The May Blitz of 1941 in Liverpool

Paul B · May 12, 2007

In May 1941, my Grandmother, Rose (28) and her son John (4) were killed by the German Luftwaffe during the May Blitz on Liverpool and Birkenhead. My mother who was 2 at the time, survived as she was in the Royal Infirmary with pneumonia and her father was away in the land army. As such, this is a period of history that's always fascinated me and this week we would do well to reflect on those terrible events in Liverpool 66 years ago.

The Blitz

The seven nights of the 1941 May Blitz (1st-7th May) were the heaviest consecutive nights of bombing experienced by Liverpool during the whole of the Second World War. In those few nights around 681 planes dropped 870 tonnes of high explosives and over 112,000 incendiaries (firebombs) on the area, killing over 1,700 people and making around 76,000 homeless.

Waterloo dock warehouse destroyed by a parachute mine

A parachute mine destroyed Waterloo dock warehouse 20/21 December 1940

Liverpool, and its surrounding towns of Bootle, Wallasey and Birkenhead, was attacked mainly because of its huge dock system. This west coast port was the main link between Britain and the USA, and saw food, fuel, raw materials, weapons and troops enter the country. Without these supplies it is doubtful whether Britain could have survived Hitler's attacks.

General Admiral Erich Raeder, Commander in Chief of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy), understood how important Liverpool was to Britain's war effort. He saw that if supplies into the country were cut off then Britain would be weakened, morale would fall and Prime Minister Churchill would be open to negotiation. Luckily for Liverpool and the country as a whole, Hitler did not listen. Many heavy air attacks were launched but not on a sufficient scale to close the docks or seriously disrupt shipping. However, they did cause a lot of damage to the city and her people.

Edited May 12, 2007 by Paul B

fyds · May 12, 2007

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