Sheffield retro: 9 haunting photos capture wreckage of Sheffield Blitz

It was December 15th, 83 years ago, that the Germans returned for the second night of the Sheffield Blitz, writes Neil Anderson.

Thousands were already living in temporary rest shelters around the city following the first night of the bombing on December 12th, 1940.

Great swathes of the city centre lay in ruins - large parts of the Moor, High Street and surrounding areas had been flattened.

Large parts of the city were without power or running water, and the hospitals were doing what they could for the hundreds of injured.

There were stories of remarkable rescues to lift the soul but heartbreak and tragedy was all around. 

If there was one good thing about the December 15th it was the fact the raid was far smaller than the first night.

It was also far more concentrated on the East End and its heavy industry.

In fact in terms of damage few of the steelworks were affected that much.

When I was researching my 'Sheffield's Date With Hitler' book I actually uncovered some German bombing maps of Sheffield and, whilst the steelworks were down as targets, they were only down as seconardary targets.

Primary targets were schools, hospitals and transportation. It led me to the conclusion it was far more of terror raid designed to force the population into submission. I think something like a third of the city's schools were hit on the first night.

In the end, it had the opposite effect, with the city held up as an example by Churchill for its stoical nature in remaining defiant in the face of such horrors.

You can read more about it in my Sheffield's Date With Hitler book: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/sheffields-date-with-hitler-blitz-80th-anniversary-edition