SECRET images, which could not be published during the Second World War, are featured in a new book launched at the Warrington- based Museum of Policing in Cheshire.
Bomb damage to key sites – such as Crewe Railway network and the site where Spitfire engines were made – are shown in dramatic footage.
Following the outbreak of the war The Control of Photography Order 1939 No 1 restricted taking photographs of any object or subject conceivably connected with the prosecution of the war. A list of prohibitions included bomb damage to buildings by enemy action.
Museum researcher Will Brown said: “The police were assigned to record the effects of enemy air raids and police photographers visited the sites of bomb damage to record the effect of the attack and collate the details of these incidents, including the date and location, details of damage, type of bomb, number of casualties and fatalities.
“This record was known as the Bomb Damage Census, and details were forwarded to the Home Office.”
Now author Paul Hurley and his wife, Rose, a researcher, have featured photos selected from the museum archives in their new book Blitz on Cheshire, published by The History Press.
Will said the museum has more than 400 photographs of bomb damage in Cheshire taken by police photographers in the archives. He said they depict the devastation caused by both targeted and indiscriminate bombing of Cheshire by the Luftwaffe.
The geographical position of Cheshire, between two major conurbations of Merseyside and Manchester, gave rise to areas on the outskirts being affected by the practice of the enemy “ditching bombs” which had not reached their target.
Will said: “But the county also had its own juicy targets such as the Crewe rail network with Crewe Railway Works, which employed over two thousand and the Rolls Royce factory, which manufactured the Merlin aircraft engine used in the Spitfire fighter and other RAF aircraft. These targets were attacked on several occasions and many lives were lost.
“The collection depicts bombings in Cheshire, which at that time were policed by the county constabulary, several other towns in the county had their own police forces namely Birkenhead, Wallasey, Chester, Macclesfield, Congleton, Hyde and Stalybridge and therefore there is no images relating to those areas.”
Blitz on Cheshire, by retired Cheshire detective Paul and his wife Rose, was written in collaboration with retired officer Will. Paul chose the photographs and Rose undertook additional research, which brings the stories to life.
Since he retired, Paul has written 37 books, which mainly relate to photographic histories of Cheshire towns in a then and now format. He has also written books on the railways and also a novel and his autobiography.
