In 1941 the Luftwaffe (Germany's Air Force) undertook a concerted effort to destroy the morale of the British People whilst targeting strategic towns and cities across Britain. Merseyside was seen as a highly strategic target - Britain's main port in London had been immobilised, leaving the Mersey and Clyde ports as the main points of access to shipping. The Battle of the Atlantic was co-ordinated from Liverpool and the Mersey ports were extremely important for naval repairs and ship building, whilst supplies were brought in and troops were shipped out throughout the war.
The people of Liverpool had been warned at the outbreak of war in 1939 that air attacks were likely. Children were evacuated, preparations made and the city waited.
In August 1940 the first bombs were dropped on Liverpool, Birkenhead and Wallasey. By October 1940 Merseyside had suffered 200 air raids but by Christmas people were talking about a "phoney war", feeling that the dangers did not warrant the mass evacuations that had taken place, so the children came home.
The early months of 1941 seemed to prove the people's theory as there were very few attacks, with only three raids taking place in April. This, however, was the calm before the storm. Admiral Raeder of the German Navy urged Hitler:
"That an early concentrated attack on Britain was necessary, on Liverpool for example, so that the whole nation will feel the effect".
Hitler agreed, and he ordered the Luftwaffe to throw its full force against the city. On 1st May 1941 a seven day Blitzkrieg (lightning war) was unleashed on Liverpool and Birkenhead. Bombs, land mines and incendiary devices (fire bombs) rained down day and night. 681 enemy aircraft dropped 870 tonnes of high explosive and 112,000 incendiary bombs, destroying, it seemed, almost everything. Liverpool landmarks were devastated - the Overhead Railway, Lewis' Building, Blackler's, Derby Square, Castle Street, Lord Street, Bold Street... factories, offices, railway lines and sidings, schools, hospitals, public air raid shelters, houses, pubs, cinemas and churches.
"It's burning over a wide area down there. The town itself must have suffered immense hits" Luftwaffe Bomber Crew Observer Robert Gotz, May 1941
It was thought that there was a tacit agreement between the allies and enemy forces that Churches would not be targeted, but rumour has it that the German High Command suspected churches were being used as stores for munitions and other supplies. It is more likely that if churches were targeted it was in order to destroy the morale of the people. Wherever the truth lies, many churches took direct hits. Amongst them St Luke's Church, Leece Street, hit by an incendiary device late in the evening of Monday May 5th 1941.
The spate of bombing ended on May 7th but there was another heavy raid in early June. Things became calmer and two more raids took place in November 1941 and January 1942. These were the final air raids over Merseyside during the Second World War.
Throughout the war security and secrecy were paramount. Following the May Blitz all the papers reported was that various "incidents" happened in "a Northern Town". People who lived in Warrington were able to watch both Liverpool and Manchester burn during the Blitz. Many people listened to Lord Haw Haw (a Nazi sympathiser) on the radio, where they would get more accurate information as to which towns had been bombed and when. His aim to get the British People to join him was never achieved, people simply wanted more information than was available at home.
Whilst the docks and Liverpool City Centre were the main targets of the May Blitz, extensive damage was done to residential areas. Almost 33% of houses in Liverpool were destroyed or damaged by the air raids, whilst Bootle (close to the Liverpool Docks) lost nearly 65% of it's housing stock. Records state however, that within weeks 41,000 had been re-homed and 10,000 found accommodation outside the city.
There was a massive loss of life - reports vary, but it is known that in excess of 2,500 were killed as a result of the air raids, with the same number being injured. At least 1750 of these fatalities occurred during the May Blitz. Despite the enemy's concerted effort to close Liverpool to shipping and destroy the morale of its people, the docks were fully functional again within one month and Liverpool continued to play a vital part in Britain's war effort.
© Urban Strawberry Lunch 2005
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