ACM Retro

'Blitz Kids' Project Launched to Honour Sheffield Blitz Memories

The Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust turned back the clock to World War Two with a 1940s-themed afternoon tea to launch the new 'Blitz Kids' Project.
Held at The Silver Plate, Sheffield College, the event drew over 40 attendees, including civic dignitaries, councillors, 'blitz kids,' academics, and local businesses.
Supported by a £91,280 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project is focused on preserving the memories of the last generation that remember the blitz air raids that devastated Sheffield in December 1940 and made over a tenth of the city homeless.
Sheffield College catering students prepared a 1940s-inspired tea.
Neil Anderson of the Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust said: “This project is about recording the memories of the last generation that remember the attacks first hand – people that were children at the time of the attacks. Their memories are unique and give a deeply personal perspective on this defining event in Sheffield’s history.”
As part of this ambitious ‘Blitz Kids’ project, the trust will expand the Sheffield Blitz exhibition at the National Emergency Services Museum and produce a new book featuring personal stories from ‘blitz kids’ themselves. Beyond archival efforts, the project aims to engage the local community through educational activities.
Volunteers will have the opportunity to develop valuable skills in interview recording, web design, and historical research, contributing to a project that ensures the endurance of Sheffield’s wartime stories.
The trust is calling on the community to get involved, whether by volunteering or supporting the project’s upcoming events. By sharing stories of resilience and endurance, the ‘Blitz Kids’ Project will make Sheffield’s history accessible and alive for future generations.
More information from www.sheffieldblitz.co.uk

15 Years in the Making: Sheffield Blitz Collection Unveiled 📚✨

After 15 years uncovering the hidden truths of the Sheffield Blitz, I’m proud to announce the release of ‘Sheffield Blitz – The Definitive Collection’ — a project that’s probably as close to my life’s work as it gets.

This isn’t just a book collection; it’s a deeply researched journey that lays bare Sheffield’s wartime secrets, overturning 80 years of myths surrounding those fateful nights in December 1940, when our city was left devastated and nearly a tenth of it homeless.

The collection includes something truly unique —copies of three original German bombing maps of Sheffield, marking the targets the N***s aimed to hit during WW2. These documents are a rare glimpse into the chilling strategy behind the attacks.

Creating this collection was my way of honouring our city’s incredible resilience and offering readers a deep, meticulously researched account of what really happened. This is for those who seek a comprehensive understanding of the Blitz, built on years of studying and collecting primary sources.

If you’d like to find out more, you can check it out here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/the-story-of-the-sheffield-blitz-the-definitive-collection

Stories of Survival: Sheffield's Darkest Nights Remembered 💔🔥

As the author of 'Countdown to the Sheffield Blitz', I've had the privilege of hearing some truly heart-wrenching stories from those who lived through the darkest nights of our city's history. Below are a couple of accounts that capture the courage, fear, and resilience of Sheffielders during the bombings. You can check out the newly republished book here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/countdown-to-the-sheffield-blitz

✝️💔 One young girl remembers hiding with her grandmother and uncle in their Anderson shelter. With each bomb, the shelter shook, and her grandmother prayed the rosary aloud. Neighbours banged on the door, bleeding and desperate for help. The air was thick with the smell of burning, and cries for help filled the night. The next morning, their home was barely standing, and the family had to walk through streets littered with bodies. "All I wanted was for this war to be over," she said
🚑🔥Emma Pyecroft was only 18 when she became an ARP ambulance driver, transporting the injured during the Sheffield Blitz. The roads were dark due to blackout regulations, and the air was filled with smoke and fire. Emma vividly recalled pulling bodies from air raid shelters and taking eight dead to a makeshift morgue in a barn. "When you're young, you cope with anything," she said, showing remarkable resilience.
You can check out the book here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/countdown-to-the-sheffield-blitz

🕺 City's Retro Glory Days Celebrated in My Latest Book! 🎶

Sheffield deserves to be happy today. It got pride of place in one of my most popular books of the year - the ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Britain – In Pictures’. Venues like the Fiesta, the Limit, Hofbrauhaus, Penny Farthing and Sheffield City Hall have been lighting up the lives of retro-lovers across the country! Though it competed with the likes of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and many other places it was obviously Sheffield that made it so popular.😉 You can check it out here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/dirty-stop-outs-guide-to-1970s-britain-in-pictures-pocket-size-edition