Hartlepool History Then & Now

Air Raid Diaries 1940 by Joan Dalkin

Joan Dalkin was born in 1921. At the time of keeping this diary she was working as a secretary at the shipbuilding firm of William Gray & Co. Ltd. During the war she lived with her parents at 4 Brougham Street, Hartlepool.

Air raid warnings at Hartlepool during 1940

January 29^th	Air raid warning 9.30 to 10.30
February 16^th	Cossack rescue 300 men from prison ship Altmark in Norwegian waters.
March 13^th	Peace between Russia and Finland
May 9^th	Germany invade Holland and Belgium
May 23^rd	Germans capture Bologne
June 6^th	605 000 men arrived in England from Dunkirk
June 7^th	Air raid warning 1:10am to 1:50am
June 8^th	Air raid warning 1:58am to 2:07am
June 10^th	Italy declared war on Allies
June 13^th	6 000 English men captured by Germans in France
June 14^th	Germans enter Paris
June 17^th	French have asked Germans for peace terms
June 18^th	French are still fighting
June 19^th	Air raid 11:15 until 4. Went to bed 3:15. Bombs dropped on Musgrave Street. Two people killed, several injured.
June 21^st	Air raid warning 1:10am to 1:50am.
June 22^nd	French ship sunk off Tees, 150 workmen onboard, only eight saved.
June 23^rd	French accepted terms from Hitler. Armistice signed 16:50pm (Saturday). Terms not known by French people.
June 24^th	Air raids on London, SE coast and Midlands. Three people killed. French colonies are to fight on.
June 25^th	Air raid 11:55pm to 2:30am. No bombs on Hartlepool.
June 26^th	Air raid 12:05am until 1:50am. No bombs on Hartlepool.
June 27^th	No siren sounded but in shelter from 12:45am until 2:30am. Bombs dropped on Middlesbro.
June 30^th	Air raid from 12:15am until 1:35am. No bombs on Hartlepool.
July 1^st	Air raid on Scotland about 8pm.
July 2^nd	Air raid at Newcastle 5:30pm. Many injured, ten dead. Plane brought down off Hartlepool.
July 3^rd	One plane brought down off ?? early this morning.
July 4^th	French navy attacked by British, many vessels taken others destroyed.
July 5^th	Remainder of French navy ordered by Petain to attack British Fleet. Air raid 12:15am until 2:50am. Gunfire heard.
July 6^th	Air raid 10:30pm until 11:20pm. Gunfire heard 1am until 2:30am. Bombs dropped off Fairy Cove battery into sea.
July 7^th	10:45 until 10:47 gunfire after all-clear12:20am until 12:45am.
July 10^th	Air raid 11:35pm until 12:40am air raid 5:45am until 6:15am. Gunfire first time.
July 11^th	Air raid 2:45am until 2:30am. No bombs dropped on Hartlepool.
July 12^th	Air raid 11:50pm until 1:35am. Gunfire. Air raid 3:20am until3:30am. Nothing happened.
July 13^th	Air raids 6:25pm until 6:40pm; 2:55am until 3:35am; 3:40am until 4:10am. Nothing happened.
July 15^th	Air raid 11:15pm until 2:20am. Gunfire.
July 16^th	Air raid 11:37pm until 1:35am. Gunfire.
July 18^th	Air raid 11:57pm until 1:35am. Gunfire in distance.
July 19^th	Air raid 11:55pm until 12:40am. Nothing happened. Gunfire about 3am, no warning.
July 20^th	Air raid 12:50am until 2:20am. Bombs dropped on Tin Box Factory. Nobody killed.
July 21^st	Air raid 11:58pm until 2:20am. Gunfire. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania joined Soviet Union.
July 22^nd	Air raid 11:46pm until 12:26am. Gunfire in distance.
July 23^rd	Air raid 3:40am until 3:50am (action before raid warning).
July 26^th	Air raid 11:50pm until 1:45am. Gunfire.
July 29^th	Japan has arrested British subjects.
July 30^th	Mr Churchill visited Seaton Carew. Did not see him.
August 1^st	Air raid 12:15am until 1:45am. Gunfire. Leaflets dropped in south-west etc.
August 2^nd	Air aid 12:10am until 1:30am.
August 3^rd	Air raid 12:10am until 1am.
August 5^th	Air raid 10:40pm until 1:20am. Gunfire.
August 7^th	Air raid 11:05pm until 12:20am.
August 8^th	Air raid 11:10pm until 12:20am.
August 9^th	Air raid 2:20am until 2:50am.
August 11^th	Air raid 11:55pm until 2:25am.
August 12^th	Air raid 10:50pm until 1:30am. Gunfire. Sixty-two planes shot down. Thirteen Allied down, two pilots safe.
August 13^th	Seventy-eight planes shot down off south coast. Thirteen of Allied planes missing. Ten pilots safe.
August 14^th	Air raid 11:10pm until 1:30am.
August 15^th	Air raid 1:03pm until 2:15pm. Very heavy gunfire. One plane brought down. One British landed on golf course. Air raid 11:10pm until 11:35pm; air raid 11:55pm until 12:35am. Pilot of plane still alive. 180 planes brought down.
August 19^th	Air raid 10:15pm until 10:50pm; 11:30pm until 12:30am; 1:40am until 2:20am. Gunfire.
August 22^nd	Air raid 12:40am until 1:40am.
August 23^rd	Air raid 2:20am until 2:38am.
August 24^th	Air raid 12:35am until 5:05am. Gunfire, bombs at West Hartlepool SW.
August 25^th	Air raid 10:22pm until 11:10pm; 12:10am until 3:15am. Gunfire, bombs at West Hartlepool.
August 26^th	Air raid 10:25pm until 3:45am, heaviest gun fire yet. Bombs dropped in Church Street “Edgar Phillips”, three killed.
August 27^th	Air raid 11:30pm until 1:30am; 2:30am until 3:30am. No gunfire. Bombs in distance.
August 26^th	Air raid 10:10pm until 10:48pm.
August 29^th	Air raid 10:50pm until 12:20am; 1:20am until 5:05am. Gunfire, bombs dropped Hilda Street, Mainsforth Terrace.
August 30^th	Air raid 8:50pm until 9pm; 11:45pm until 12:15am. Nothing happened.
August 31^st	Air raid 12:25am until 3:25am.
September 1^st	Air raid 12:25am until 3:25am.
September 2^nd	Air raid 10:10pm until 12:20am; 1:10am until 2:25am. Gunfire etc.
September 3^rd	Air raid 10:10pm until 11:57pm; 12:25am until 12:40am; 12:55am until 1:40am. Gunfire etc.
September 4^th	Air raid 10:55pm until 11:40pm; 1am until 4:22am.
September 5^th	Air raid 10:25pm until 2:25am. Gunfire in distance.
September 6^th	King Carol of Rumania abdicated in favour of his son. Air raid 10:25pm until 2:25am.
September 7^th	Air raid 1:15pm until 1:25pm; 12:15am until 12:20am; 1:15am until 2am.
September 8^th	Air raid 2:15am until 3:35am
September 9^th	Air raid 9:15pm until 9:20pm; 2:15am until 3:50am.
September 10^th	Air raid 2am until 3am.
September 12^th	Air raids 11:55pm until 1:20am; 4am until 4:30am.
September 14^th	Air raid 10:30am until 10:50am.
September 15^th	Air raid 3:05am until 4:10am.
September 16^th	Air raid 2:40pm until 2:55pm; 3:55pm until 4:20pm; 6:45pm until 7:10pm; 7:45pm until 8:50pm; 9:30pm until 9:45pm; 2:15am until ?
September 18^th	Air raid 3pm until 3:20pm; 8:50pm until 9:45pm. Gunfire.
September 19^th	5pm until 5:40pm; 1:05pm until 10pm; 12:15am until1245am.
September 21^st	Air raid 7:10am until 7:15am; 8:30pm until 8:50pm; 9:35pm until 12pm; 1:25am until 1:50am.
September 22^nd	Air raid 3:45am until 3:55am.
September 23^rd	Air raid 4am until 6am. Gunfire etc.
September 24^th	3:55am until 5:55am.
September 26^th	11:05am until 11:30am.
September 28^th	Air raid 3:35am until 4:25am.
September 29^th	Air raid 5:15pm until 5:35pm; 3:45am until 4:15am.
September 30^th	Air raid 12:30am until 1:25am.
October 1^st	Air raid 12:15am until 12:30am; 1:15am until 1:33am.
October 2^nd	Air raid 12:30am until 12:55am; 1:15am until 1:33am.
October 5^th	11:50pm until 1am.
October 7^th	Air raid 8:15pm until 9:45pm; 9:55pm until 10:25pm.
October 8^th	Air raid 11:35pm until 11:45pm.
October 9^th	Air raid 8:45pm until 10:35pm. Gunfire etc.
October 10^th	8:15pm until 10:15pm; 10:35pm until 11pm; 4am until 4:35am.
October 11^th	Air raid 8:30pm until 10:30pm; 11:45pm until 1:45am.
October 12^th	Air raid 8:07pm until 8:45pm. Examination ship bombed, sinking in dock.
October 13^th	7:35pm until 8:45pm.
October 14^th	2:35am until 2:50am.
October 16^th	Air raid 8pm until 8:20pm; 2:35am until 2:50am.
October 19^th	Air raid 8:20pm until 8:55pm; 9:40pm until 10:35pm; 11:35pm until 11:50pm; 1:15am until 1:45am. Slept through the last one.
October 20^th	Air raid 7:50pm until 9:10pm; 3:10am until 4am. MEMORANDA: 126 raids.
October 21^st	Air raid 8:25pm until 9pm; 11:50pm until 1:10am. Slept through last one.
October 23^rd	7:25pm until 7:35pm; 11:10pm until 11:35pm; 3:20am until?
October 24^th	Air raid 9:30pm until 9:45pm; 11:30pm until 2:20am.
October 25^th	Air raid 12:20am until 1:40am.
October 26^th	Air raid 7:35pm until 8pm; 12am until 1am; 1:15am until 1:40am; 2am until 2:30am.
October 27^th	Air raid 5:45pm until 7:10pm; 8pm until 8:20pm; 9:45pm until 10:50pm; 12:25pm until 2:30am.
October 28^th	Air raid 8:45pm until 12:15pm; 3am until 4:30am. Italy invaded Greece.
October 29^th	5:50pm until 7:10pm; 8:30pm until 8:50pm; 9:25pm until 11:15pm; 12pm until 2:15am; 3:15am until 4am.
October 30^th	1:35pm until 2:30pm; 8:30pm until 8:55pm.
November 1^st	6:45am until 7:15am; 1:37pm until 1:57pm; 5:30pm until 6:40pm; 10:30pm until 11pm.
November 2^nd	British troops landed at Crete.
November 3^rd	5:45pm until 6:40pm. Breerge Annie mined off Hartlepool.
November 4^th	Air raid 3:15pm until 4:05pm.
November 5^th	5pm until 5:20pm; 5:45pm until 6:05pm; 11pm until 11:30pm. Roosevelt re-elected.
November 8^th	Air raid 8:20pm until 10:25pm;
November 9^th	Air raid 7:45am until 9am; 6:40pm until 7pm. Mr Neville Chamberlain died.
November 12^th	Jervis Bay saved 35 ships in convoy (three not saved) when attacked by P. Battleship.
November 13^th	Air raid 11:05pm until 12:10am.
November 17^th	1am until 8am.
November 18^th	Air raid 8:10pm until 10:40pm.
November 20^th	Hungary joined Axis.
November 21^st	Air raid 3:40pm until 3:50pm.
November 23^rd	Air raid 6:20pm until 7:10pm.
December 11^th	Greeks captured over 20 000 Italians.
December 12^th	Gunfire no siren. Lord Lathian, British Ambassador to America died suddenly.
December 13^th	Air raid 8:20pm until 9:10pm.

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Air Raids on the Hartlepools in World War II

Introduction

In the Second World War, the twin towns of Hartlepool and West Hartlepool were both victims of German air raids. Air raids on the Hartlepools took place between June 1940 and March 1943. Seventy people were killed during that time, including the first Civil Defence worker to be killed by enemy action. The two towns were both centres of heavy industry, such as shipbuilding, engineering, steelworks, and boilermaking which made them prime targets. The north-east coast of England is also near enough to Germany for it to be possible to fly a plane across the North Sea, drop explosives on a target and return home before running short of fuel.

There were forty-three raids on the two towns in total with seventy deaths, forty-eight at West Hartlepool and twenty-two at Hartlepool. Although the aim was to destroy any industry which would help the British war effort, the bombs hit houses, shops, and other buildings such as factories, churches and hotels.

The people of the Hartlepools had many warnings which did not result in a raid on the towns. West Hartlepool had 480 warnings, but there were only thirty-six raids where bombs were dropped. Many of the raids happened during night hours, and were usually carried out during the favourable weather of the summer months.

ARP (Air Raid Precautions) in the Hartlepools

ARP was initially formed before the start of the war in 1935. Preparations for protecting civilians were already in hand before the outbreak of war. By September 1938 ARP had seventy trained wardens in West Hartlepool. A few months after the outbreak of war on 3^rd September 1939 the number had increased to 1500. There was a similar growth in the number of wardens in Hartlepool. ARP arrangements were thus already in place by the summer of 1940, when the raids started. The first British civil defence worker to be killed by enemy action died in West Hartlepool on 19^th June, 1940. He was John Punton, aged fifty-four. He was directing other people towards the nearest air raid shelter, when a bomb fell nearby and he was killed in the blast.

Bomb damage in West Hartlepool

5745 buildings were damaged at West Hartlepool. 251 were damaged twice, nine damaged more than twice. More than a hundred buildings were completely demolished. These included the Yorkshire Penny Bank, three hotels and the offices of the West Hartlepool Greyhound Stadium.

Only seven raids caused serious damage or casualties. Three raids caused thirty-eight of the deaths. On night of 19^th August 1941 twenty-three people were killed when a large mine fell in back Houghton Street and Elwick Road, also causing much property damage. There were also five people seriously injured and sixty-five slightly injured. On the night of August 29^th and 30^th 1940, Pilgrim Street and Hilda Street were hit. One man, three women and three children died when nineteen houses were demolished.

Bomb damage in Hartlepool

Two raids accounted for all but one of the twenty-two fatalities in Hartlepool. On 12^th May 1941 a “stick” of bombs fell across the Headland. One fell in Lumley Square, killing twelve people, including all the members of one family. The previous year, on 13^th Sept 1940, a man was killed near an air raid shelter at West View. There were 9 members of the same family killed in one raid on Union Road on the Central Estate.The family was the Johnson Family . All killed on the 12^thDecember1942.

The names of those killed from the family are;

William Johnson (Husband/Father)

Amy Johnson (Wife/Mother)

Stanley Johnson (Son to William and Amy)

William Johnson (Son to William and Amy, husband of Lily)

Lilly Johnson (Daughter-in-law, wife of William)

Amy (Daughter of William and Amy)

Ruby (Daughter William and Amy, wife to Samuel Lawrence)

Samuel Lawrence (son-in law, husband to Ruby)

Kelvin (baby of Samuel and Ruby)

The people of the Hartlepools’ extended ordeal

During July, August, September and October 1940 there were air raid warnings every day and night, sometimes several times a day lasting several hours. In total, there were 147 alerts (warnings) at that time – twenty-two in July, thirty in August, forty-four in September and fifty-one in October.

On 12th to 13th July 1940 there was an attack on Graythorp, William Gray’s ship repair yard. It consisted of 100-150 incendiaries (bombs which were intended to cause further fires) within a radius of half a mile.

Between 23^rd August and 16^th September 1940 there were air raid warnings every day, and six actual attacks. Between 25^th and 30^th August there were five attacks on successive nights. During this time, on 25^th August, thirteen HEs (High explosives) were dropped in the area of the Steelworks. The following night the same area was targeted, but more damage was done to people’s homes than nearby industrial plant.

Conclusion – “Will we have visitors?”

During the time of the air raids, the people of both towns bore up bravely under their prolonged ordeal. Charles Cowley, reporter for the Northern Daily Mail said, ”throughout many exacting months the nightly query was invariably “Will we have visitors”?”

After 1943 the focus of the war moved away from the Hartlepools, though the south of England continued to be bombed. The Germans had by that time begun to develop the V1 and V2 bombs, (the latter was a rocket propelled bomb) neither of which needed a manned plane to deliver them. The first V1 landed on London in June 1944.

Despite the best efforts of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, the Hartlepools continued to help the war effort. Local firms continued with ship building, repairs, engine making and other heavy industrial jobs.

For many years after the end of the war there were bomb sites in many places around both towns. The scars of the air raids largely disappeared in the 1960s when West Hartlepool underwent extensive redevelopment.

The war in Europe ended on 7^th May, 1945 when the German troops surrendered. The following day was named VE Day (Victory in Europe).

From a series of articles from the Northern Daily Mail, 1945

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