Birmingham in the Blitz

[Josher]

Photos of the damage Here Birmingham Mail.

[cotswoldsman]

Photos of the damage Here Birmingham Mail.

 

Thanks for that Josher as someone who has lived and worked in the Birmingham area for over 20 years it was very interesting. Sometimes when I read about the blitz the general impression is that it only happened in London, people forget Birmingham and Coventry.

[OldGoldy]

Photos of the damage Here Birmingham Mail.

Well, I can't think where this is/was/could be.

 

Holliday St. is the only area I can think of, but that's more an aqueduct/bridge than a road tunnel, unless the present feature is the replacement, but I don't see the Brownhills connection. If we assume BCN and go to Brownhills, then the W&E is below road level.

 

Any ideas?

 

 

Further research reveals that I probably have the right canal but wrong location. I think it's Bournville Lane, near Cadburys

 

Link to Google Streetview

Edited November 2, 2010 by dave69700

[MoominPapa]

Further research reveals that I probably have the right canal but wrong location. I think it's Bournville Lane, near Cadburys

 

Link to Google Streetview

If you use Streetview to move forward and then look up, it's almost possible to convince yourself that you can see the repair.

 

MP.

[David Schweizer]

Thanks for that Josher as someone who has lived and worked in the Birmingham area for over 20 years it was very interesting. Sometimes when I read about the blitz the general impression is that it only happened in London, people forget Birmingham and Coventry.

Along with Bristol and Bath, and no doubt many other cities.

[OldGoldy]

If you use Streetview to move forward and then look up, it's almost possible to convince yourself that you can see the repair.

 

MP.

Never thought to do that, although I think you can see the patch from the initial view.

 

On the forum at www.stirchley.co.uk a contributor writes:- "My father lived in Stirchley as a young boy during the war years. He told me of the bomb that hit the bridge on Bournville Lane. Apparently the target was the railway because of its vital transport link for the war effort but the bomb hit the canal instead and the result was a flooded Bourville Lane and surrounding area. If you go into the tunnel you can see the large 'patch' that was put in to seal it."

 

This is the item that pointed me to the location on the Worcester-Birmingham. Shame the local newspaper couldn't get it right

[Nine of Hearts]

On the Bournville stretch there are several stop gates installed (all now disused, but the canal narrows where they were), and I was told these were there precisely to prevent the canal emptying onto the streets below in the event of bomb damage. Were these installed after this event, does anyone know?

[MoominPapa]

On the Bournville stretch there are several stop gates installed (all now disused, but the canal narrows where they were), and I was told these were there precisely to prevent the canal emptying onto the streets below in the event of bomb damage.

The "roundabout" at old-turn junction was installed during WW2 to allow any of the connecting canals to be sealed off without affecting the others in the event of bomb damage. There's a big railway tunnel underneath very close to the junction in the direction of Farmer's Bridge.

 

MP.

[BuckbyLocks]

Not sure about the top view, but the original newspaper article was prevented by the censor from giving a location. It only says 'Old Midlands Canal'. It is Bournville Aqueduct and was featured in Narrow Boat a few issues ago. The nearest Stop was put in after the event, but you would have to look at the records to discover whether the others were before or after. There used to be a lift bridge at Bournville which was associated with the putting in of Stop Planks, which were still being used in the 60s there. One of the B & MCC fleet of Admirals managed to climb right on top of them when the steerer didn't realise they had been put in.

[Derek R.]

There has been an ongoing 'blog' on the Battle of Britain written up by Dr Richard North HERE.

London was of course not alone in receiving raids, just about every town from Edinburgh to Plymouth suffered and the blog records this in some detail.

 

Buckby makes a point: Censorship of which 'other' towns had been hit was national for fear of spreading panic.

Edited November 3, 2010 by Derek R.

[Pluto]

London was of course not alone in receiving raids, just about every town from Edinburgh to Plymouth suffered and the blog records this in some detail.

 

Two terrace houses were destroyed in Accrington. You can still see the gap in the terrace on Whalley Road. Now if the bomb had dropped on Stanley's ground, that would have shaken local morale.

[Giggetty]

The "roundabout" at Old-Turn junction was installed during WW2 to allow any of the connecting canals to be sealed off without affecting the others in the event of bomb damage. MP.

How would that work, then? There are no stop-plank slots visible above the water line.

[RLWP]

How would that work, then? There are no stop-plank slots visible above the water line.

 

I believe the current roundabout is not the one built to hold stop planks. It was moved some time ago, probably when the whole of Old Turn was Disneyfied

 

Richard

[Nine of Hearts]

I believe the current roundabout is not the one built to hold stop planks. It was moved some time ago, probably when the whole of Old Turn was Disneyfied

 

Richard

 

Do you mind? That's my neighbourhood. You don't hear me rubbishing Hatton with its pseudo-gastro pubs and twee visitor centres. Oops.

Edited November 3, 2010 by Nine of Hearts

[RLWP]

Do you mind? That's my neighbourhood. You don't hear me rubbishing Hatton with its pseudo-gastro pubs and twee visitor centres. Oops.

 

I should think not. I'm doing that!

 

Richard

[pete harrison]

I believe the current roundabout is not the one built to hold stop planks. It was moved some time ago, probably when the whole of Old Turn was Disneyfied

 

Richard

 

The entire canal in the centre of Birmingham, including Gas Street Basin and Oozells Street Loop, was drained for bank repairs during the winter of 1984 / 1985. This is when the island at Old Turn was moved further out into the Birmingham Main Line as well as being enlarged.

 

During this period all of the boats on this section were removed, most from the Oozells Street Loop (Brummagem Boats Ltd.) going to Icknield Port and most from Gas Street Basin going to the basin above Wolverhampton top lock. I lived at Sherborne Street Wharf (now Sherborne Wharf) at the time with my motor spending the winter sat in the car park - close to the pub, Tesco, laudrette e.t.c. - and my butty afloat at Icknield Port.

[greywolf]

Along with Bristol and Bath, and no doubt many other cities.

 

Agreed but Birmingham was the third most bombed after London and Liverpool it was hushed up at the time so as not to demoralize the Nation and aid German intelligence and Coventry was sacrificed to aid the war.The town planners have done an even better job of destroying Birmingham and Coventry than the German bombs though.