stuartwilliams.net

by Stuart Williams & Jack Haddock

Blitz, the German word for 'lightning', was the name given by the British press to the storm of bombing raids carried out over Britain in 1940 and 1941. This concentrated direct bombing of industrial targets and civilian centres began on 7 September 1940, with heavy raids on London.

The scale of the attack rapidly escalated. In that month alone, the German Air Force dropped 5,300 tons of high explosives on the capital in just 24 nights. In their efforts to 'soften up' the British population and to destroy morale before the planned invasion, German aircraft extended their targets to include the major coastal ports and centres of production and supply.

German bombers raiding England during the Blitz  (RAF)

The infamous raid of November 14, 1940 on Coventry brought a still worse twist to the campaign. Five hundred German bombers dropped five hundred tons of explosives and nearly nine hundred incendiary bombs on the city in ten hours of unrelenting bombardment, with disastrous results.  People from the Walsall area did their bit to help devastated Coventry, including the rescue team from Willenhall pictured here.

 

While Walsall never suffered bombing to the same extent as London and Coventry, still it was in the heart of an industrial area and offered significant targets, as is shown by Luftwaffe bombing maps held at Walsall Local History Centre.

One night in July 1942, Walsall suffered a particularly heavy and destructive air raid.  Early in the evening the sirens sounded and many German ‘planes passed over the town, heading north. 

 

Rescue Party from Willenhall that went to Coventry Cathedral when it was bombed (WLHC)

About midnight, the townspeople heard the ‘all clear’ siren but Jack Haddock’s family decided to remain in their shelter.  At about 4am the warning sounded again.  As Jack and his father had to report to work at Birchills Bus Depot within a few hours, they decided to get up and look outside.  Jack remarked to his father “Hark at that heavy rain falling in the distance”, fully expecting to get drenched at any minute.  “That’s no rain”, Mr. Haddock replied, “it must be incendiary bombs.”  He was right, as hundreds of incendiaries fell in the vicinity of Bloxwich Road and the Bus Depot.

After about ten minutes, the sky lit up as the fire bombs found their mark.  Jack and family were informed later that the bombers they heard were on their way to attack Liverpool, and on the return trip some of their ‘planes had surplus bombs still aboard. 

Passing over Walsall, they had seen the inviting structures of the Talbot Stead Tube Works in Green Lane and the Corporation Bus Depot. 

This was too tempting a target, especially since bombers were not keen on returning home with bombs on board which might detonate in a crash or heavy landing.

Anderson Air Raid Shelter at a home in Walsall (WLHC)

The family decided to stay in their shelter for a while, fully expecting high explosive bombs to be jettisoned into the chaos caused by the fire bombs, but to their relief no more ‘planes were heard and the Germans must have beat a hasty retreat back to their airfields in France since daylight was near, which would have exposed them to the hawk-like gaze of ever-watchful Spitfire and Hurricane fighters.

The all clear sounded and some of the family ventured out to see Hawley’s Tent Works ablaze.  The whole of the grass railway bank near Forest Lane was burning furiously and Jack saw several railway telephone poles on fire and falling in a shower of sparks across the main Cannock line.  Hawley’s Butts works had also had the bad luck to be hit by another stick of bombs and was completely gutted like the parent firm in Bloxwich Road. 

The Bus Depot was also ablaze; it was here that the bravery of Corporal Kitson and his Home Guard comrades was in evidence that night, as well as that of the Auxiliary Fire Service, who attended Number One Bay of the Depot, where there were four petrol and one diesel pumps containing thousands of gallons of fuel. 

By some miracle – and the skill and determination of the AFS – a great explosion was averted.  The Home Guard and the firewatchers probably prevented the destruction of the entire Birchills Bus Depot that night, but next day only a fifty percent bus service was possible. 

 

Walsall Corporation Buses in the Depot, North Walsall (WLHC)

Within a few days buses were loaned to Walsall by London Transport and Manchester Corporation, which must have caused some confusion to local people seeing red Crossley buses and classic London Transport A.E.C. Regents with open staircases running around the town!

This was not the first or the last blow to the town by Hitler’s hated air force, but it was almost certainly the worst.  Thanks to the selfless bravery of local people, however, life went on.  It had to, if Walsall, and the nation, were to survive.

 

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