Sheffield retro: 10 haunting photos capturing 'shock' and 'horror' of the blitz as survivors share memories

In nearly 15 years of studying the Sheffield Blitz, I've been humbled by the number of survivors who have shared their stories with me.

One of the most riveting interviews was always with Doug Lightning, then the last surviving firefighter who tackled the blazes over the two nights of December 1940.

I must have spent three hours as he gave me a minute-by-minute account of the first night of the blitz.

The shock, horror, and disbelief he experienced, driven by pure adrenaline, left him soaking wet with hands cut to ribbons by broken glass. The lasting memory was, 'We struggled to put one fire out - we were fighting a losing battle saving the city’.

He went onto say: “I must confess I was scared most of the time and kept thinking ‘this cannot be for real’. There was the constant discomfort and misery of being wet through; the heat scorching you and the pain of cut hands from broken glass everywhere coupled with constant hunger and thirst.”

People spoke with eloquence and detail as they recounted those two nights in December 1940. They were scores of ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times. Many of them had never spoken about their experiences in any detail and were eager to finally get them down on paper.

Their stories make up ‘Forgotten Memories From A Forgotten Blitz’ which is back in print for a limited time. The first 50 are signed.

You can order the book here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/forgotten-memories-from-a-forgotten-blitz