The view from the upstair's flat - the concrete monstrosity is the Students Union building where I used to work (hell of a journey in the morning - in rush hour it could take upto five minutes ). Unfortunately, the style has nothing to do with the post-blitz rebuilding - it was a 60's "architectural" choice
Drove past the railway bomb site today, and it is where I thought as I saw the old brick pillbox. Marked X in the pictures.
This is a great "Then & Now" site for Germany: Third Reich in Ruins I'd recommend that site to anybody!, It was mentioned on another forum a while back and I keep going back, particularly to the Schweinfurt pages, surprising just how modern some of the buildings look. I also learnt of the 'Schuttberg' or 'rubble-mountain' on there, huge piles of waste from the bombing piled up in remarkable quantities; something that had never really occured to me before and I'm still fascinated by.
Do like that site, cheers. The jagdTiger photos are great. When I was in Hannover in '92 I saw they had some photos of the Hauptbahnhof in ruins with the Americans parked outside on permanent dispaly outside the station. Was quite a surprise really to see them. To do the "Then & Now" bit, you just had to look up from the photo.
Just looking at IWM site again, felt like doing a then & now.(although it's not local to me.) Aerial view from the south showing the damage resulting from a German V2 rocket missile which exploded at the junction of Wanstead Park Road and Endsleigh Gardens in Cranbrook, Ilford, Essex, England on 8 March 1945. As a result of the incident, nine people were killed, fifteen seriously injured and nineteen slightly injured. 8 houses were destroyed, 16 had to be demolished, 33 were rendered uninhabitable and 116 were very seriously damaged. In the photograph, clearance work is underway on the site. At top left can be seen demolished houses on Belgrave Road, the result of another hit by a V2 on 21 February. 51°33'48.68"N 0° 3'27.60"E
thats a great pic... but if you look closer isnt the upto date pic took closer to the catheadral....which the terace buildings stay intact... great pic though
Just looking at IWM site again, felt like doing a then & now.(although it's not local to me.) 51°33'48.68"N 0° 3'27.60"E If you go to my search engine, enter date: 08.03.1945, Regiment/Corps: Civilian War Dead and Including: WANSTEAD, you'll find 5 of the 9 fatal casualties from 146, 150 and 153 Wanstead Park Rd. Change Including to ENDSLEIGH to get the other 4 at 101 and 103 Endesleigh Gardens. geoff
Geoff, It works, that's brilliant. Didn't think of using your search engine like that. Actually it was number 152 not 153. I see Sidonie Kren was an Austrian Refugee. Hitler got her after all, very sad. CWGC :: Casualty Details
Geoff, It works, that's brilliant. Didn't think of using your search engine like that. Actually it was number 152 not 153. I see Sidonie Kren was an Austrian Refugee. Hitler got her after all, very sad. CWGC :: Casualty Details Very sad, after reaching such an age. I could only find one casualty for the other V2 on 21.02.1945. I read somewhere that 18 months production of V weapons was equivalent destructive power to a single Allied bombing raid. Dread to think what would be if that V rocket effort went into the submarine or heavy water program instead. Still, it put a man on the moon 25 years later, but with an awful lot of human misery to get there.
And there are some Geoff who say that they should never have gone to the Moon. Seemingly there was a row within NASA during the 60's over which planet they should try to get to. The Americans wanted to go to the Moon, The German Scientists under Von Braun wanted to go to Mars. They felt that once the US put a man on the moon that the space program would stop there. And they were right.
Anyone else going to join in with some then & now photos of your local patch? It's good fun and it's WW2 on your doorstep.
i am waiting for chippenham library to send i lots of stuff about aircraft crashes and photos too,she seemed very helpful that librarian.apparently there are foreign servicemen up the cemetary as well,i never knew that.yours,lee.
Lee have a look when you can if there was an attack on Chippenham on 15/05/1944 This chap is listed as Civilain war dead, CWGC :: Casualty Details That must mean he died at the hands of the enemy as natural causes wouldn't be recorded by the CWGC. I see there are RNZAF & RCAF graves at London Road Cem, are they the foreign servicemen you mention? CWGC :: Cemetery Details
it certainly looks like it.it looks like one headstone has been kicked over,am very angry,i know tom,the cemetary manager,so im sure he would have put that headstone back.yours,lee.
i know that area of chippenham very well owen,my dad lived in long close when he was a kid.i often wish i never moved away from chippenham,i love that place.yours,lee.
Lee have a look when you can if there was an attack on Chippenham on 15/05/1944 The Times for 16th and 17th May reported 14 and 6 enemy aircraft destroyed over southern England on the 14th and 15th respectively. Germany claimed a raid on Bristol (14th) and Portsmouth (15th). several areas bombed with some casualities, but no specific locations given. Local papers may have the details.
my friends tell me german bombers flew over chippenham regularly,back and forth to bath and bristol,i know they dropped bombs too.one bomb was blown up right near my old bungalow,there is a school there now.the farmer reckons there are many more bombs near pewsham too.lee.