Bristol and Bristol City FC in the blitz

[OC 1645]

In February 1941 half of the 'No. 1 stand' at Ashton Gate was destroyed by an unexploded German bomb and the other half was destroyed the following night by another raid by Adolf Hitler's German Luftwaffe.....

Bristol City Football Ground - Ashton Gate - a direct hit......

Blitzed remains of Union Street Broadmead, Bristol was the fifth most heavily bombed UK city in the war.......

Source: http://weldgen.tripod.com/bristol-history/id6.html

How most of Adolf Hitler's German Luftwaffe ended the war after bombing Ashton Gate ........

[22A]

Human interest story from the history book.

Len Southway went to Ashton Gate one night in February 1941 to take the training but all the doors were locked so he tried climbing through a window! A Policeman stopped him saying "Don't go in, there's 2 or 3 unexploded bombs in there". Later that night half the stand was destroyed.

Southway thought the chance of a bomb falling on the other half was remote so he parked his car under the undamaged half. The next night he lost the car as the other half of the stand was destroyed. City received compensation for the stand a few years after the war ended. That was the 1939 valuation of 7,630 plus 120% totalling 16,500. The estimated rebuilding cost was 18,000 and by the time work was complete this had risen to 30,000!

[OC 1645]

Human interest story from the history book.

Len Southway went to Ashton Gate one night in February 1941 to take the training but all the doors were locked so he tried climbing through a window! A Policeman stopped him saying "Don't go in, there's 2 or 3 unexploded bombs in there". Later that night half the stand was destroyed.

Southway thought the chance of a bomb falling on the other half was remote so he parked his car under the undamaged half. The next night he lost the car as the other half of the stand was destroyed. City received compensation for the stand a few years after the war ended. That was the 1939 valuation of 7,630 plus 120% totalling 16,500. The estimated rebuilding cost was 18,000 and by the time work was complete this had risen to 30,000!

22A, that's a great reply to this post and a great story for someone to put in print for posterity before it's forgotten. I discovered that photograph of the bombed BCFC main stand quite by accident and now you've put a great story to that piccie. Well done Sir.

[Rednready]

I was a wee lad during ww2, and I can remember the air raid sirens going off. They even rang the sirens about once a month after the war, as an alert drill. I remember seeing streets of rubble from the bombing, for some years after the war.

I also remember a street full of boys, the Pen Park gang and our old leather football, the leather lace up type with a rubber tube to blow up. I also remember a tin of dubbin which we lovingly rubbed into our only street football. We`were in deadly fear that we may never get another one.

On checking with an old neighbour, our old air raid shelter was at the rear of 139 Pen Park rd, Southmead. Our BCFC home games gave us a bus from the top of Pen Park rd to Ashton Gate and back. Mike Thresher, John Atyeo and Wally Hinshelwood were my hero's growing up.

We had no luxuries, no television or computors, nobody owned cars on the street and coffee was a bottle of brown liquid called chicory. Know what, I woulden't swap those memories for the world, but I share them with you.

[OC 1645]

I was a wee lad during ww2, and I can remember the air raid sirens going off. They even rang the sirens about once a month after the war, as an alert drill. I remember seeing streets of rubble from the bombing, for some years after the war.

I was born 20 years after WWII ended but I was brought up by my Grandfather in Bedminster and I heard many war tales. My Grandfather was always keen to explain how the bombing of Bristol was avenged by Bristolian RAF personnel like himself. However, the real showpiece victory had to be the capture of the German Reichstag by the Russians where the Red Flag flew proudly in conquest over the ruins of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich government in Berlin. Maybe not the Red Flag of BCFC - to avenge the 1941 bombing of Ashton Gate - but a Red Flag nonetheless ......

[City_pete1]

I was born 20 years after WWII ended but I was brought up by my Grandfather in Bedminster and I heard many war tales. My Grandfather was always keen to explain how the bombing of Bristol was avenged by Bristolian RAF personnel like himself. However, the real showpiece victory had to be the capture of the German Reichstag by the Russians where the Red Flag flew proudly in conquest over the ruins of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich government in Berlin. Maybe not the Red Flag of BCFC - to avenge the 1941 bombing of Ashton Gate - but a Red Flag nonetheless ......

I may only be 23, but really enjoyed reading this. Anyone else got any information please post. Its amazing to see where we have come from and what has happened (as BCFC and people).

[Rudolf Hucker]

I was a wee lad during ww2, and I can remember the air raid sirens going off. They even rang the sirens about once a month after the war, as an alert drill. I remember seeing streets of rubble from the bombing, for some years after the war.

I also remember a street full of boys, the Pen Park gang and our old leather football, the leather lace up type with a rubber tube to blow up. I also remember a tin of dubbin which we lovingly rubbed into our only street football. We`were in deadly fear that we may never get another one.

On checking with an old neighbour, our old air raid shelter was at the rear of 139 Pen Park rd, Southmead. Our BCFC home games gave us a bus from the top of Pen Park rd to Ashton Gate and back. Mike Thresher, John Atyeo and Wally Hinshelwood were my hero's growing up.

We had no luxuries, no television or computors, nobody owned cars on the street and coffee was a bottle of brown liquid called chicory. Know what, I woulden't swap those memories for the world, but I share them with you.

I was born 10 years after WWII finished.

I remember those old leather footballs. I was in Eastville Park one day (I'm a St George boy) and the Rovers were training there. I stood on the line watching and the ball came toward me. Alfie Biggs asked me to kick it back to him - it was like kicking a rock ... nearly broke my foot!

I also remember my late mum taking me to the top floor of the old Jones's store (next to Lewis's - now John Lewis) in Broadmead with my scrap book to meet John Atyeo. He signed my book - don't know where it is, it disappeared years ago - and I had my photo taken with him for the paper. Sadly never saw the photo printed so I've no proof. The great man seemed embarassed to be there. Which made two of us!

What would I have given in those days for a replica City kit? My kids have loads of them from teams in Italy, Chile, Spain and of course, BCFC and sort of take it for granted. I had to make do with a red jumper! Crikey, how times have changed. I buy a shirt every year and still get a frisson of pride every time I pull it on. What a silly ass.

[OC 1645]

I may only be 23, but really enjoyed reading this.

Your post - along with us beating Brighton away - has really made my day. This kind of Bristolian history was never taught to me in school. If it were not for people like my Grandfather I would never have known about Oliver Cromwell's liberation of Bristol from the Royalists, the German bombing of Bristol in WWII, and the Red Army's capture of Hitler's Berlin. They're all politically 'incorrect' snippets of history that our Government would rather we did not know it seems.

Try clicking on the URL below and update your knowledge on the City of Bristol, it's the best website on Bristol's history that I've yet seen.....

Source: http://weldgen.tripod.com/bristol-history/id6.html

[OC 1645]

Aother famous moment in the history of Bristol. Well done cider head, for supplying the piccies on the Subcider forum of that sad Gashead Eastville stand with the sagging roof burning down. Did the notoriously dodgy Gasheads burn down their own Main Stand to claim insurance money?

[22A]

A few more more snippets for you.

In 1941 it was announced Churchill would visit Cardiff and it was assumed he would travel from London direct to Cardiff that day. However he travelled the previous day and stayed overnight in Bristol. That night Bristol had one of it's heaviest (if not the heaviest) air raid of the war. Luck or had someone tipped off the Germans? A memento of that raid remains today. If you travel up Cromwell Road from Cheltenham Road towards Montpelier Station two adjoining houses on the right hand side are obviously newer than the others in that street. They replaced the originals that were destroyed in that raid. Intriguingly, a MP travelling with Churchill was staying in one of the houses that night and was killed. Given the lack of laser technology available then, that was a remarkable coincidence for a bomb to hit the house one of the politicos was in.

The bombing killed off Bristol's trams. Their power supply was taken out in one raid and the final tram limped into the terminus. The current bus service is a direct result!

Another reminder of the bombing is in St Mary Redcliffe church yard. A tram line was blown out of the road and still sticks out of the grass there.

Before the war it had been proclaimed the bomber will always get through and it was assumed all cities would be levelled as in the Spanish Civil War. I have been told by a retired fireman that Bristol saved money and only paid lip service to Civil Defence. The night Wine Street and Castle Street were totally destroyed just four fire fighters were on duty there and told to do what they could. They were then seemingly forgotten by their control, but the Salvation Army found out about them and delivered cups of tea to the quartet.

Human interest; my Grand father lived above Hotwells Road. The Luftwaffe followed the river up knowing it led to the city centre. There was a work organisation that went round repairing smashed windows and light damage to houses that were still habitable. My Grand father immediately offered to house some of these men knowing they would therefore repair his house first as it was where they were living!

I read in a book that "V1 missiles were not only fired at London but also centres of transport and communication such as Portsmouth, Southampton and Bristol". I had never heard of V1s falling on Bristol so appealed for info in the times oast section of the EP. A former RAF man wrote that as our armies moved Eastwards after D Day assorted V1 sites were captured including some not yet used. Thet found some of those were lined up on Bristol and he believes the author assumed they had been used.

Bristol's final air raid occurred during day light early in 1945. A bus was destroyed and four more civillians killed.

[OC 1645]

A few more more snippets for you.

In 1941 it was announced Churchill would visit Cardiff and it was assumed he would travel from London direct to Cardiff that day. However he travelled the previous day and stayed overnight in Bristol. That night Bristol had one of it's heaviest (if not the heaviest) air raid of the war. Luck or had someone tipped off the Germans? A memento of that raid remains today. If you travel up Cromwell Road from Cheltenham Road towards Montpelier Station two adjoining houses on the right hand side are obviously newer than the others in that street. They replaced the originals that were destroyed in that raid. Intriguingly, a MP travelling with Churchill was staying in one of the houses that night and was killed. Given the lack of laser technology available then, that was a remarkable coincidence for a bomb to hit the house one of the politicos was in.

It would not surprise me in the least if the houses you mention were actually bombed by an assassin rather than bombed from the air - pin point bombing accuracy from the air simply did not exist in 1941. I understand that Winston Churchill had quite a few doubles to fool German intelligence. There was a UKTV History channel documentary recently about Churchill's visit to Yalta to meet Roosevelt and Stalin. The Germans actually parachuted quite a few assassins into the Yalta area for assassination attempts against the big three allied war leaders. Luckily, the potential assassins were either shot or captured.

Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at Yalta to discuss strategies with the war against Germany and Japan......

[The Fat Controller]

It would not surprise me in the least if the houses you mention were actually bombed by an assassin rather than bombed from the air - pin point bombing accuracy from the air simply did not exist in 1941. I understand that Winston Churchill had quite a few doubles to fool German intelligence. There was a UKTV History channel documentary recently about Churchill's visit to Yalta to meet Roosevelt and Stalin. The Germans actually parachuted quite a few assassins into the Yalta area for assassination attempts against the big three allied war leaders. Luckily, the potential assassins were either shot or captured.

Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at Yalta to discuss strategies with the war against Germany and Japan......

I watched that.

Keep the "war stories" coming.

[Red`s Ashtonic Lustpit]

I watched that.

Keep the "war stories" coming.

My great aunt worked at Gloster/Hawker in Hucclecote, Gloucester during the war. One day she did not take her normal bus to work. A German bomb fell on that bus, killing most passengers. Truly her lucky day.

I can never understand why Gloucester was not bombed more, as it was quite important industrially.

Going off on another tangent, where I work now (Rhodia in Oldbury, W.Mids), used to be Albright an Wilson. Lord Haw Haw mentioned it by name, warning that the Luftwaffe knew where it was. As a result a large brick stack, "The Big Stack" was dismantled, as it was used as a navigation point by the bally boche.

And we moan if City lose.

[22A]

I've spoken to my Mum who's in her late 80s. She says that Filton was bombed quite severely one day and a shelter received a direct hit. Apparantly there was just little bits of flesh and bone left in the remains. Standard procedure for the time; they just concreted over and wrote a figure down which was approximate to the number of people who would have been down there.

Another pensioner I spoke to confirmed that story. The Police called on him after theat raid and stated his son was not amongst the survivors when the roll call was taken. An hour later the son walked in! He had clocked in and then slipped out to see his girl friend and taken shelter there when the sirens sounded. The man said he didn't know whether to hit or hug his son.

Bristol's air raid sirens continued to be tested after the war and I believe the last time was early in 1967. I remember that as it was during the first year of Secondary School (66-67). The practice was discontinued when some people complained of the distress caused by the sound.

[OC 1645]

I watched that.

Keep the "war stories" coming.

Apparently, the first air raid in the Bristol area occurred on 25th June 1940 when the German Luftwaffe bombed St Phillips, St Pauls, St James and Brislington - they were actually aiming to destroy the works of the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton !!!! Good job the Germans were so stupid with their geography or else they could have won the war !!!!!!

The image above is of Wine Street. This street was familiar to all visitors to Bristol before the war and it suffered badly during the bombing. Much of the area around Wine and Castle Street is in fact the area now known as Castle Green and it was reduced to a mass of rubble and was never rebuilt after the war. All that remains of this area is the scorched church with no roof between the back of the Galleries shopping centre and the river.

Below is St.Philip's Bridge in Bristol after a night of heavy bombing.....

Below is the remains of ye olde Victoria Street that led from Broadmead to Temple Meads and this famous street was wrecked during the blitz. The famous leaning tower of Temple Church remains today as a reminder of the war....

Source: http://weldgen.tripod.com/bristol-history/id6.html