Article - Bentley folk’s true grit in face of Hitler bombs (Doncaster)

Our recent story which featured the bombing of Doncaster during World War II resulted in a number of replies reminding me of Bentley’s ordeal.

In fact that attack took place on December 21, 1940, the year before Balby suffered. The destruction at Bentley centred on the Royston Avenue area but a bomb also fell close to The Sun Inn blowing in the windows and injuring a young man standing at the bar as well as nearby pedestrians.

One gentleman who distinguished himself during the incident was miner Charles Allmand.

Mr Allmand was an ARP Warden on duty that night as residents were hurriedly taken to St Peter’s Church hall for shelter. He rescued several people during the raid, including an elderly lady who became trapped in her chair with her dog (which had been killed) still on her knees.

This brave indivdual lifted and propped up the piece of wood which had trapped the lady. He went on to help a mother and two children who were trapped in their makeshift bomb shelter under the stairs. They had to wait to be rescued by the heroic Mr Allmand.

There were many examples of bravery that night as neighbours and friends all struggled to help each other but Charles Allmand’s feats earned him official recognition from the Government which awarded him The British Empire Medal For Bravery by the Civil Defence Office. With regular rescue services stretched to capacity there was much sterling work done by volunteer members of the fire brigade and medical profession who also put their lives at risk attending to the residents.

There were several deaths and and many injured during this raid but with reporting restrictions in place at that time the local Doncaster Gazette newspaper’s headlines read “Families Buried in Their Homes, Many Left Homeless by Nazi Raiders. Women and Children Among The Victims”.

I received a letter from Bentley resident Fay Mackintosh who told me her aunt, uncle and cousin were all killed in the Royston Avenue raid and their names along with other victims are now on a memorial plaque in Arksey Cemetery.

Fay also remembers her mother was injured when the Sun Inn bomb exploded, which resulted in her losing her leg. Thankfully Fay and her father, who were close by, were uninjured.

Papers weren’t of course allowed to give casuality figures or to say where it all happened, having to describe Bentley quite simply as “an industrial village in the North” so no crumb of satisfaction should be gleaned by the enemy. True facts and figures weren’t released until much later.

One lady remembers that the family house was damaged but not demolished and it took nearly a year to make it habitable again during which time they stayed with neighbours and even managed to salvage their un-opened Christmas presents for some welcome cheer.

Smaller bombing incidents in the Long Sandall and Hyde Park areas took place, but the ferocity of the attacks increased again in 1941 with the Balby Blitz.

I would like to thank all the people who contacted me regarding this subject; there were some amazing, and poignant stories but Bentley folk were made of sterner stuff, they took it on the chin and came out fighting in true British fashion.

From: http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/community/nostalgia/bentley_folk_s_true_grit_in_face_of_hitler_bombs_1_3289372

Doncaster,Bentley

News - Work starts on Sutton war memorial (Sutton-in-Ashfield)

ASHFIELD will finally get a new war memorial to its fallen heroes this summer as work starts after a long campaign.

Around five years of work came to a head on Monday as the first sod was cut at the site of the new monument, on the corner of Mansfield Road and Unwin Road in Sutton.

Campaign group Friends of Ashfield War Memorials raised around £25,000 to get the memorial built.

Said group treasurer Maria Kerry: “It was a marvellous feeling to see the work finally start.

“The campaign has been going on for years but we are finally getting there.”

Recognising British service personnel killed during conflict since 1914, the completed monument will feature an obelisk and garden.

It will be officially unveiled with a special ceremony in June.

On Monday group members and local people who have donated cash to the scheme saw NMC Nomenca, part of the Huthwaite-based North Midland Construction group, start work.

The company is among firms offering their services for free to get the monument built, while local councillors have also given thousands of pounds in funding towards the scheme.

Added Mrs Kerry: “The memorial itself is done, the railings are being finished and the plaques are done, we can’t wait for it to be ready.”

From: http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/work_starts_on_sutton_war_memorial_1_3156874

News - Bells to toll for bomb victims (Newark)

The bell of the second HMS Newark will toll a week today for the 41 factory workers who died when Ransome and Marles was bombed in the second world war.

 

The 11am chimes from the parish church will be followed by a two-minute silence, before the bell will be rung from the Town Hall steps.

It will sound once for each of the victims as their names are read out as part of the 70th anniversary commemorations of the bombing.

The names will be read by a former Mayor of Newark, Mr Chris Grant, whose father, Robert, was killed.

Ten bombs, five of which exploded, were dropped in two raids on the Northern Road factory on March 7, 1941.

Workers then came under machine-gun fire as they tried to flee.

The tribute on Saturday, March 5, organised by the Friends of Newark Cemetery, is part of three days of commemoration events, culminating, on Monday, March 7, by the unveiling of a permanent memorial to the bombing victims.

In addition to the 41 men and women killed, a further 165 people were injured.

On the Saturday and Sunday, the cemetery chapel interpretation centre will be open to the public from noon until 4.30pm, where there will be an exhibition of artefacts relating to the bombing.

Visitors can also see some of the victims’ graves.

On Monday, March 7, pupils at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School will ring their school bell at 2.24pm —the time of the second raid at the bearings factory.

The children, who have been studying the bombing for a project, will read a roll of honour to remember those who died.

There will be further opportunity for the public, from 3pm to 4.30pm, to view the cemetery chapel exhibition and pay their respects at the grave-sides.

On the Monday night, the town council will honour those who died in what was Newark’s single greatest loss of life.

Relatives of the victims will be at the Town Hall for the unveiling at 6pm of a memorial — made by NSK Europe — the successors of Ransome and Marles.

The memorial, in the staircase entrance to the Town Hall, will feature a large chrome-plated bearing, of the type made at the factory, and an item of memorabilia salvaged from 1941.

The names of the people killed will appear on a plaque on the memorial.

 

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Bells-to-toll-for-bomb-victims

News – Conisbrough Priory to be Auctioned Off

…In one auction house in Sheffield on February 15th and then three days later in London they have the Grade II listed 19thcentury Conisbrough Priory which is situated west of Doncaster.  Rotherham swimming baths is also available at a guide price of £150,000….From: http://www.stockmarketsreview.com/realestate/2011/02/07/the-big-council-sell-off/

 

Another off loading from the Council to raise funds - From what I can ascertain this is a Nursing home and A1 offices on Castle Street:

 

CONISBROUGH HIGH STREET
SK59NW (east side)

4/28 The Priory (offices of
5.11.62 Local Authority Housing
Department) (formerly
listed as Priory House).

GV II


House now local authority offices. Early-mid C19. Ruled stucco, Welsh slate roof. 2-storey, 3-bay front with wing across rear projecting beyond right return. Giant end pilasters and raised central bays Rectangular stone steps to central door with fanlight in doorcase having keyed archivolt and modillioned  ediment. Outer bays each have a canted bay window with sashes and modillioned cornice. 1st floor: plain central sash with projecting sill in segmentally-arched recess rising from doorcase; outer bays have similar paired sashes. Cornice, breaking forward over ends and centre, beneath parapet with balustraded panels over each bay. Hipped roof with stacks to rear, at junction with lower wing, and on ridge of rear wing.

Listing NGR: SK5129898751 Source: English Heritage

From http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-334801-the-priory-offices-of-local-authority-de

 

News - Anger over abbey lodge sale (Newstead)

NOTTINGHAM City Council has announced plans to sell one of the residential lodges in the estate of Lord Byron's former home, Newstead Abbey.

The proposed sale of the grade-II listed West Lodge has provoked fears that the council may "split up" the estate, which it is struggling to maintain.

The Post previously reported that the council plans to close the abbey and its museum collections every day except Sunday in a bid to save cash. It is currently open four days a week.

Ken Purslow, chairman of the Newstead Abbey Byron Society, said the West Lodge was in a "dilapidated state" after being empty for about 10 years. Before that, he said, the caretaker used to live in the lodge."It's a clear indication that they can't look after it," said Mr Purslow."If it's got into a dilapidated state like this, then the solution is to find someone who will put it in decent order."There is a great danger of breaking up the estate if they're starting to do this now – what are they looking at next?"

The council claims it has been forced to reduce the opening hours because it has been hit by a 16.5% cut in Government funding, which is about £60 million. It has revealed budget proposals to save £33 million.

The two-storey stone lodge is about half a mile from the abbey and has a large garden surrounded by a brook and a grade-II listed wall.

The council plans to sell it in an auction with a reserve price on it, to prevent it going too cheaply.

A spokeswoman for the council said she was unable to confirm any other details.

The abbey was given to the people of Nottingham in 1931 by owner Sir Julien Cahn, whose granddaughter Miranda Rijks has written to the council urging it to give or sell the property to another organisation to help keep it open.

The plans for West Lodge were approved by Councillor Dave Trimble, portfolio holder of leisure and culture.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Anger-abbey-lodge-sale/article-3192821-detail/article.html

 

News - Take a look at Newark as seen in 1942

A wartime propaganda documentary set in Newark has been published online as part of a project to make a national archive of films available to the public.

 

The 1942 documentary, called Market Town, was one of many films commissioned by the British Council.

It would have been sent all over the globe to showcase Britain to the outside world. The ten-minute film follows the events of a typical market day, highlighting Newark’s importance as a central hub for buying and selling activities between town and country.

 

Although the narrator makes a point of not naming Newark or its landmarks — there were wartime security restrictions and the plan was to focus on a typical, not specific, market town — there is no mistaking its identity as the film’s location.

The view of Newark Parish Church from the surrounding countryside as people walk, cycle or drive to the town for market day is the first give away.

Vehicles pass the former Midland Hotel, near the Castle Station railway crossing, heading over Beastmarket Hill into the town.

Farmers are filmed driving their animals through the streets to the cattle market, which, in 1942, was located at what is now the Riverside Arena on Tolney Lane, where it remained until 1990.

An auction at the cattle market is captured on film, along with buying and selling at the poultry market at The Wharf.

An aerial shot shows old-style market stalls in the largely unchanged surroundings of the Market Place.

The Town Hall and other historic buildings around the Market Place, including the Governor’s House (now Greggs) and the White Hart Inn, which was Bainbridge and Co at the time and is now The Nottingham, are featured.

The film also shows scenes of the old British Sugar factory and maltings along the River Trent.

The footage has been digitised and published online through the Time/Image project, which is inviting the public to explore and discuss the films of the British Council.

The Newark film has been held in the British Film Institute archives for decades without being seen by the public.

A member of the project, Sarah Cole, said they did not know why Newark was chosen.

She said it may be because a similar film, called Country Town, was filmed about the same time at Boston.

The film charts the development of Newark at the crossing of the River Trent, including the building of the Fosse Way, now the A46, and the Great North Road, now the A1.

Sarah Cole said there were some complaints at the time that it misrepresented Newark’s history, showing it growing up around the roads and market rather than the castle.

She said: “The differences between Newark today and Newark in 1942 are compelling — seeing how the main landmarks have remained the same while the scenery and people around them have changed is fascinating.”

She urged people to contact them with their opinions about the film and if it held any particular significance for them. Email the project team at info@timeimage.org.uk

 

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Take-a-look-at-Newark-as-seen-in-1942

 

If you go to the Newark Advertiser website you can watch the 10 minute film

 

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.

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

MoD approves exhumation of Polish soldiers to solve mystery of General Sikorski's death

A very interesting story from The Telegraph:

The bodies of three Polish army officers buried in Britain are to be exhumed as part of an investigation into the mysterious death of Poland's wartime leader.

The officers died alongside General Wladyslaw Sikorski, then Poland's prime minister and military commander, when his RAF Liberator plunged into the sea shortly after taking off from Gibraltar in July 1943.

The Ministry of Defence have approved the removal of the bodies from the Polish military cemetery in Newark, Nottinghamshire, early next month. They will then transport the remains to Poland with full military honours for a post mortem.

Although a wartime British inquiry deemed the crash an accident, Sikorski's death has long been the subject of enduring and colourful conspiracy theories, which claim that the general died at the hands of Stalin's assassins, or even British agents working under the orders of Churchill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/8160016/MoD-approves-exhumation-of-Polish-soldiers-to-solve-mystery-of-General-Sikorskis-death.html

 

B24 Liberator II/LB-30 AL523 took off from RAF North Front at 23:10 04/07/1943. The only photo of the plane I can find is of it upside down in the water with its undercarriage down! Oddly the second pilot is relatively unknown and Prchal had never flown with him before.

Five bodies were never found and the bodies were never positively identified in the Liberator II’s crash.  There are two earlier incidents in preceding months where it looks like General Sikorski’s planes had been sabotaged. The night before the crash a soviet plane had been parked next to the unguarded plane so one of the conspiracy theories is that the Russians planned to kidnap him. Another interesting fact is that the documents relating to the crash are still classified. Sikorski was exhumed in 2008 from Wawel Cathedral in Krakow but the investigators deemed his death as being consistent with a plane crash. It is worthy also to note that Sikorski himself was buried at Newark on 16 July 1943 until 1993 when his body was taken back to Poland.

Passengers:
1.General Władysław SikorskiPrime Minister and
Commander-in-Chief of Poland

2.Zofia Leśniowska Chief of the Polish Women's Auxiliary

3.Major General Tadeusz Klimecki Chief of the Polish General Staff

4.Colonel Andrzej MareckiChief of Operations Staff

5.Lieutenant Jozef PonikiewskiNaval A.D.C.

6.Adam Kulakowski Personal secretary to Sikorski

7.Colonel Victor Cazalet M.P., British Liason Officer

8.Brigadier J.P. Whitely M.P.

9.Mr. W.H. Lock(Never found, presumed dead)

10.Mr. Pinder Head of British Intelligence Service in the Middle East
(his position was never revealed to General Sikorski)

11.Bombardier Gralewski (Joined the party at Gibraltar)

Crew:
1.1Lt Edward Maks Prchal Captain/1st Pilot

2.Squadron Leader W.S. Herring 2nd Pilot (never found)

3.Warrant Officer L. Zalsberg Navigator

4.Sergeant F. KellyFlight Engineer

5.Flight Sergeant C.B. Gerrie Radio Operator/Air Gunner

6.Flight Sergeant D. Hunder Radio Operator/Air Gunner
(never found)

 

Was Mr Pinder: PINDER, Harry, Warrant Telegraphist, HMS Nile, 4 July 1943, aircraft accident, killed

 

Also see http://umbr4.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/corp/assets/foi/sikorski/sikorski4.pdf