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This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Geraldine Roberts of the 鈥楢ction Desk 鈥� Sheffield鈥� Team on behalf of Dorothy Newton, and has been added to the site with the author鈥檚 permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Sheffield in the Blitz
by
Mrs Dorothy Newton

I got married in 1938 at the age of 25. Before my marriage I had worked for 10 years as a clerk at the Sheffield Insurance Committee (SIC). I dealt with issuing various documents including Medical Cards.

In those days women had to give up their jobs as soon as they got married.

We settled into married life in Melrose Road in Pitsmoor.

A year later the war began. My husband Percy was in a reserved occupation. He was a Turner and made nuts, bolts and screws. He was very skilled and later when the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet was being developed, he was asked to make some of the nuts and bolts. He was to make them look much older by 鈥渄istressing鈥� them.

In addition to his job, Percy was in the Home Guard. He manned the gun site at Shirecliffe, and although they had some practises, the gun was never used. He also went on fire watch almost every evening.

Meanwhile, I was at home. The instruction came out that you either had to go back to work, or have a W.A.A.F. billeted at the house. We had several young W.A.A.F.'s. None of them was with us for very long.

In 1940 I was contacted by the S.I.C. So many men had gone to war that they were very short of experienced staff. I stayed until my first child Roger, was born in 1942.

Our house on Melrose Road, had a long back garden, which ran down to the edge of Burngreave cemetery. Percy made a shelter at the back of the house. I will never forget the night of the Sheffield Blitz. We were in the shelter, when suddenly, there was a terrific noise and the door of the shelter blew off. We saw a huge sheet of flame.

It was Burngreave church. It was completely destroyed that night.

The next day we found out that a bomb had dropped in the entrance to the cemetery. We all went down to have a look. There was a huge crater and in the middle was the bomb. As soon as we saw it we knew it was still live. We got away from it, but even then we did not really understand the danger.

Later that day, I walker over to see my parents who lived in Talbot Street in

Norfolk Park. On the way I was shocked to see the damage on The Wicker. There was so much destruction. It was a dreadful mess and goods from many of the shops were strewn all over the road. The tramlines were lumps of twisted metal.

The incendiaries, rather than the ordinary bombs did the worst damage.

There was a huge amount of fire damage. I saw John Walsh鈥檚, which was a very posh shop, where TJ Hughes is now, completely ablaze.

Immediately after the blitz the main problem was the lack of electricity and water.

A standpipe was erected in Burngreave cemetery, and for the next three or four weeks we had to collect all the water we needed in bucket and pans.

But everyone helped each other.

My special memory of that time is of the deep camaraderie of the people. The tragedy seemed to make everyone really want to pull together.

Pr-BR

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