Between August 1940 and January 1942, almost 4000 people were killed and 3500 seriously injured in Merseyside as the result of German air raids. Merseyside was the most important port in Britain outside London during the Second World War. It was a vital route for military equipment and supplies to the country, and so the ‘Western Approaches Command’ headquarters were transferred from Plymouth to Merseyside in February 1941. The headquarters were based deep underground beneath the Exchange Buildings. Western Approaches Command received intelligence information from the Admiralty and the Air Ministry, and was responsible for protecting supply ships as they entered the port. The docks were also home to important munitions factories and naval ‘U-boat hunters’ were stationed at Bootle. Heavy bombing had immobilised London’s port facilities, and so the Mersey became even more important to the British war effort. The Luftwaffe (German air force) therefore began to target Merseyside.
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 Aerial photograph taken by the Luftwaffe showing bombing targets in Birkenhead and Liverpool. |
The first German bombs landed on Merseyside on 9 August 1940 at Prenton, Birkenhead. In the following sixteen months, German bombs killed 2716 people in Liverpool, 442 people in Birkenhead, 409 people in Bootle and 332 people in Wallasey. The worst periods of bombing were the ‘Christmas Raids’ of December 1940, and the ‘May Blitz’ of 1941. The final bombs to be dropped on Merseyside during the War landed on 10 January 1942. |
