Sheffield's First Air Raid Victims of World War 2 - 28th-29th August 1940
"The total of deaths from air raids over Sheffield was 631 with another 589 seriously injured and 1,228 sustaining slight injuries."
One of the first articles I placed on the site many years ago was one about the loss of life that occurred on 12th December 1940 when the Marples public house in Fitzalan Square was flattened by a Luftwaffe bomb. It was the single biggest loss of life in Sheffield during the whole war.
But there were a number of other occasions when lives were lost as a result of Luftwaffe activity. The last two people to lose their lives in Sheffield were George Macbeth and William Trevor Wilde. They were killed on Clarkhouse Road in Sheffield on Monday 20th October 1941 but their deaths were caused not by a German bomb but by an anti-aircraft shell that exploded in the road near to them. The Last of 631 Fatalities - Sheffield 1939-1945.
And so to round the articles off I thought that it would be fitting to ascertain who were the Sheffield's first air raid victims of the Second World War
The first bomb to hit Sheffield was on August 18th , 1940 at Blackbrook Road, Fulwood near the Cottage Homes - no injuries were reported. The second bomb to hit Sheffield was two days later on August 20th, 1940. The location was Standon Road at Wincobank. Again no injuries were reported. But that was not the case on the night of August 28-29th , 1940 in the Shalesmoor/ Netherthorpe area of Sheffield three dead, seventeen seriously hurt, sixty-one slight injuries. I should point out that the Sheffield at War 1939 - 1945 booklet that was published in 1948 lists four persons dying in the attack but the local newspapers only list three persons. It is possible that one of those who was injured in the attack died at a later date but I have no information to date to verify this possibility,
Th first report appeared Friday 30th August 1940 in the local press, It should be remembered that the press in the UK fell under The Emergency Powers (Defence) Act that was passed in 1939. This was emergency legislation passed just prior to the outbreak of World War II by the UK Parliament to enable the British Government to take up emergency powers to prosecute the war effectively. It contained clauses giving the government wide powers to create Defence Regulations which regulated almost every aspect of everyday life in the country. As you can see from the first article the content was heavily censored - Sheffield was just a Midlands town
The second report added more detail but this was mainly of a general nature. Reading it now it seems like a very poor propaganda piece that did not contain much truth. The reference to a "roasted sparrow" and "woman and children coming out of their wrecked homes quietly and there was no panic or fuss" seem to me to be just plain ridiculous, And the vicars comments "they were not afraid, not one was afraid" was ludicrous. Whilst this kind of drivel may satisfy the censors and send a message to the Nazis that that the bombing of civilians will have no effect, we all know the opposite is the case. And the Nazis knew it too! This dismissive attitude to the bombing was to have a devastating effect on public morale in the months to come and it took a while for the UK authorities to realise that this was NOT the way to report the war.
Of course they were correct in not disclosing the locations and the extent of any casualties and damage - this would have been useful to the Nazis.
The final toll was three dead, seventeen seriously hurt, sixty-one slight injuries. And extensive damage to the housing in the area.
As for the fatalities, locating information about them proved to be difficult at times. The report states that one of the victims was a 65 year old man called ALFRED ASPINALL. I could find no-one with that name but I did eventually find an ALFRED ASPINWALL in the 1939 National Register living at 25 St Stephens Road
This tied with the information on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database
Alfred Aspinwall
Civilian War Dead
Date of Death Died 29 August 1940
Age 65 years old
Buried or commemorated at SHEFFIELD, COUNTY BOROUGH Additional Information
at 25 St. Stephen's Road
Alfred is buried at Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield
ASPINWALL, Alfred (Engin tenter, age 65). Died at 25 St Stephens Road; Buried on September 4, 1940 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 8422, Section H of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No ~
GLOSSOP, Ellen (Widow, age 75). Died at 2 Herries Road; Buried on February 4, 1948 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 8422, Section H of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.
The second fatality mentioned in the report was a 15 year old girl called EDNA WINSLADE who appears in the 1939 Register as living with her parents at 9 Fimlay Street
Her entry in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database is as follows
CIVILIAN
EDNA WINSLADE
Civilian War Dead
Date of Death Died 29 August 1940
Age 15 years old
Buried or commemorated at SHEFFIELD, COUNTY BOROUGH Additional Information
9 Finlay Street. Daughter of William and Edith Alice Winslade. Injured at 1 Court, 2 Finlay Street; died at Royal Infirmary
EDNA is buried at City Road Cemetery, Sheffield.
WINSLADE, Florence May (spinster, age 25). Died at City General Hospital; Buried on May 18, 1939 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 22407, Section E6 of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 137
WINSLADE, Edna (Daughter of Edith Alice (died as result of air raid), age 15). Died at Royal Infirmary; Buried on September 3, 1940 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 22407, Section E6 of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 221
WINSLADE, Ernest (Labourer, age 39). Died at 57 Edward St Flats; Buried on December 8, 1959 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 22407, Section E6 of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 220
WINSLADE, Edith Alice (Housewife, age 72). Died at 57 Edward Street Flats; Buried on January 17, 1963 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 22407, Section E6 of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 22
WINSLADE, William (Retired, age 75). Died at City General Hospital; Buried on January 23, 1964 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 22407, Section E6 of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 69
The final fatality is 23 year old DOUGLAS JONES
CIVILIAN DOUGLAS JONES
Civilian War Dead
Date of Death Died 29 August 1940
Age 23 years old
Buried or commemorated at SHEFFIELD, COUNTY BOROUGH Additional Information of 123 Hammond Street. Son of Alfred Sydney and Phoebe Jones, of 9 Horam Road, Crookesmoor Road. Injured at 123 Hammond Street; died same day at Royal
Infirmary.
Duglas in buried in Sheffield's Walkley Cemetery
JONES, Phoebe (~, age 46). Died at 9 Horam Rd; Buried on July 30, 1934 in ~ ground; Grave Number 209, Section J of Walkley Cemetery Cemetery, Nichols Rd. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 59
JONES, Douglas Richards (~, age 23). Died at Royal Infirmary; Buried on September 3, 1940 in ~ ground; Grave Number 209, Section J of Walkley Cemetery Cemetery, Nichols Rd. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 7
JONES, Alfred Sydney (~, age 92). Died at Nether Edge Hospital Sheffield; Buried on October 29, 1975 in ~ ground; Grave Number 209, Section J of Walkley Cemetery Cemetery, Nichols Rd. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 53
Of the three fatalities I noticed that EDNA and DOUGLAS were
taken to Sheffield's Royal Infirmary and it was at the hospital that they
died from their injuries some hours later. But ALFRED ASPINWALL died at his home
at 25 St Stephens Road which seems to indicate that he died at the time the bomb
hit the property. And so ALFRED ASPINWALL was the first person to die in
Sheffield from an air attack in the Second World War.
Sources
Sheffield At War 1939 - 1945
Sheffield Indexers
UK Census - Free BMD
CWGC
This page was last updated on 29/12/22 16:51