Air Raid Photos – Aftermath
3.5.1941 – W.A. Wilkinson Ltd and George Street
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
The morning after the disaster. ARP Heavy Squad, police and Borough Council officials. In the debris above the 2 men (bottom right) note the large amount of intact bottles. Note too on the ground the hundreds of bottle labels, widely remembered by survivors.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Exhausted men. Look left and note the jacks holding up the debris – barely enough for rescuers to gain entrance to the Shelter below.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Looking up King Street towards Tynemouth Road. Bystanders are kept safely away from the dangerous structure.
Note the crates of intact bottles among the debris.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Complete devastation.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Different perspective. Note the damage to the adjacent property.
Chief Constable Tom Blackburn (bowler hat) is on site again.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Grim discoveries continue. Here, the removal of a body by stretcher party.
Note top right, the workman on the ladder about to board up a window on the adjacent property.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Lorry and bin van arrive as debris removal begins.
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W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Men still working at the debris.
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W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Further recovery work – teams of men using pneumatic drills to break up the debris.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Believed to be taken from opposite the factory in King Street, this photo is probably the only one existing which shows the entrance to the public air raid shelter (doorway to left of wall mounted sign). The sign displays a max occupancy of 210 – in fact the shelter was only licensed to house 188 people.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Note the man high up in the wreckage – dangerous work.
Bomb 134
W.A. WILKINSON LTD
Local children gather at the site – perhaps a day or two afterwards.
Bomb 135
NO 3 GEORGE STREET
2 residents were killed when a bomb scored a direct hit. The house was situated just down the road from Wilkinson’s which was at 11 George Street.