World War II air raid shelters and defenses in the Liverpool area

[Degsy_b]

Hi,
If anyone else would like to contact the MP about the Dragon's teeth than they can follow this link http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/comm...ons/l/446.html
That will get you to Maria Eagle MP for Garston. You can leave an email message or the address of the House of Parliament is also on that page.

Let me know if you get a reply I think you can contact me through this forum or email me on derek@worldwar2defences.co.uk

Thanks for your enthusiasm!

Derek

[peter]

up till a few years ago booker avenue school in allerton had shelters in the playground. i work sometimes at heron eccles playing fields and the headmaster sometimes let us store machinery in them. been in them a few times they were above ground, long and low ,and had thick concrete roofs.
inside they had seperate rooms which were staggered to confine any blasts.
unfortunately they have now been demolished to upgrade the playground.i am sure the school will have some pictures of them. there is an old man who lives by us who claims to have been one of the few survivors of the blast in clint road school by durning road . unfortunately i believe the boilers received a direct hit and most victims were scalded to death. Harry said he dragged himself out of the rubble and staggered to his grans house who then told him off because he was filthy. hope this helps. pete.

[knowhowe]

I remember Fort Crosby very well. we used to go there a lot as kids. Used to get there either via Hall Road (though i can't for the life of me remember the route from there now) or by crossing the Liverpool-Southport railway line somewhere beyond S n i g g e r y Woods in Little Crosby. The return trip was always via Hall Road as there was a tap mounted on a wooden pole there that we'd descend upon with delight after a day playing in the arid old fort.
(To my astonishment, actually photographed by Sirob- http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/sho...?t=8390&page=6)
It was a massive concrete construction set back from the seashore and half-buried by dunes. If you climbed to the top there was a wide circular groove in the concrete where a gun mounting used to be. There were lots of odd nooks and corners and rooms whose walls were inscribed with mysterious words in white paint.
Another source of wonder for me was that the place was strewn with the bones and skulls of rats, all bleached white- except for the yellow teeth. Thousands of them. I used to fill my pockets with them but my mam always kicked up a stink when she found them and chucked them out. We never ever saw a live rat though- what the beggars lived on there anyway I have no idea, there was nothing but sand...
The place was a wonderland of imagination for us, the perfect setting for all manner of war games. I've no idea when it was demolished or why. It would have been an interesting building to have preserved as a memory of the war in Merseyside. It was in pretty good nick the last time I saw it in the mid-60s. Anyone know what's there now, if anything?

On the subject of pill boxes, there's one tucked into the rural back lane that links Little Crosby village with the Southport by-pass. A quiet spot even today, hard to imagine Nazi invaders passing that way.

[ChrisGeorge]

A pic of the Allerton pillbox on Springwood Avenue:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lsauld/...2242121198@N01

[christy]

There was an air raid shelter in Croxteth park near the bridge over the river Alt heading out from the Mansion towards Crocky and past the old tree. It was a big mound of built up earth with a concrete surround doorway that at the time you had to drop into. It is well away from the house and in the middle of some trees next to the river. Must still be there?

[Waterways]

The main worry about an invasion of Liverpool or the Lancashire coast, was in the event of Southern Ireland falling to the Nazis. The Sinn Fein leadership in Eire were very supportive of Hitler, indeed they took a wreath to the German Embassy in Dublin on hearing the of the suicide of Adolf! It should be mentioned at this point that the Government of Eire remained neutral throughout the war. But suspicions remained and it wouldn't have been the first time the Germans had gone through a 3rd country to meet their military objective. So there was some risk if a bit remote.

The north of the island of Ireland was in the UK with forces stationed there, which could be quickly reinforced. Any Germans attempt to occupy Eire, invited or not, would have been repelled. And there was a plan to full occupy Eire if need be. The chances of an invasion attempt on the west coast of Great Britain was so remote it was not worth contemplating.

Strangely enough one of the first places to be fortified with anti invasion defences was Orkney, and not in the south east England as you might imagine. I suppose with the early presence of German forces in Norway and its Ideal fjords for disembarking an invasion force made it seem like a good bet. On top of which the British fleet had its base in Scapa Flow in itself making it a good candidate for attack.

The south coast was well prepared and there were few places to mount an invasion with high cliffs all along that coast. Any invasion attempt there would have meant certain defeat - as General Jodle said, it would be like putting his troops through meat grinder.

Orkney was islands and not easily re-taken if an invasion attempt, by paras and sea, was successful. Although the Germans supplying the place by air and sea would have been near impossible

[hmtmaj]

This is my dad, aged about 20, outside an air raid shelter during WW2, I thought it was Fitzgerald Rd in Old Swan, but could be around Greenfield Rd ...

[irishseashipping.com]

There were some on the 'GreenHill' bridge spanning between Chelwood Ave and Bentham Drive in Childwall, but you can also see a good amount of them in undergrowth while on the loop line in the Halewood area.

There are dragon's teeth in the bushes on the Greenbank Park side of the Stalbridge Road railway bridge. Though now heavily overgrown now, they were clearly visible when I was youngster in the 60/70s.

There used to be a substantial concrete air-raid shelter outside the now demolished Westfield House in Greenbank Lane. (Removed when the Greenbank Project Sports Centre was constructed some years ago).

Dovedale Road School still has above ground air-raid shelters in the school yard.

The large Stanley Tobacco Warehouse has lookout (firewatching?) posts on the roof - they are quite noticeable if you look carefully - as the brick work appears newer than the main structure.

John

[ChrisO]

I'm sure there's a pillbox (or similar structure) in Maghull, where the railway line crosses the Leeds & Liverpool canal. I think it can be accessed by the road leading to Durrants cottages.

[ChrisGeorge]

I'm sure there's a pillbox (or similar structure) in Maghull, where the railway line crosses the Leeds & Liverpool canal. I think it can be accessed by the road leading to Durrants cottages.

Hi Chris

You will find discussion and images of the pillboxes in Maghull and Lydiate here:

The Leeds Liverpool Canal at War

Best regards

Chris

[ItsaZappathing]

Speaking of the war..
Here's a letter/postcard that was sent to my mum from a German P.O camp. by my great uncle.
Hope some of you find it of interest
The envelope.




THE POSTCARD
(Addressed to Fontenoy Gardens)

[edwardo]

For all who are looking up there ww1 hero's Ancestry.co.uk is free to look up all this month.Well worth a look.one poor boy with the same name as grandad thats how i got to see it .as next of kin addrres he had put his school.some of it is hard reading.hope this is the right place to put this.

[marky]

Re: Stalbridge Avenue dragon teeth. The bushes have recently been cut down, to reveal the concrete pyramids. There are several of them.

[irishseashipping.com]

Re: Stalbridge Road dragon teeth. The bushes have recently been cut down, to reveal the concrete pyramids. There are several of them.

I noticed yesterday passing the old "Westfield" house site in Greenbank Lane - that the concrete air raid shelter I refered to is still there. Just to the left of the entrance - opposite Merebank flats.

[marky]

Re: Greenbank Lane: I know there's a very small building in the front garden of the Gym. I have a picture of this if it is the building you mentioned.

Stalbridge Avenue: