Auction - How Hitler mapped out blitz on city (Sheffield Blitz maps)

MAPS drawn up to show Hitler’s plans for a catastrophic bombing onslaught on Sheffield are to go under hammer this week.

The detailed maps show targets for the Luftwaffe as part of Hitler’s assault on Britain during World War Two.

Railways, waterways, industrial complexes, council buildings and even hospitals are all highlighted on the maps as intended targets.

They were produced for Hitler’s war machine as part of his plans - codenamed Operation Sea Lion - to invade the United Kingdom from 1940 onwards.

Following the Germans’ defeat in the Battle of Britain, however, Sea Lion was postponed indefinitely in September 1940 and it was never carried out.

Two months later, however, in December 1940, Sheffield was bombed over two nights by the Luftwaffe. Operation Crucible killed 660 people, injured 1,500 and made 40,000 homeless.

Bombs demolished 3,000 homes and a further 3,000 were badly damaged.

The maps for the raids will be auctioned in Ludlow, Shropshire, on Thursday.

Richard Westwood-Brookes, of Mullock’s Auctioneers, who will sell the maps at their next sale at Ludlow Racecourse, said: “The map shows how detailed the Germans’ plans for destruction of this country were.

“The maps of Sheffield are part of a pack covering the region, which contains several similarly detailed maps of the area including maps of Rotherham, Lincoln, Grimsby, Derby and Leicester.

“They are accompanied by a book of photographs showing particular targets such as bridges, factories, canals, and dockyards, so the Luftwaffe pilots could easily identify targets.

“It is certainly a chilling feeling looking at one of these maps and realising Hitler had it in for your town, your street, and your home.”

The Sheffield maps include one of the north of the city, with targets marked in purple including steelworks and rolling mills near Penistone Road, the main electricity station which stood near Parkwood Springs, Neepsend Gas Works, Neepsend Brick Works, and industrial units at Kelham Island.

Hillsborough Barracks and the Royal Infirmary are both marked in red.

“What is interesting about the maps, and one of the biggest questions for me, is were the Nazis planning on bombing Sheffield’s hospitals?” said Mr Westwood-Brookes.

“Some of these locations are highlighted on the maps in red, which you would perhaps think was code for places to avoid.

“But there are railway stations, army barracks and air spaces also highlighted in red, which would be prime targets during war.”

Mr Westwood-Brookes said the maps were found in the home of an RAF officer whose task at the end of the war had been to clear out Hitler’s geographical library, where all the detailed plans of attack were stored.

“The library was based in a castle in Austria,” said Mr Westwood-Brookes.

“To give an idea of how much was in there, he was told to commandeer a train with at least 10 five-tonne wagons and 500 other containers.”

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/how_hitler_mapped_out_blitz_on_city_1_3683001

The Five Million 'Secret' Artefacts Available For All to See

His daily work includes examining and looking after a steadily increasing collection of thousands of books and manuscripts, housed in rooms off a narrow spiral staircase.

The works in Lincoln Cathedral Library, opposite the West Front of the cathedral, date back to the 10th century and cover varying issues from church history, make-up tips for ladies and the history of chocolate.

Prized possessions include a first edition of John Milton's Paradise Lost.

Across the city, at the Lincolnshire Archives, off St Rumbolds Street, a quiet storeroom with 10ft-high shelves is stacked with hundreds of boxes containing an estimated four to five million items.

Church documents, letters, maps, court records and council minutes are some of the things waiting to be catalogued, while people have access to many other works in the public reading area. These two quaint buildings, although not secrets, contain histories undiscovered by many in the county.

Librarian Dr Nicholas Bennett said the collection was stored in eight rooms in Lincoln Cathedral's Medieval and Wren libraries, with 10,000 items dating pre-1800 and 10,000 items dating post-1800s.

Dr Bennett said he was joined throughout the year by up to 80 volunteers, with exhibitions on the library's contents being held from Easter to October and usually during the Lincoln Christmas Market.

He said: "We are an historic library and a working library. Access is restricted only because it's in an historic building and there is not a great deal of space or staff.

"Anyone can come to use the collections, they just have to make an appointment first.

"Every time a book is taken off the shelf, it deteriorates a little bit. We have to be careful. But there is no point keeping precious books if we can't see them. We want to keep them for future generations but we also want the present one to see them."

The 12th century library contained between 40 and 50 books by 1148 and has grown largely thanks to donations. Dr Bennett said a recent arrival was a rare 18th century Irish catechism.

The librarian of 20 years said: "Apparently, there are only three known in the world and the man who donated it found it in his mother's attic. It's such a rarity and shows how the library has grown through people's generosity.

"My favourite book of the collection, perhaps unexpected, is a history of chocolate from the late 17th century which is fascinating and very appetising."

Collections officer at Lincolnshire Archives, James Stevenson, said the first challenge for staff was identifying a document. He added the second was working out its context in a collection and place in history.

Mr Stevenson said: "Our oldest document dates to 1072 and we have already got some material that is from the 21st century. Unfortunately these days some of the Methodist chapels are having to close and the records come to us."

From: http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/education/History-s-hidden-gems-right-nose/article-3062879-detail/article.html

Medieval Room Found under Lincoln Castle/Loss of Historical Church Records

The recent excavations around Lincoln Castle have now revealed a medieval circular room under the current ground level.  The room was discovered during work to install a lift to enable visitors to gain access to the curtain wall more easily. Hopefully when the feature is completely excavated its use will become known.  This could also indicate that other previously unknown early structures could survive within the area.

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/environment/Tunnel-vision-reveals-buildings-castle/article-2935933-detail/article.html

A survey has recently been carried out after concerns over the loss of important historical documents from churches in the past several years.  The problem seemly arises when the building runs out of storage space for keeping the documents in and lack of staff training.  

We have noticed this locally when one of our members retrieved lots of historical Victorian documents from a local church in a skip.   
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Religious-archives-at-risk.6638179.jp