The Blitz - 14th November 1940

German Korn map

First I've heard of the De Gaulle/Churchill conspiracy theory. However, Churchill got his "big event" when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and conspiracy theorists believe Churchill could have forewarned Roosevelt but chose not to.

A kind member (some time ago, sorry about the long delay!) gave me somebody's nice quality but tiny 1940 diary, in the hope that it would provide some interest. It makes fascinating reading, but the aged pencil text is faded in places, making some words almost undecipherable. So, I will provide a large scan of the pages for the 14th & 15th November, and below I will give the text that (I think) I am able to read. I've made the image quite large, so it will be able to bear some magnification if you wish to zoom in. I've placed a number of question marks here and there where I'm uncertain of a word, so I would very much appreciate any assistance you might be able to give - or corrections if I appear to have got a word wrong....

_________________________ 1940 THURSDAY NOV. 14 _________________________ Work 8.00 . 5.30 On Slotter till afternoon then G Dipple told us to get planer ready for rush job. Warning 7.10. Planes over at 7.20 & from then till 2.50 continuous bombing. Terrible. One near one shook us in shelter. Mobile guns in streets around Mrs Lewis & Joan in shelter with us. Terrific barrage. Some of planes sounded like wasps. From 2.00 I had about 10 mins peace then off again

_________________________ 1940 FRIDAY NOV. 15 _________________________ with few breaks. About 5.00 attack began to die down. Came up for tea. All clear at 6.25. Moon still up. Took Muriel round home (Ida & Frank & Mr Lewis) to see if all was OK. House - windows gone & roof. Met Grandad & Ida took him back home. Houses shattered & down. Indescribable. Frank & I went with Grandad to see if his car was OK, but found it knocked about but engine ran. Walk round. St Paul's burnt out & Courtaulds. Went to clean Mr Spencer's house up with F & D. Dark at Heath. Mr & Mrs Sp & Mr I? to dinner. Mr Sp stopped at night. ARW - 6.30. Nothing doing.

Hi Rob. This is my interpretation of the Blitz Diary. Work 8.00 – 5.30 On Slotter till afternoon. Then G.Dopple told us to get planer ready for rush job. Warning 7:10. Planes over at 7:20 and from then till 2:50 continuous bombing. Terrible. One near one shook us in shelter. Trouble of using streets around Mrs Lewis and Joan in shelter with us. Terrific barrage. Some of planes sounded like wasps. From 2:00 I had about 10 minutes peace, then off again. With a few breaks. About 5:00 attack began to die down. Came up for tea. All clear at 6:25. Moon still up. Took Muriel round home (Ida, Frank, and Mr Lewis) to see if all was OK. House windows gone and roof. Met Grandad and Ida took him back home. Houses shattered and down. Indescribable. Frank and I went with Grandad to see if his car was OK, but found it knocked about but engine ran. Walk round St Pauls burnt out and Courtaulds. Went to clean Mr Spencers house up with F & D. Dusk at Heath. Mr & Mrs Spencer and M & D to dinner. The Spencers stopped at night Air Raid Warning – 6:30. Nothing doing. Interesting find. I'm surprised they had an "all clear", we had no electricity.

That's fantastic, JRL - exactly what I was hoping for, thank you! I had to laugh at some of my own attempts once I'd seen what some of the words should've been! I've now made the necessary corrections in my post above. After scanning a few other pages in the diary, I was able to correct the name on the third line - G Dipple - it was much clearer on a previous page. With your help and another close look, I think I've also now deciphered "Mobile guns in streets around Mrs Lewis". And yes, they were probably lucky to hear an "All Clear" - I've read that very few sirens were still operational by morning, with so little electricity around.

Hi all, I'm biased as I know JRL & Rob very well, but I'm sure that deserves the three brills award. Brill, brill & brill. Pass the port.

Their is a George Dipple living in Sovereign Road in 1939, listed as a shaper and planer in a tool room. Aged 31, so he could well be the foreman. There is also a G V Dipple mentioned in the newspapers as a rugby player.

Oh my, Anne, you've done it again - wonderful work! Yes, that just has to be him, doesn't it!

Now I'm back to reading all the posts I've missed, the diary and the comments about 'G Dipple' are interesting to me. My maternal grandmother Amelia Lewis lived in Kirby Road, just a few yards from Sovereign Road. The back entry’s gates faced one another where Anderson Shelters were erected in some people’s rear gardens (my grandparents didn't have one). My mother Joan was living with her while my father was away in the FAA. I might be wrong, of course, as I can't ask them but it is a coincidence.

Another year on .............. I will pause for thought tonight. There is a Vigil tonight at the Ruins if anyone is interested/available.

I actually went on a random late night stroll last night. I ended up going around Hearsall Common in the dark - the skies were clearing on a cold, crisp night. It was very evocative thinking of the events 83 years on - I could almost imagine the drone of the Luftwaffe bombers. I also looped back towards home passing 111 Beechwood Avenue and thoughts for the five members of the Witcomb family who were killed.

NY, you made me recall the stories told by my father of cycling to work in Ford Street early on the next day finding the roof was missing from over his milling machine. Unexploded bombs discovered later meant he had to make a long detour to get home to Wyken. He was given recovery work and soon had tarpaulin coving the roof skeleton but it took only a few days for the electricity to be reconnected and getting back in production. He was a member of the St John's Ambulance but fortunately was not on duty on the 14th. My mother said they hid under the kitchen table and dad put a cushion over her head when the explosions were close-bye, she would have been nearly 7 months pregnant with my bother. 4 members of a family in Farren Road were killed about 100 yards away. Dad would not talk about his St. John's experiences. People of his generation buried their PTSD. All I can say is he was the coolest person I have known when faced with a crisis situation.