Manchester Blitz, Then & Now.

‹ Return to

Manchester Blitz, Then & Now

Portland Street with the corner of Aytoun Street on the left and the corner of Parker Street on the right.

The Mercure Hotel stands where the burning building (a cotton warehouse) in the photo below stood.

9

A tatty map showing my approximate viewpoint and field of view on Portland Street, Manchester.

Untitled-TrueColor-04

Same scene Christmas Eve 1940. © IWM, photo used with IWM Non-Commercial Licence
www.iwm.org.uk/corporate/privacy-copyright/licence

Below. The view from Piccadilly Gardens on Greater Manchester Police photostream.
Piccadilly in the Blitz

The composite image below is taken from the same location above but looking right, i.e along Parker Street towards Mosely Street. So the burning buildings in the top photo would be on the left and behind.

Manchester Blitz, Then and Now.

34 comments on “Manchester Blitz, Then & Now.
  1. pasujoba says:

    This is terrific Ian …..the top shot stands on its own right as a great image …..expecting an explore for its style ……but my fave is the composite shot at the end …those people even seem to be looking at the burning building !
    Excellent work mate!

  2. nondesigner59 says:

    Excellent work.. Your composite images are superb..

  3. Martyn Fordham says:

    Fascinating, thank you so much for this Ian.

  4. amyrey says:

    Always amazing to see the then and now pics. It’s changed quite a bit… by the looks of it, them original buildings were well and truly blitzed. Can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like to live through that.

    Hey, you were stood in a precarious place… cars must have been whizzing past both sides of you!

  5. Gary Shield says:

    Fantastic job again Ian

  6. rob of rochdale says:

    That top shot is bang on mate.

    How the heck the cars missed you is anyone’s guess! 🙂

  7. Ian D B says:

    Many thanks everyone

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/amybigkiss] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/longsidepies]
    I was on a traffic island, braced against a lamp post and zoomed in a bit!

  8. Tech Owl says:

    I do look forward to these insights into the past – another great series and investigation work from the master!

  9. *Psycho Delia* says:

    Brilliant set of shots. Love it

  10. salfordlad1 says:

    Fantastic again – great to see you again.

  11. And who am i says:

    Brilliant Ian, keep up the good work. (even like the tatty map 🙂 )

  12. And who am i says:

    Brilliant Ian, keep up the good work. (even like the tatty map 🙂 )

  13. Keartona says:

    Wonder what the traffic thought of you stood there in the midst of all the toings and froings (I don’t think I’ve got the spelling right on those words).
    Superb light trails and another well constructed composite.

  14. crusader752 says:

    Brilliant stuff Ian. Imagine the heat that must have put out! As to living through that time – most folk were made of more sterling stuff back then I think judging by what goes down these days.
    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasujoba44] is right – they do seem to be looking. Fascinating work as always 🙂

  15. gastephen says:

    splendid

  16. Philip R Jones says:

    Fantastic shot and great idea to do the comparison i.e. pick the same POV.

  17. mick cooke says:

    brilliant work ian great processing , great photos , brilliant

  18. bill_fawcett says:

    Fantastic work with the composite images Ian – must take a lot of effort in finding the sites and then lining up modern photos with the old! Agree with Paul on his comment re the last photo!

  19. Jainbow says:

    What a wonderful set of images, especially the main one. :~}

  20. cgullz says:

    !! were you standing mid – traffic? !!
    those trails add a sense of astonishing speed, love the starry light watching over it all. great addition to the series Ian.

  21. stopherjones says:

    The top photo is pretty special by itself, that low down light trail effect that wraps itself round you, then the addition of the other photos and story adds even more depth. Great work

  22. Highy says:

    Great stuff mate, love these composites.
    Nice job with the light trails, did you take your tripod out for a change? ; -)

  23. cgullz says:

    ah, noticed the road paintwork and then just read traffic island, glad you were safe.

    Thankyou for sharing

    with the War Stories Group

  24. stuant63 says:

    Love these. It’s like a bit of time travelling right there in front of you on Flickr. Horrible to see such destruction though!

  25. Billy Currie says:

    what a difference

  26. SolarScot. says:

    great shot Ian

  27. Stezzer says:

    sensational shot I love it ^_^

  28. Benoit Foisy says:

    Great picture and work. Thanks for sharing these infos.

  29. Tomitheos says:

    love this sense of motion

  30. Hotpix [LRPS] Hanx for 1.5M Views says:

    Brilliant work Ian!

  31. bazylek100 says:

    It doesn’t look like you’re standing in a perfectly safe spot while taking this shot, but it was worth taking a risk! As Paul said, great shot on its own.
    Manchester has changed a lot. In my hometown, you can distinguish between the old and present-day photos only judging from the passers-by clothing 😉

  32. IANLAYZELLUK says:

    Fab.

  33. Travelling Man Photos says:

    Clever shot – well done

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*