The following was part of a series of eight articles published in the Huddersfield Examiner during November and December 1944:
- "Local Air Raids: When the Sirens Wailed" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (08/Nov/1944)
- "Local Air Raids: In the Shadow of Castle Hill" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (15/Nov/1944)
- "Local Air Raids: Bombs at Salendine Nook" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (23/Nov/1944)
- "Local Air Raids: Wessenden Next on the List" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (30/Nov/1944)
- "Local Air Raids: Exciting Night at Oakes" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (08/Dec/1944)
- "Local Air Raids: Fire Parties to the Fore" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (13/Dec/1944)
- "Local Air Raids: Bombers Miss Their Mark" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (20/Dec/1944)
- "Local Air Raids: A Flaming Night in June" in Huddersfield Daily Examiner (28/Dec/1944)
The following is a transcription of a historic newspaper article and may contain occasional errors. If the article was published prior to 1 June 1957, then the text is likely in the Public Domain.
LOCAL AIR RAIDS — I
WHEN THE SIRENS WAILED
Meltham Bombing Recalled
"The above have arrived."
So remarked an "Examiner" reporter on the first night of the war when the air-raid sirens sounded in Huddersfield, as in other parts of the country, and sent hundreds of people to shelter.
The "above" had not, of course, arrived, but we did not know that at the time. It turned out that it was a friendly aircraft passing over that had caused a false alarm. But this warbling of "Willie" was a foretaste of things to come, although nine or ten months elapsed before air-raid alerts became a more or less regular occurrence.
During the first winter of the war this country was not greatly troubled by air raids, but with the collapse of France in June, 1940, things began to happen. Mr. Churchill, in a broadcast on June 17, warned us what to expect, and during the night of June 18 about 100 German bombers came over, and bombed their way down the eastern parts of England. That was the beginning of German air raids on this country.
Since the outbreak of the war Huddersfield has had 715 air raid warnings and the sirens have sounded on sixty-one occasions. There have been 253 "Yellow" warnings and 401 "Purples." Twenty-eight high-explosive bombs and two parachute mines (one did not explode) in addition to several hundred incendiary bombs, have been dropped on the town.
Disturbed Nights
The following night the air-raid sirens sounded in the Huddersfield area, and wardens and other A.R.P. workers turned out. Aircraft were heard, and there was speculation as to whether they were German or "ours." There were, however, no "incidents," although it was a disturbed night.
After this alerts were fairly frequent in the district, and there were nights of gunfire that shook the foundations of our houses and rattled the windows, and of aircraft passing over the town. Civil Defence workers were often summoned to duty — sometimes two or three times during the night — and in those days they were called out on a yellow warning.
The purpose of this series of articles is to look back at our air raids and give details about them that for reasons of security we could not give at the time, when Huddersfield had to be described as a "north-eastern town."
First On The List
We begin with Meltham, which had the "distinction" of being the first district in the Huddersfield area to be singled out by enemy raiders. That was on the night of Sunday, August 25, 1940, when ten bombs were dropped. There was one casualty — a pony, which was cut by flying splinters from a bomb that fell in a field.
Seven of the bombs actually straddled a large group of houses in Red Lane and windows were broken and slates dislodged. That was the only damage. The bombs could not have been dropped any nearer to the houses without falling on them — and yet the strong stone walls withstood the blast.
Two other bombs fell in the Marsden road and penetrated through to the water mains, which were broken. One of these bombs dropped practically underneath a heavy stone chimney of an outhouse. For more than fifty years this chimney had been leaning slightly, but even a German bomb did not succeed in knocking it further out of the perpendicular!
As a result of this raid Meltham was left with many big craters, but nowhere in the village was any substantial damage done to the stoutly-built stone houses. Many people complained of shock but there were no personal injuries of any kind.
Four days later bombs were dropped at Hall Bower, but we must leave that story for the next article.
(To be continued)
