FKH299

[blinkey501]

This one's for the sheffield folk amongst us!

I was born at hillsborough in 1971, then moved near the utd ground on the corner of charlotte road/margaret street. then up to city road opposite the cemetary.

The man who i am to talk about today is a man called george walker who lived on margaret street and for many years we lost touch until a version of events brought george , his wife agnus and our family back in contact. agnus is no longer with us but george is 94 years old and is living in sheltered accomadation in misterton.
George has told me of a story of his bike which is incredible, and shows the kind of struggle that people had to endure in sheffield during the second world war.

George was asked to work another week of night at joseph thompsons,summit works,town edge street.
george was is engineering he was a universal grinder and made engine components for the rolls royce engine that was fitted to the spitfire.

On his way to work he heard the air raid sirens and had to go straight to the shelters at brook hill close to the hospitals.
His bike which was a Triumph tiger twin 500, which he parked outside the chip shop oppposite the shelters.
A few woman asked if anyone would like fish and chips from the shop across the way and was stopped from going out onto the street by the warden in the shelter.
Sheffield that night was subjected to a bombing campaign by the germans, building were smashed including the chip shop across the road.

Unbelievably the next morning when george went outside and looked at all the distruction, dead bodies and entire streets gone, there was this triumph still on its stand without a scratch. George made is way home to the shiregreen area of sheffield.

[mangocrazy]

Amazing story. Shows the random nature of wartime, I guess. Good on you for keeping in touch. I bet George really appreciates you going to see him.

My Dad fought in WWII, was pulled off the beaches at Dunkirk, and fought in North Africa and Monte Cassino, but never really told us much about what happened. I think he was glad to try and forget, personally. The only comment I remember him making was 'there are no atheists in the foxholes'...

[HowardQ]

Interesting story, my dad would have been a bit older than George if he was still alive. My dad and myself, were also born and lived in the Shregreen area of Sheffield. During the war dad worked in a job classed as essential to the war effort. It upset him initially as he wanted to go and "fight" with his mates, (sadly not many came back).
The steel works where he worked made all sorts of stuff for the war, the shop where dad worked made barrells for 25 pounder field guns and tank guns, amongst other things.
He also used his bike to get to work, but also had a pushbike that he regularly used when he could not get petrol, but that got destroyed in one of the heavy bombing raids, but the bike came through OK, seem to remember it was a New Hudson.