GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill - Structure: gwrbsh3826

Official photograph of the bomb damage on the carriage drive off Livery Street at Snow Hill Station on Thursday 10th April 1941, which was the location of the death of Frederick George Powell (aged 62) from Katherine Road, Bearwood. See below this caption for a close up image.

During the Second World War two major night air-raids developed over Warwickshire's cities between 9th and 11th April 1941. On the first night 237 German bombers dropped 280 tons of High Explosive (HE) and 40,000 incendiaries on Birmingham City Centre, Aston, Nechells, Stechford, Small Heath, Kings Heath and Longbridge. 150 people died as a result of this raid (including a LMS railway employee at Washwood Heath) and a further 364 people were injured. The following night 206 German bombers dropped another 245 tons of HE and 43,000 incendiaries on the City Centre, Great Barr, Small Heath, Stechford and Adderley Park. This second air-raid was responsible for a further 291 deaths and 83 reported injuries. Over the two nights thirty-eight separate fires were recorded, with two in the City Centre reported as burning out of control. A shortage of water meant that engineers were on standby to demolish buildings to create fire-breaks if further air-raids occurred, but fortunately the next large air-raid on Birmingham wasn't until 17th April.

On 9th April at 21:00 a high explosive (HE) bomb fell on Snow Hill No 5 Platform destroying the cloakrooms, covering No 5 and No 1 platforms with debris (see 'gwrbsh1130', 'gwrbsh1131' and gwrbsh1133) and blocking the adjacent tracks. It also caused minor damage to the Birmingham Snow Hill South Signal Box. Three hours later at 01:00 on 10th April a second HE bomb fell on the carriage drive off Livery Street destroying a section of retaining wall and killing Mr Powell. The blast penetrated the parcels office below, causing damage to the control and telegraph offices as well as blocking the tracks adjacent to No 11 and No 12 platforms. Platforms No 11 and No 12 were back in use by 08:10am on the 10th April although trains only had access from the southern end. Platform No 1 reopened at 11:45 and No 5 reopened at 13:00.

Damage on the Great Western Railway was not restricted to Snow Hill Station, both the Goods Office and warehouse at Moor Street (see 'gwrms2723') also suffered and at Bordesley South the relief and goods lines were blocked. Signal Boxes at Small Heath and Tyseley were damaged and freight traffic was temporarily suspended, severe damage on the LMS lines meant extra traffic being diverted over Great Western Railway metals until 11th April.

Robert Ferris

Close up image of the above photograph

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