Students
in the School of English at the University of Sheffield are provided with the
opportunity of taking a work placement as part of their degree programme. This year Mollie Littlewood is working with
us at Sheffield City Archives and Local Studies Library. She is writing a series of blog posts
highlighting the city’s fascinating archival treasures. This week she’s been looking at the Sheffield
Blitz edition of the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) magazine All Clear!
On the 12th and 15th December 1940
Sheffield was attacked by German aircraft. On the evening of the 12th the air raid
sounded at 7pm and was followed by over nine hours of bombing. It is estimated that 330 German aircraft
attacked Sheffield with 355 tonnes of high explosives and over 16,000
incendiary canisters. Two nights later a further 100 planes attacked during a three
hour air raid. The bombing caused devastation across the city leaving a
wreckage of buildings in its wake.
In April 1937 the government asked for Air Raid
Precautions (ARP) to be set up across the country. These precautions included Air Raid Wardens,
casualty services, First Aid posts and Emergency Feeding and Rest Centres
amongst other things. Initially the idea
was not well received as people did not want to think of war. In the beginning there were also periods of
boredom for those training for the ARP as there was nothing for them to do. However, as time went on the ARP increased in
size and by the outbreak of war there were 1.5 million people in the ARP across
the country.
When Sheffield was attacked in December 1940 the ARP were
prepared and dealt with the aftermath of the bombings as best they could with great
efficiency, care and bravery. The Lord
Mayor of Sheffield praised the people of the city for showing ‘gallantry,
fortitude, untiring energy and great devotion to duty.’
The ARP produced a monthly magazine called All
Clear! which included articles about the precautions to be taken in
case of an air raid, the status of the war, stories from the air raids and
poetry. In January 1941 a special Blitz
Edition was produced praising the people of Sheffield for their response to the
attack on their city. The special edition contains letters from the Lord Mayor
of Sheffield, the Chairman of the Emergency Committee and from Harewood House
on behalf of the Princess Royal paying tribute to Sheffielders. The Princess Royal compliments the people of
Sheffield highlighting the work of the women in ‘organising the relief of
distress, and especially the temporary housing and feeding of those whose homes
have been destroyed.’
There is a section of the magazine dedicated to praising
the women’s voluntary services. The
women of the ARP provided care, supported the homeless and helped children to
trace missing parents. They provided
comfort for people who needed it. They
are also praised specifically for their efficient work and improvisation in
their almost impossible working environment. The headquarters of the organising body
suffered three direct hits and over 75% of the Emergency Feeding and Rest
centres became unavailable. This did not
stop the women, however:
‘It
was they who assisted in improvisation schemes; them who courageously held the
fort until reinforcements arrived; they who summed up the situation in a flash
and “got a move on”’.
The letter from The Chairman of the Emergency Committee
that appears in the magazine praises the people of Sheffield for their
‘devotion to duty and the courage you displayed under conditions which it is
difficult to describe could only be equalled by soldiers in the front line of
battle.’
The magazine includes numerous stories of brave members
of the ARP and civilians who showed devotion and courage by risking their lives
to save others who were injured or trapped in the rubble. There is a section entitled ‘Our Heroes’ which
gives accounts of unbelievable acts of bravery during the Blitz. These include
a member of the First Aid party who was killed whilst attending to a casualty.
Bombs were dropped nearby and he threw himself over the patient’s body and was
struck by falling masonry and killed whilst his patient survived. A civilian saved five people who were trapped
beneath a house by crawling under the debris. He worked for three and a half hours and
managed to get them all out. A warden
rescued five people from a cellar by digging a tunnel with his bare hands. A nurse working at a First Aid Post was
advised to shelter in a passage-way with her colleagues but instead continued
to sing cheerfully and go from patient to patient giving them care. These
stories highlight moments of triumph and bravery in the face of extreme
adversity. They give me a feeling of
pride in the people of Sheffield, and they highlight the importance community
had at that time when the world was being torn apart, a message still relevant
to the world today.
The special Blitz Edition of All Clear! is bookended by emotional pieces of prose about the
Sheffield Blitz and its aftermath:
‘When
the sirens sounded there seemed no reason for undue alarm. They had sounded
many times before. To be followed in due time by more sirens signifying “All
Clear.”
Why
Worry?
Then
it started; and it continued for many hours.
Two
days later they came again.
They
left us serious minded and scarred.’
This reveals that although the city was well prepared
with safety precautions for an attack, there was little that could be done to
mentally prepare people for the horror of their homes being bombed; no amount
of training and preparation could alleviate the feelings of fear and heartbreak
wrought by the attempted demolition of the city.
The piece that closes the special Blitz Edition of All Clear! is titled ‘And Then--’ and
gives the message that although
Sheffield has been damaged, it has not been defeated by these attacks:
‘...If
the objective was our morale then the victory is ours for the battle has left
us, not desperate, but defiant...
How
shall we honour our dead?
That
is for the future.
When the time comes we shall remember them by removing our scars and, in their place, we shall build a better and greater Sheffield.’
This overwhelming sense of positivity and strength is
found throughout the Blitz Edition of the magazine. Separating these two pieces of prose are pages
of praise for every section of the ARP. It suggests that without the hard work of the
people of Sheffield the city would not have been able to go from being ‘serious
minded and scarred’ to ‘defiant’ and ready to ‘build a better and greater
Sheffield.’
Mollie
Littlewood
ARP
Magazine Blitz Edition 1941 (Sheffield Local Studies Library: 623.3 S)
Images © Sheffield City Archives/Picture Sheffield
