Did Hitler bomb your house?

[Uncle C]

Sounds like Mrs Daniels ?

Nope it was Tom Smith.

 

[Dr. Notthenineo'clocknews]

Hitler didn't bomb MY house, but my late mother lived in Clydebank from 1931 til 1952, she certainly knew what an air raid shelter was

 

[Mackenzie]

My dad was a kid, and was in Egremont Place when a bomb hit across the road - you can see a modern building now where it landed. Also he was strafed when crossing the road by a plane going for the viaduct; he reckons a lot of the strafing of civilians was a bit collateral, as the planes were going 300-odd mph and low, so over/undershooting would spray the bullets and cannon shells for a long way. The Kemptown cinema bombing on 14th Sept 1940 was one of a stick of bombs jettisoned by a Dornier under attack, he says; they fell all across the area. He was in another cinema with his younger brother at the time, but remembers seeing the damage, etc.

I lived at 32 Upper Rock Gardens when I was a child, those flats at the top of the road (next to No.32) were the result of the Luftwaffe's handiwork. Looks like College Gardens took a bit of a bashing too....I lived there as well.

 

[The Fifth Column]

Is there a high res version of this map that I can download and print for my son as his primary school project is on the Second World War.

Try this one:

http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/images/uploaded/originals/Bombing_Map_1946.jpg

 

[Leighgull]

Good thread this. The bombs that fell on Hollingbury golf course...is it true that they were turned into bunkers? My mate used to tell me that when we played up there.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

After the war they started building Coldean,we moved to the Roundway...only eight houses were complete then...everywhere was a huge building site...kids delight...swings from the scaffolding and general kids mischief. Later that year they opened the Wild Park,Dad was due home from the Army...Mum took me over the park for a pinic...boys being boys I found a mortar round,with a big smile on my face I put it into a box and rushed back to my Mum bouncing the round up and down in the box...for some reason Mum was terrified,I don't know why...I thought she would've been pleased for her boy to find a souvenir of the war.
However it turned out to be a pratice round,the Army used the Wild Park as a training ground,firing mortars up the hill.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

A lot of the machine gunning was from rounds fired in the dogfights...they have to land somewhere...it must have been frightening to be walking down the road and all of a sudden bullets were pinging and ricocheting everwhere

 

[Buzzer]

They came very, very close according to that map. A direct hit took out the Franklin Pub in Lewes Road/Franklin Road, another in the Patch near Bonchurch Road and another near Picton Street. Considering all these houses are made of bungaroosh (bungareesh?) they would have disintegrated with little or no effort.

Where I grew up in Worthing, I think we got away relatively lightly, the destruction was done by town planners in the 60s but when you go up to the Downs above there you can see dirty great big lumps taken out by the Luftwaffe as they dropped their bombs (presumably to lighten the plane on the way back).

Here's a pic of the original Franklin Pub after the bombing

As an aside I always thought it would be funny if a German comedian went to Liverpool and came out with the line: "You chipped my Grandad's bomber." They probably wouldn't see the funny side though.


Edit - apologies, just seen the Franklin mentioned elsewhere in the thread. Great thread though, OP!

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Found my Uncles Spotter book...1st pic is on the inside cover,the next two are the following pages explaining different types of wing and engine design...the last two are of German planes. There is so much info in there,not only on British/American/Commonwealth aircraft but German/Japanese/Russian as well,the measurements load capacity,performance, range. They were supposed to log all aircraft they saw.
Can you imagine the scene....Er Fred,there's an aircraft there. Where? By that big cloud. Yer see it ,I'll look it up.
It's coming a bit closer now Fred...Ok,what page will it be on...(furiously thumbs through book)
It's a long thin thing Fred...look at the German two engine planes.
Er OK ,ah ! yes found the page...now two engine,thin fuselage and..... 'Fred it's nearly on top of us and it's bomb bay doors are open....
Got it..it,s a JU188
FRED IT'S RELEASED IT'S BOMBS..
It says here that it has a a top speed of 325mph and.....
BAAAROOOM!
Fred(climbing out of the rubble)...what the f**k was that!

My uncle has filled most of the pages with garden tips and designs...evidently he did spot 6 aircraft...a massive contribution to the war effort.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

My mum was a nine year old living at number 2 Franklin Road. When the bomb dropped on the pub is also damaged the first house in Franklin Road beyond repair, so number 1 was destroyed leaving her house as now the first property in Franklin Road. Her dad [my grandpa] was in the ARP and decided it was time to have her evacuated to Yorkshire. He had some horrific stories to tel about pulling people out of bomb sites - RIP grandpa.

On the Bridgnorth bit [I live only 10 miles fro BN now] my dad did his RAF basic training at the camp there in 1946/7.

 

[ees complicated no?]

A bomb fell on my nans house, whilst getting repaired true story.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

No, it just needs a bit of tidying.