We Will Remember Them...

One of our school workshops has become more popular in 2024: World War II and the Sheffield Blitz. So, in this month of remembrance, we are going to look at why this is such an important topic for schools to teach, why it interests pupils so much, and our museum’s part in a project ensuring memories of the Sheffield Blitz are not lost.

As it was nearly 85 years ago the Blitz is only just within living memory. Children and young people can look at black and white images from the time, which makes the events seem, for want of a better word, real.  There is also a tradition of documenting children’s experiences during this period, from stories of evacuees to the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ being prominent examples. If you look at periods of history before this, the accounts from children are sporadic at best and there is not so much of a focus on their experiences. But during World War II, young people were given a lot of responsibility, with Boy Scouts and Girl Guides trained to defuse incendiary bombs and put out fires with stirrup pumps. Boy Scouts would also take messages through the darkness of the Blackouts during an air raid, with nothing but a saucepan on their head!

Two things that have always created great change very quickly are wars and pandemics. A more recent event that has been experienced by the present generation of children and young people is the Covid 19 pandemic, and the subsequent lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. The beginning of the first UK Lockdown triggered a very similar reaction to those of the people when World War II was announced: the panic buying of food and other necessities. In 2020 it was toilet roll, pasta and bread, in 1939 it was tinned food. Rationing was brought in on 8th January 1940 and although these were two very different experiences, referencing the pandemic can put children in the same mindset, helping them understand the feelings of people at the time.

For schools from Sheffield there are also the personal stories of the local area with the Sheffield Blitz taking place on the nights of Thursday 12th December and Sunday 15th December 1940. On the first night of the bombing it was focused on the city centre, with the second being nearer to the factories. The images of the local area after the air raids- from the high street and Moor, to where children’s schools are now located- reveal the utter destruction that was caused those nights. The fact it happened so close to the festive time of year when people were out in the city celebrating, makes it all the more harrowing. Being able to show children and young people these images, together with a map of Sheffield that shows where the bombs hit that night, really brings it home to them. If you want to find out more about the events of the Sheffield Blitz, you can read our previous blog, which is in the bibliography at the bottom of this text.

First hand accounts of World War II and the nights of the Sheffield Blitz are becoming rarer, so the Museum is taking part of the Blitz Kids project, made possible by the heritage fund, asking for stories of the Sheffield Blitz. We have already had many stories which our collections team and volunteers are currently transcribing. They include that of Anne Donnelly Adams, who speaks of being in her family’s Anderson Shelter in her back garden, and that of Beryl Garnder who was forced with her friend into a cramped air raid shelter in the city centre as the bombs were dropping, even though she was terribly claustrophobic. Real people, real stories, history that should not be forgotten.

If you would like to help with the project or know of anyone with an account of the Sheffield Blitz, contact details are below:

Email: sheffieldblitz75@gmail.com

Website: https://sheffieldblitz.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheffieldBlitz85th 

Written by Rosie Norrell

Learning and Communities Co-ordinator

Bibliography:

Portals to the Past | Panic in the shops… we’ve been here before!

Remembering the Sheffield Blitz