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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Staffordshire => Topic started by: Billiegirl on Monday 30 June 14 08:28 BST (UK)
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Hi there - just wondering if anyone knows anything about Chesterton Cinema receiving a direct hit from a German bomber during WW2? The tragic story I've heard is that it was a Saturday Matinee and hundreds of children were killed.
According to the story, the bomber had been hit on a raid somewhere else, and was offloading its bombs in broad daylight before limping back across the Channel. When the German pilot heard what had happened, he apparently committed suicide.
I haven't been able to substantiate this, so I wonder if anyone else knows of it. The explosion was heard in Newcastle Under Lyme.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/23/a4297223.shtml
Just google WW2 chesterton :)
Have you looked on the CWGC web site for civilian war dead :-\
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Many thanks for that link Rosie - I'd never have found it by myself! It certainly confirms that the "Picture Palace" was hit. I wonder how many children had a lucky escape, having just come out before the bomb(s) were dropped? I'm totally amazed at how many bombs were offloaded in broad daylight over the Newcastle/Stoke area, and how low the planes flew.
I'll keep looking for more info, thanks again.
PS I love your pooch :)
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Hi
I dont know where your Info about there being lots of children being Killed or that the German Pilot committed suicide, but just to say that the Cinema did not recieve any type of hit.
The direct hit was on John Street and 14 People were Killed, including a young evacuee that had only arrived I believe the day before. There had been a Matinee in the Cinema, called the Alexandra, or more commonly known by the people of Chestertonn as Maggies, the name of the Owner one Maggie Shemilt which by coincidence a German name. it was situated in Heathcote Street one up from John Street. The Death toll of this Incident was the highest amount of casualities suffered inbombing raids in North Staffordshire during the War. It was thought that the Pilot had seen a light coming from the Corona Pop factory which was at the end of John Street and off loaded his bombs, Hope that I have cleared up the miss information given to you.
Cheers Grffo
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Hi Griffo, thanks very much for those additional details - I was wondering if it was the same incident as the John street tragedy. I got the story from my Mum, who was a child at the time, living near Milehouse Lane, and she remembers the windows shaking and her mother standing at the door trying to see what was going on. It puzzled me as to how they knew the pilot committed suicide!
It seems that rumours abounded and perhaps memories get warped into "urban myths", so that's why I'm trying to sort out fact from fiction. The funny thing is, the lady in Rosie's first link (above) remembers the cinema being bombed too!
:) Regards, Billiegirl
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Some more detail here:
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/DATE-1940-PLACE-North-Staffordshire/story-12512997-detail/story.html
Imber
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Hi Billiegirl
I think your Mum living in Mile house lane would have heard the noise of the bombing,but as the John Street air raid loss was the biggest loss of life in North Staffordshire the story you have related about the children being killed is a total untruth. When I said the Cinema was not hit by the bomb directly was because of the close proximity to the bomb blast I suppose that there was some damage caused from flying debris.Sayig that your Mum lived in Milehous Lane I believe the Rouse Family were moved to there when their house in John Street was Damaged hope this has cleared it up a bit more for you.john Street no longer exists, but a Plaque commemorating the event is on display
Cheers Griffo
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Thanks for that Imber, amazing photos of the awful damage and the visit by the Duke. I wonder if Chesterton was specifically targeted, or was it just a random bombing? No mention of the plane being disabled in any way.
Griffo, its good to know that the children at the Matinee escaped unscathed, it was such a horrible story, and I can see how it had a profound effect on my Mum. Those poor people in John street. Another fatality occurred in Silverdale when a shell was offloaded from another German plane. The shell didn't explode but went through the roof and hit a girl who was resting in bed. I think her name was Eunice Stubbs. It was near the school I went to in the 60's. Maybe they were just offloading bombs to save fuel on the trip home from their main target - Manchester? Liverpool?
Thanks :)
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Hi Billiegirl
I dont think Chesterton was Specificaly chosen , as there was nothing of Importance as far as I know, the targets could have been as you say Manchester or Liverpool, or could have been Rolls Royce at Crewe, or even Radway Green R.O.F Factory, I dont suppose we will ever know,so I think he was just unloading to Lighte his bomb load and it was only one bomb
cheers griffo
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It seems that the Michelin factory in Stoke was a major target.
Imber
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Yes, apparently my grandfather worked at Radway Green during the war. Two world wars in one short lifetime; he died in 1946.
I suppose the railways were always a target, too.
Definitely worth remembering what our relatives went through. Thanks so much for helping me clarify some of their history.
Best wishes, Billiegirl :)
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Hi All
Interesting chat this as I lived next door to Maggies and knew the Shemalts very well. During my time there were two brothers and they also owned the other cinema, later a bingo hall, in Victoria Street. They lived in a 1930s style bungalow in Red Street.
We didn't move into Heathcote Street until November 1959, but the aftermath of the bomb was still evident. My understanding is that a bomb was off loaded by a German on his way home from a raid on Liverpool (hearsay). The damage in John Street also demolished the "pop" factory in Sandford Street, plus the roof of our outbuilding (probably the size of a double garage) the canopy over the driveway, plus the first floor and part of the roof of our house. The latter two never got reinstated, but my father, in the early 60s, removed all the accumulation or bomb debris from the building which attached to the cinema and made a double garage out of it, under a flat roof.
During the war, legend has it that people would take shelter in our cellar and, during "safe periods" hold meetings in a kind of hall which we never used other than to explore. The hall had a stage type raised area at one end but was difficult to access as the external staircase was also damaged by the bomb (possibly just rotted away, but we blamed the German bomber for just about everything that was wrong with that property!).
We moved out in the Spring of 1974 when our properties, Maggies, plus others in London Road (including the pub in Dragon Square) were compulsory purchased for redevelopment and now we have the eye sore that's there now, no soul or character to the area, which is sad to see.
Cheers
Bookend69
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Great details Bookend, thanks a lot for your contribution. I agree its very sad to see that area now.
Best Wishes, Billiegirl :)
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One of the victims was George Bartels, my uncle's only child. His father, also named George had moved from the East End of London to Chesterton to work in the coal mines as a skilled engineer, he was a Bevan boy.
The family lived at the top of Heathcote Street near the site of the British Legion hall.
I have no knowledge of the circumstances of his death other than the fact of its occurrence. I was lead to believe that it was the result of a single German bomber jettisoning its load.
There is a certain series of strange coincidences. Bartels is a Germanic name. At the turn of the 19th century, my forefather who I'm led to believe was Jewish moved from Germany to the East End to escape discrimination. This is where where the Bartels family grew and expanded.
My uncle and his family survived the Blitz only moving after it ceased.
As far as I know, the raid that killed George was the only time Chesterton was bombed.
Cheers
Brian