY Sheffield cemetery fell silent in tribute to hundreds who lost their lives when the city was devastated by German bombers 70 years ago.

Wreaths were laid and a minute's silence observed at City Road Cemetery to mark the anniversary of the Sheffield Blitz.

The ceremony took place yesterday at the mass grave for victims of the World War II bombings.

Several local community groups took part alongside police officers, MP Paul Blomfield, Manor and Castle Development Trust, Park Community Action, Skye Edge Group, Manor Top PA and one of The Star's Women of Steel, Dorothy Slingsby.

Children from Wybourn Primary School joined in and laid their own floral tribute.

A total of 668 Sheffield civilians and 25 servicemen died, 1,586 were injured, and 40,000 made homeless during two nights of bombing in 1940.

Yesterday's event was organised to remember effect war has on the ordinary people and pay tribute to their sacrifices.

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Blitz-70th-Silent-tribute-to.6657742.jp