UXO risk in Nottingham

Why was Nottingham targeted and bombed in WWII?

Nottingham was not among the most heavily bombed cities in the UK during WWII. It was for the most part spared during Nazi Germany’s nine month ‘Blitz’ of London and other British cities. Only one raid of significance occurred during this time – an isolated incident on the 15th January 1941 which killed 15 people.

However, Nottingham did famously produce various military materiel such as boots, textiles, weapons and other supplies, making it important to the British war effort, and therefore not entirely out of the Luftwaffe’s sights.

It saw its largest raid on the night of 8-9th May 1941. Incendiary and high-explosive bombs were dropped across the city, resulting in substantial damage to infrastructure and housing.

Nottingham’s ‘Blitz’ of 9th May 1941

Starting shortly after midnight, and finishing at around 4:30am, Nottingham was subjected to 11 separate raids¹. Targets included the Basford Gas Works, Boots, the National Ordnance Factory on Castle Meadow Road, Chilwell Ordnance Depot, the factories of Raleigh and Players, Wilford Power Station and the Lady Bay Bridge².

An example of one of many pre-war German military target/reconnaissance maps is presented below.

Over 400 high explosive bombs were dropped, in additional to countless incendiaries. At least 200 people were killed, with over 270 injured. A total of 200 houses were destroyed, and more than 4,500 damaged³.

One eyewitness recalled “The sky was red – as though the world had come to an end … The dust was just like a sandstorm. Buildings were ablaze, water pipes were gushing and there were mounds of brick and rubble everywhere.”

Below is an extract of a bomb map showing the locations of bomb strikes in Nottingham, held at Nottingham Central Library. HE bombs are shown as large black dots and depict the presence of bombing around the Lower Parliament Street area.

The Lace Market reportedly became an inferno. Boots factories in Poplar, Island and Station Streets were seriously damaged. Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and both Forest and County football stadiums were hit. St John’s Church, Leenside was destroyed; the tower of St Mary’s Nottingham caught fire, nearby St Christopher’s was reduced to a shell. The old Moot Hall on Friar Lane, the Masonic Hall on Goldsmith Street, sections of University College and Shakespeare Street’s Register Office were damaged⁴.

The raid cut swathes through the districts of Stapleford, Beeston, Mapperley Park, Woodborough Road, St Ann’s and West Bridgford. However, it was the areas of Sneinton and the Meadows which sustained the worst damage, with sections of London Road, Colwick Road and Carlton Road totally destroyed.

‘It could have been worse’ – the success of Nottingham’s Bombing Decoy Sites

As bad as the raid was, it is thought the damage could have been considerably worse without the ‘Starfish’ decoy site at nearby Cropwell Butler, 8km south-east of Nottingham (see image below). Starfish sites were large-scale night-time decoys created during the Blitz to simulate burning British cities and towns. The aim was to divert Luftwaffe night bombers from their intended targets so they would drop their ordnance over the surrounding countryside.

The first wave of bombers would often drop incendiary bombs to ‘light up’ the target area for subsequent bombers. The decoy sites would mimic a burning town, and subsequent waves of aircraft would hopefully mistake that for the primary target, bombing it instead.

It is reported that many bombs destined for the centre of Nottingham fell on the Cropwell Butler decoy and in fields the Vale of Belvoir.

Nottingham was not subject to any more raids of such a scale, although further raids occurred over the city sporadically, mainly as a result of poor Luftwaffe navigation.

Home Office Bombing Statistics for Nottingham

Details obtained from the official Home Office bombing statistics, indicates the quantity and type of bombs that fell on the County Borough of Nottingham during WWII (excluding incendiary bombs). A total of 425 recorded bombs were recorded, equating to 26.3 items of ordnance per 1,000 acres.