Manchester Blitz, Then & Now.
‹ Return to Air raids & bomb sites
Manchester Blitz, Then & Now
Composite image of photos taken on the corner of Sackville Street and Portland Street in Manchester on 18th April 1941 and 5th January 2013.
The original scene shows an American Ambulance car and a party from the British War Relief Society (a US organisation which provided charitable donations to Britain before America joined the war) visiting the bomb damaged streets of Manchester.
The destruction is from the Christmas Blitz, the buildings on this corner being the first of the cotton warehouses to be set alight by incendiary bombs on December 23rd 1940, the fires spreading to other warehouses in the district.
Original photo used with kind permission of Greater Manchester Police.
Below; The original picture on Greater Manchester Police photostream.
Below; The original picture on Greater Manchester Police photostream.
Another absolutely brilliant composite. Your work is always appreciated at this end 🙂
Pssstttt…I recently found my wifes grandfathers ww1 war record – he was in the Inland Waterways and Docks Unit, Royal Engineers; a unit i had never heard of – learnt something new, fascinating
😉
Superb work.. Excellent editing and great info..
Superb work Ian . These composites really bring home the devastation !
You have that top shot aligned perfectly!
Wow! Fantastic work. A most interesting composite.
Magnificent work, dear Ian. It’s very important don’t forget all wars…
nice composite!
Fascinating to see this old/new combo as always. And a stark reminder of what our parents and grand parents had to endure.
Great then and now, Ian, always a highlight
well done Ian. Interesting that one headlight is a siren and the other does not have a black out shield.
great worian , once again a great story and photos to follow
take care
That is a really interesting shot.
Hi Ian 😀 Totally love what and how you have done this – really fantastic composite – clever lad! Wishing you everything of the best for 2013
excellent merge
Fantastic – history brought to life, excellent work.
Fantastic job !!
Take care and have a great Week !!
Fantastic job !!
Take care and have a great Week !!
Superb work Ian. You know by now that I always find your photos fascinating, especially when the history is delved into but these composites I think are just incredible. As John keenly noticed – interesting on the Headlamp fit and as Amy and others so rightly state above, what those poor people had to endure doesn’t bear thinking about and most had not alot to start with except that Indomitable British spirit and ‘stiff upper lip’ – something so sadly lacking these days. My late Uncle was a Sussex Fireman during the Blitz and regularly spent many a night fighting fires up in the capital, no doubt having to attend to all manner of human misery and suffering the like of which I hope we never get to experience 🙁
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00] Thanks Rob, very good of you to say so. My granddad was a firmean in Liverpool. They were told to ignore the burning buildings and save the ships.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmford] I never noticed the headlamp and siren!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/working_far_away] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingfleab] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/25305713@N04]
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/stiemer] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/32503269@N08] Thanks guys.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephkay] Hi Steph, thank you very much, and for adding to your gallery too, I am flattered.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopherjones] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/amybigkiss] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasujoba44] More to come people… I am taking a week off work soon, will be out looking for more of these places then boring you all to tears with more of the same.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/reflectionsreturn] Isn’t it great to find out stuff about your relatives!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/everydaytuesday] Thanks Josh
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/micheleciavarella] Grazie Michele, sono d’accordo.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/gastephen] Thanks mate.
i was here but now i’m gone, i left my name ..
to let you know i intend on coming back for more. keeping up with 70 contacts with everyone loving posting at the mo’ is keeping me saving the best for last. that’s you if you didn’t read between the two lines there.
eat yr heart out Pam Ayers.
The past meets the present – you have to make this more than a hobby Ian … superb stuff as always
good one
I do love the way you’ve blended these two together – what a great artist you are! :~}
love this composites, great to see how it has/was changed
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/angwickham] I am touched Ang. But a lot of people say I am touched.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/cachelog] You can be my agent Bryan!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kombizz] Thanks
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/jainbow] Too kind Jane. Nice to see you.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/billycurrie] Thanks Billy.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmford] very interesting point!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/maycontaintracesofnuts] LOL. no comment 😉 … superb composite btw, love the red bus in this shot, especially taken by that building in back [with the crane directly behind in the modern version] .. must be the weird shot and me liking quirky things.
Ian – an amazing job of combining new and old photos and the usual interesting narrative. Could just imagine the fire resulting from incendiary bombs hitting cotton mills and warehouses with decades of lint lying around.
Great job!
Great work
Amazing combination of the two pictures! Very well merged together. I like such works in general, and this one is of course particularly dramatic, showing the war devastation.
Utterly Brilliant – Both in Concept and Execution !!!
= A top drawer image of real Historical Photographic Quality which places a "Genuine Historical Photograph" into its modern Context Perfectly !!!
= Very Well Done Indeed !!!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_fawcett] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/janspencer] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyshield] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazylek] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalesman2012] Thanks guys! [http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_fawcett] Good point Bill, they would have burned very easily.
It’s hard trying to imagine living with the threat of bombing raids, but you bring it home so clearly.
That’s very clever. Manchester should have kept something as a reminder – like Coventry did. I grew up not really understanding how bad it had been. My parents were amazed that friends of theirs only a few miles down the road in Clifton / Pendlebury had had such a different war to them – they always assumed everyone went through similar.
I hope the Bomb site web page adds other pages now for Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, etc.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/southseadave] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/stickotopia]
Thanks very much for your thoughts both.
Very nice work!
Please, take a look on that:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/olympio/sets/72157626739592381/