Blitz artefacts wanted for expanded exhibition
Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust wants to create a larger, permanent exhibition of items from the air raids on the city centre in 1940.
Chair of the trust, Neil Anderson, said the expanded exhibition, at the National Emergency Services Museum (NESM) in Sheffield, would be established over the coming months, and aimed to "bring history to life".
Items in the current collection include fused coins and a bible, but the trust are keen to secure heirlooms and memorabilia "that tell a personal story" of the event.
The Sheffield Blitz, as it became known, was marked by two nights of German Luftwaffe air raids on the city centre and the city's industrial area, from 12-13 December and on 15-16 December 1940.
Seven hundred people died as a result of the bombing.
The Moor - nowadays a large shopping area - was devastated by the bombardment, along with Devonshire Green.
The City Hall and Sheffield United's Bramall Lane football ground were also damaged, and 70 people were killed when The Marples Hotel, on Fitzalan Square near Ponds Forge, was flattened. A blue plaque was subsequently erected where the hotel stood to honour those killed.
The new exhibition is being funded by a donation of more than £91,000 to the Blitz Kids project, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
"To ensure the display tells the most powerful and personal story possible, the museum is asking the people of Sheffield if they have something they think might suit the exhibition," said Mr Anderson.
Items already on show include coins from the wreckage of the Marples Hotel, which were fused together from the extreme heat - "a poignant reminder of the tragic loss of life inside the building", he said.
The collection also includes a bible, the only item which survived a direct hit on a Sheffield home.
"These deeply personal objects help illustrate the devastating impact of the blitz, making the history tangible for future generations," he said.
"We know there are treasured objects hidden away in drawers and attics that could help tell the story of Sheffield's darkest hours.
"Whether it's photographs, letters, medals, shrapnel, or household items that survived the bombing, the museum is particularly keen to find new objects that tell a personal story."
The Sheffield Blitz
Codenamed Operation Crucible by the Germans
Almost 700 people died and 82,000 (out of 150,000) houses were damaged
Around 330 aircraft were involved in the bombardment which lasted for nine hours overnight on 12 December 1940
A second raid on 15-16 December hit the industrial area, east of the city centre
Mains water supplies quickly ran out and water needed to be relayed from public baths - and even the River Don - to fight the fires.
Further raids were mounted by the Luftwaffe on the city later in the war, but they were not of the same intensity as the December 1940 raids.
Source: SYFRS and Sheffield City Council
Mr Anderson said thousands of visitors visit the Sheffield Blitz exhibition at the NESM every year, and a book featuring the stories of Sheffield's Blitz Kids - the last generation to have lived through the attacks - is in production.
The National Lottery money will also fund a series of educational and community engagement activities, including training for volunteers in interview recording, web design and research.
Anyone with an item connected to the Sheffield Blitz, which could be loaned or donated, should contact the museum on 0114 249 1999 or email info@visitnesm.org.uk
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Sheffield Blitz
National Emergency Services Museum
Blue plaque for 70 killed during WWII bombing
Blitz firefighter among WW2 dead remembered
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Geographic
8 hours ago
- National Geographic
Your favorite Fourth of July foods were invented by immigrants
Foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, and potato salad have become menu essentials at Independence Day cookouts across the country—but their origins actually hail from all around the world. Hamburgers are one of the main staples found at Independence Day cookouts across America—but they actually hail from Germany. Photograph by Janie Osborne/The New York Times/Redux On a typical red-and-white checkered Fourth of July picnic table, you'll find everything from a juicy burger and a charred hot dog to piles of potato salad and seemingly endless cans of beer—it really doesn't get more all-American. Unsurprisingly, the foods we eat to celebrate our country's independence came to us from all over the world. In fact, none of America's traditional cookout foods have much to do with the country's very first birthday in 1777, a year after the Declaration of Independence was adopted. 'If you celebrate with barbecue, you are closer to the way people would have celebrated in the early republic, with pig roasts and cider for the whole community,' says Megan Elias, director of food studies programs at Boston University and author of Food on the Page: Cookbooks and American Culture. Most of today's popular Independence Day foods 'are instead mid-twentieth century suburban cookout foods from the Midwest, which was much more German in its demographics than other parts of the U.S.,' she notes. (The symbolism behind traditional Juneteenth foods—from barbecue to hibiscus.) We spoke to Elias and other food historians about how our Fourth of July favorites got here in the first place. The hamburger's ties to ancient Rome It's hard to imagine an American menu without a classic burger—smashed, stuffed with cheese, or made with wagyu. But the hamburger actually hails from a beloved ancient Roman dish called isicia omentata, which was made with minced meat—the world's oldest known cookbook, Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome, suggests peacock, pheasant, rabbit, chicken, or pork—mixed with wine, pine nuts, and fish sauce. With international roots, the hamburger has become an iconic staple not just in America, but all around the world. Photograph by Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center(TOP LEFT) Photo by(TOP RIGHT) PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK HANNES/PANOS PICTURES/REDUX (BOTTOM LEFT) AND PHOTOGRAPH BY BONNIE SCHIFFMAN/GETTY IMAGES (BOTTOM RIGHT) By the 18th century, Germans were mincing cow meat into steak in Hamburg, grilling them, and topping it all off with gravy. Hamburg steaks quickly became popular all over Europe. In 1900, Danish food peddler Louis Lassen sold the country's first burger in New Haven, Connecticut off the back of his wooden wagon. Four years later, burgers were being sold for five cents a pop at the St. Louis World's Fair. (Sinful. Poisonous. Stinky? How tomatoes overcame their wicked reputation.) 'Hamburgers and hotdogs became street food in the early 20th century as an increasingly mobile population looked for food they could eat on the go,' says Elias. Today, they're one of the most eaten foods on July 4. The hot dog's German roots The introduction of the hot dog to America is tied to Germany and its bratwurst-centric cuisine. "German immigrants, particularly in the mid-19th century after the failed revolutions of 1848, opened restaurants, taverns, and beer gardens, popularizing lager beer, sausages like Frankfurters, ground meat Hamburgers, potato salad, and coleslaw," says Paul Freedman, professor of history at Yale and author of Ten Restaurants That Changed America. 'They have become patriotic foods because they lend themselves to the July 4 summer climate—outdoor cookery, cold dishes, beer—and because their foreign origin has been forgotten." In 1876, German immigrant Charles Feltman invented the concept of a hot dog on a bun in Coney Island, New York as a way to avoid providing plates and silverware to customers. Later in 1916, Nathan Handwerker, one of Feltman's employees, opened Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs a few blocks away. Today, Nathan's on Coney Island holds its popular hot dog eating contest every Fourth of July. Hot dogs gained popularity at baseball parks and cookouts thanks to their on-the-go nature. Photograph by Brian Doben/Nat Geo Image Collection (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Rebecca Hale/Nat Geo Image Collection (Bottom) (Right) 'July 4 remains the biggest hot dog day of the year, when Americans eat an estimated 150 million hot dogs,' says Eric Mittenthal, president of the Meat Institute's National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. Potato salad's journey from Peru to present-day America While potatoes were first grown by the Incas in Peru more than 7,000 years ago, European immigrants are credited with bringing them to the table in the 16th century after the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Later that same century, Germans whipped up one of the first potato salads, called kartoffelsalat. By the mid-19th century, a mayo and relish-dressed variety arrived in the South while northerners took on a version with dill and sour cream. The production of Hellman's in the early 1900s further popularized the iconic may-based potato salad, but today, variations include everything from a vinegar base to the inclusion of ingredients like hard-boiled eggs and paprika. 'Potatoes and cabbage are still very common staples in central and eastern Europe, lasting through cold winters, and then getting dressed up as salads for the summer,' says Elias. Drinking beer on Independence Day has become a symbol of American culture, as seen here at the annual Hermosa Ironman competition. Photograph by Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
'Parsnip coffee and no heating - how I survived the German occupation'
It has been 85 years since the German occupation began in Jersey during World War Two, but 92-year-old David Isherwood still vividly remembers the anguish of those five years — from freezing winters, when it was too cold to go to school due to a lack of fuel, to being desperately hungry. But, Mr Isherwood said it was not all bad being a child during the tumultuous period. He enjoyed the adventure of watching soldiers training to shoot their guns, and along with his friends, he would "take the mick out" of the troops by imitating their goose-step march - perhaps unsurprisingly, the soldiers "really didn't like". Despite their irritation, if you kept your head down you were left you alone, Mr Isherwood said, adding: "It was an adventure in a way for children." He was seven when 1,750 German troops arrived in Jersey on 1 July 1940 - a force that would swell to 11,500 by the end of that year. He recalls soldiers smashing the window of the masonic temple on Oxford Road, in St Helier, during target practice. Mr Isherwood said the troops had taken over a garage opposite the Temple Bar pub on nearby Stopford Road. He said: "Outside of the garage they used to put two-pack guns, which were anti-tank guns and fire [them]. "Every six weeks they would close the street and fire at targets which they had fixed in Oxford Road. "As kids, it was where you would go to see pack guns firing off," he said. However, despite the youthful hi-jinks, many of his memories from the war were not happy ones. When the Germans arrived, they rapidly introduced strict regulations. The islands clocks were set to European time and there was a curfew between 23:00 and 05:00. Islanders were banned from using vehicles, except those with special permission such as doctors. Mr Isherwood remembers being "starving hungry" from about 1942 or 1943, as well as freezing cold because of a lack of fuel. His mother, along with other local women, would stand waiting with buckets and brooms when the coal boat arrived - hoping some lumps would fall off the trucks as they turned the corner onto Victoria Street. "That's how desperate it was," he said. He also remembers the winter of 1944 to 1945, when it was so cold his school had to close for seven weeks from January. The children used to sit in their coats in the classroom and parents were asked to knit hats and gloves for the children, he said. Despite the hardships, Mr Isherwood survived the occupation. He was one of the first children to collect a Red Cross parcel from the SS Vega - an event captured in a now-famous photo. Later he trained as a cabinet maker, meeting his future wife Yvonne during that time, and also spent 28 years working for the island's waterworks. Mr Isherwood spoke to King Charles III and Queen Camilla about the food shortages during the occupation whey they visited to the island in 2024. A British military blockade meant it was difficult for the Germans to receive food to the islands, leading to food shortages. A lot of islanders died from malnutrition, he said. The shortages led islanders to improvise substitute foods and drinks. He remembered his mother making parsnip coffee during the war, agreeing with a friend that: "It was awful then and it's awful now." More news stories for Jersey Listen to the latest news for Jersey Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to WW2 food parcel delivery 'immensely significant' Holocaust records available for islanders to view What happened in the Channel Islands during WW2? Channel Island Occupation Society Jersey Heritage
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
German prince dies ‘unexpectedly' just days before birth of first child
Prince Harald von Hohenzollern has died suddenly at the age of 63 — just days before his wife was due to give birth to their first child. The German aristocrat died from cardiac arrest in Windhoek, Namibia, where he had been on a work trip to the diamond industry. Herald's wife, Princess Josefa von Hohenzollern — who is currently running for re-election as mayor of Leonberg in Baden-Württemberg — announced the sad news on social media. 4 Prince Harald von Hohenzollern has died suddenly at the age of 63. Josefa Von Hohenzollern / Facebook 'Dear fellow citizens of Leonberg, today I am writing with a heavy heart,' Josefa, 51, wrote on Instagram. 'My beloved husband Harald V. Hohenzollern died quite unexpectedly of a sudden cardiac death. This loss hits me very deep.' 'I need time to grieve, say goodbye and be there for our unborn child. That's why I will be stepping back from campaigning and social media in the coming days,' she went on. The pair had tied the knot in September 2024. Their first child is due to be born in the coming days. 4 The German aristocrat died from cardiac arrest in Windhoek, Namibia, where he had been on a work trip to the diamond industry. Josefa Von Hohenzollern / Facebook 'I hope for your understanding during this time off and thank you from the bottom of my heart at this point for your condolences and support,' the princess concluded her post. Alongside the heartbreaking caption, Josefa shared a series of throwback photos with her late husband. The pair wed in Josefa's hometown of Kollnburg after meeting at a trade fair in 2022. Josefa assumed the princess title after marrying Harald, who belonged to the former royal German dynasty called the House of Hohenzollern. 4 The prince died just days before the pair were due to welcome their first child. Josefa Von Hohenzollern / Facebook The dynasty, which dates back to 1061, boasts historical ties to the Hohenzollern family, Brandenburg, Prussia, Romania and the German Empire. The locals affectionately refer to the princess as the 'singing mayor' — given her love of music and frequent appearances in various cultural events in the area. Josefa's bid for mayorship started in November 2020 when she ran for the post of financial mayor of Leonberg in Baden-Württemberg. She managed to secure the third most votes in the first round, though she narrowly missed advancing by just one vote. The elected candidate ultimately withdrew before taking office, allowing her to run again. She was then elected as the only remaining candidate in May 2021 after securing 17 of 33 votes for an eight-year term. 4 'This loss hits me very deep,' Josefa wrote on social media alongside photos of the pair. Josefa Von Hohenzollern / Facebook While serving as First Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Leonberg, Josefa has faced somewhat of a challenging time in office. During her tenure, Mayor Martin Cohn had placed her on leave in June 2023 following months of political conflict.
