Norwich Baedeker blitz: The Lockwoods

The Lockwood family lived at number 65 Rosebery Road in Norwich, a very ordinary little house in a row of terraces nestling in the sea of shoe factory workers houses between St Clements Hill and Angel Road, not far from Angel Road School. In the Picture above we have...

Norwich Blitz Ghosts: St Giles

Upper St Giles Another Norwich Blitz ghosts, Baedeker Raids again, not entirely sure which night to be honest 27th or 29th, I'm thinking 27th when Barn Road copped a load. What is interesting here though as much as anything is you can see how the new Cleveland Road...

Baedeker Blitz: The Hubbards

Thomas Hubbard, Aged 52, Died 28-4-42 Norwich Garden of remembrance. Memorial cemetery. Farrow Road, Norwich. "The date that sticks in my mind is 28th April 1942 and the time 10.30 At that moment I was in the Anderson shelter in my garden on St. Martins Road, Norwich...

Blitz in Colour: The British Gas Light Company, Dereham Road

Post-April 27th 1942, Blitz in colour,  this was the scene at the corner of Heigham Road and Dereham Road in Norwich during some kind of clear up work, probably to do with the gas supply. The whole crossroads here was badly damaged, the pub to the rear of the picture...

Blitz Ghost: St Bartholomew

One of the few real reminders of the blitz on Norwich that is easy to visit is the church of St Bartholomew, Heigham, Norwich, it's quite easy to find sitting just of Heigham Street and Waterworks Road. On the night of the 27th of April 1942 when the first of the big...

Blitz Ghost – St Andrews

This is Harmer's Factory on St Andrews Broad Street in Norwich on the 18th March 1943 and the 2nd March 2012, almost seventy years., it's also a weird bit of land with not much on it, sort of an entrance to a car park of sorts. Harmer's was hit several times, firstly...

Blitz Ghosts Norwich 1943

Some Blitz Ghosts images of Norwich from 1943 In Norwich in 1943 White stuff was an International, GAP was a Barclays bank, Buntings is Habitat, or was and Bullen's remains unchanged. The originals of these photos were taken  by Lew Funk: his Son John is digitising...

Norwich in flames

Norwich in Flames: Here are a selection of George Swain's camera melting exploits. Originally photographed in Black and White. I colourised these, based on looking at modern colour photos of fires and then painting them in, very simply to be honest. They depict the...

Ghosts: London blitz aerial maps

These are blitz ghosts: London blitz aerial maps using images from various collection overlain on Google map aerials. An iconic image from one German Heinkel III bomber showing another over Rotherhithe, the Surrey Commercial and West India Docks and Isle of Dogs to...

Blitz in Colour: Rampant Horse Street, Norwich, 30 April 1942

Rampant Horse Street, Norwich, 30 April 1942 – the aftermath of the second night of the Baedeker raids on Norwich, The Luftwaffe bombed across the centre of Norwich using incendiaries. There were too many individual fires for the wardens to put them all out the fire...

Rephotography: Ghosting history

I should of course have done a piece on the Ghosts stuff properly ages ago, but time passes and what one minute seems to be the important and interesting bit of whatever you're doing suddenly isn't as much as it was three or four years ago. The recent conservation of...

Blitz Ghosts: St Benedicts Gate

On the 28th April 1942 this was the result of a 1000kg Hermann that burst on what is now the traffic lights at the bottom of Grapes Hill. The men aren't short, they standing in the edge of a hole that was rather wide and very deep caused by the blast a Herman was...

The Blitz

Various material to do with air raids on the British mainland, stories, rephotography and ghosting of photos of the Norwich raid and the Baedeker Blitz of 1942 including the Blitz Ghosts series of photographs.

The Norwich Bomb map – Digitised

The Norwich Bomb map – Digitised

The Norwich bomb map was originally created by Norwich Air Raid Precautions Department to record all known bombs* dropped on Norwich between 1940 and 1945, including the extensive Baedeker Raids of 1942, giving the location, date of the raid and the type of ordinance...

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Baedeker Blitz Norwich – deaths

Baedeker Blitz Norwich – deaths

I've intended to publish this every year since about 2011, refining it slowly. A year or so ago I tweeted all of these names, these people, because every year I always try to do something or other perhaps in an oddly selfish way, in some ways to remember them all just...

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Blitz in Colour: Dereham Road Baptist Church 1942

Blitz in Colour: Dereham Road Baptist Church 1942

Dereham Road Baptist Church opened in 1904. Closed temporarily in 1942 during the Baedeker Raids. Sources point at this being a result of the first raid on the Monday night; the 27th of April; this would fit the pattern of most of the bombing being of the north and...

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Blitz in Colour: Curls Store 30th April 1942

Blitz in Colour: Curls Store 30th April 1942

Outside Curls store, Rampant Horse Street corner with Brigg Street, 30th April 1942. They're standing in the wreckage caused by the incendiary bombs that fell on Norwich on the second night of the Baedeker Raids on Norwich. So this is the 30th of April 1942. The photo...

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Blitz Ghosts: Church of St Julian of Norwich

Blitz Ghosts: Church of St Julian of Norwich

One of the best known Blitz victims in Norwich, because of the famed Julian of Norwich. It was hit head on by a 250kg High Explosive bomb and all but obliterated as you can see. Beautifully rebuilt, and a fabulous little church, a nice calm space that feels more like...

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Blitz Ghosts: St Michael at Thorn, Norwich

Blitz Ghosts: St Michael at Thorn, Norwich

St Michael at Thorn, Norwich. Or it was. It stood just behind the Archant building, sort of opposite or adjacent to the shops that survived the flame-grilling of Bonds in April 1942, this is 11 years before the bombs fell in 1931. So I'm standing roughly, within a...

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Blitz Ghosts: St Benedicts Church, Norwich

Blitz Ghosts: St Benedicts Church, Norwich

St Benedicts Church, Norwich is quite hidden away, a sad little relic. The tower is still there, preserved like like a thick flint chimney, or a Cloigtheach except no bells ring here, It reminds me of Messines in Flanders too. It's set in some grass just off St...

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Blitz Ghosts: Aylsham Road

Blitz Ghosts: Aylsham Road

Aylsham Road, Norwich, April 1942 and nearly now, one of my first Norwich Ghosts. There are two pictures of the area. Both I believe taken by George Swain. The top Blitz Ghost is the first one I ever did, and the bottom one is the last. A 500kg landed here, it blew...

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Norwich Castle Museum Ghost 1941 > 2012

Norwich Castle Museum Ghost 1941 > 2012

Parachute troops, bare-headed and wearing 'jump jackets', in Norwich during exercises in Eastern Command, 23 June 1941. (Credit: IWM collection). Original Taken by Lt Puttnam, Official War Office photographer. Image of drizzle and murk, Nick Stone, Official...

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Norwich Blitz Ghosts: St Giles

Norwich Blitz Ghosts: St Giles

Upper St Giles Another Norwich Blitz ghosts, Baedeker Raids again, not entirely sure which night to be honest 27th or 29th, I'm thinking 27th when Barn Road copped a load. What is interesting here though as much as anything is you can see how the new Cleveland Road...

read more
Ghosts: London blitz aerial maps

Ghosts: London blitz aerial maps

These are blitz ghosts: London blitz aerial maps using images from various collection overlain on Google map aerials. An iconic image from one German Heinkel III bomber showing another over Rotherhithe, the Surrey Commercial and West India Docks and Isle of Dogs to...

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Blitz Ghosts: Oak Street & Sussex Street, Norwich, 1942

Blitz Ghosts: Oak Street & Sussex Street, Norwich, 1942

Oak Street & Sussex Street, Norwich, 1942. More scenes from the Norwich Blitz. Probably the morning of 28th April. Tough ones. I spent far longer trying to work out where it was than normal, and there's story behind this scene that you will find below that brings...

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Blitz Ghosts Norwich: Danger UXB

Blitz Ghosts Norwich: Danger UXB

More in the Blitz Ghosts Norwich series. I'm not sure where the above picture is exactly, Originally I thought it was possibly at Harford dump, which is where most of the defused stuff ended up, or it might be the depot in Ipswich, turns out it's in Anchor Quay to the...

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Blitz Ghosts – St Augustines School, Norwich

Blitz Ghosts – St Augustines School, Norwich

St Augustines School 1940, a posed shot for George Swain as the children enact an air raid drill, there are a few others in this series, showing twisted lines of children waiting to enter, one of the other ones lines up with the wall and some door and windows behind...

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Blitz Ghosts Norwich 1943

Blitz Ghosts Norwich 1943

Some Blitz Ghosts images of Norwich from 1943 In Norwich in 1943 White stuff was an International, GAP was a Barclays bank, Buntings is Habitat, or was and Bullen's remains unchanged. The originals of these photos were taken  by Lew Funk: his Son John is digitising...

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The Blitz: The Firefighter’s Memorial

The Blitz: The Firefighter’s Memorial

The Firefighter's Memorial. Entitled 'blitz' by artist John Mills. 997 firemen lost their lives in WW2, all listed on the plinth. It didn't occur to me to check out the Norwich ones. Idiot that I am. If you care to look up photographs of St Paul's Cathedral during the...

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Ghosts: A Dog’s Life, the Catton Liberator

Ghosts: A Dog’s Life, the Catton Liberator

This was the scene in Catton at the corner of Church Street and Spixworth Road on the 13th February 1945 and the corner of the same Roads on 22nd December 2011. The Liberator 'A Dog's Life' was one of two that crashed in Catton on the outskirts of Norwich, The other...

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Baedeker Blitz: The Hubbards

Baedeker Blitz: The Hubbards

Thomas Hubbard, Aged 52, Died 28-4-42 Norwich Garden of remembrance. Memorial cemetery. Farrow Road, Norwich. "The date that sticks in my mind is 28th April 1942 and the time 10.30 At that moment I was in the Anderson shelter in my garden on St. Martins Road, Norwich...

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Blitz Ghost: Alexandra Road and Helena Road

Blitz Ghost: Alexandra Road and Helena Road

Alexandra Road, another Norwich Blitz Ghost. A 250kg bomb took out about 4 properties, quite a precise slice, which is still very evident if you look at the row today the missing block was replaced with a more modern variant of the generic terrace, a pattern you can...

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Blitz Ghosts: St Benedicts Gate

Blitz Ghosts: St Benedicts Gate

On the 28th April 1942 this was the result of a 1000kg Hermann that burst on what is now the traffic lights at the bottom of Grapes Hill. The men aren't short, they standing in the edge of a hole that was rather wide and very deep caused by the blast a Herman was...

read more
Blitz Ghost: St Bartholomew

Blitz Ghost: St Bartholomew

One of the few real reminders of the blitz on Norwich that is easy to visit is the church of St Bartholomew, Heigham, Norwich, it's quite easy to find sitting just of Heigham Street and Waterworks Road. On the night of the 27th of April 1942 when the first of the big...

read more
Blitz Ghosts – Rampant Horse Street, Norwich

Blitz Ghosts – Rampant Horse Street, Norwich

Rampant Horse Street, Norwich, Seventy years on, plus a bit. The result of the second night of the main two raids 29th/30th April 1942, The fires are out, must be the modern rain. This is the scene that did for the Caleys factory the previous night, less so than...

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