Sheffield Blitz 85th Anniversary: Save hero fire engine and police car - £18k appeal launched in race against time
This hero fire engine saved lives during Sheffield’s darkest hour- brought in from Barnsley it roared into burning streets as bombs tore the city apart in the Blitz.
Now it needs rescuing itself and a major appeal has been launched to restore this wartime icon in time for the 85th anniversary of the worst of the bombing raids this December.
DONATE NOW: Make a Go Fund Me donation now - CLICK HERE.
The £18,000 target covers not only the £9,000 stage one restoration of the fire engine, to return it to its wartime colours and livery, but also the chance to secure a rare, roadworthy WWII police car.
It’s a race against time with The Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust hoping to add both vehicles to take pride of place in a newly expanded, permanent blitz exhibition set to open at the city’s National Emergency Services Museum (NESM) on Saturday, December 13.
The 1932 Leyland fire engine was centre-stage in December 1940 and is a rare survivor of when Sheffield was devastated over two nights of Luftwaffe bombing - December 12 and 15 - that killed and wounded more than 2,000 people, left almost a tenth of the city homeless and flattened much of the city centre.
It is one of Barnsley’s most historic fire engines – once serving the town before being called into Sheffield.
Neil Anderson, author and founder of the Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust, said: "This fire engine was on the very front line when Sheffield burned in 1940.
"It is not just any fire engine – it is a Barnsley machine that went into the heart of the inferno to help Sheffield when it needed it most, an ultra rare survivor of those nights, but after decades of hard use it now needs saving itself.
“We only have a few weeks to raise the funds if it is to be ready for the anniversary exhibition in December. This is a unique chance for the people of Sheffield and South Yorkshire to rally round and preserve a vital part of our history."
The restoration would ensure that the fire engine can once again be seen as it appeared during the Blitz, creating a striking centrepiece that will help bring the story of those nights vividly to life for future generations.
Matt Wakefield, CEO of the National Emergency Services Museum, added: "This fire engine has a proud Barnsley story and a Sheffield story. It symbolises how communities pulled together during the Blitz, and it deserves to be saved.
"The Sheffield Blitz exhibition has already proved hugely popular, doubling footfall when it was first unveiled. With National Lottery support we are now doubling its size, but this kind of specialist restoration falls outside the scope of our grant.
“That’s why we’re asking the public to get behind this appeal. With their help, we can save not just an engine, but a story of courage, sacrifice and resilience that deserves to be remembered for generations to come."
Donations can be made at: www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-rescue-sheffields-forgotten-blitz-heroes.
Cheques should be made payable to the Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust and posted to: Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust, 88 Abbeydale Road South, Millhouses, Sheffield S7 2QP.
Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust will also mark the 85th anniversary with a new Blitz Kids book, featuring memories of the last living generation affected by the 1940 Sheffield bombings—those who were children during World War Two.
Educational activities, the enhanced Sheffield Blitz exhibition at the NESM and other plans, including an update of an official walking app, to include immersive images of Blitz, is being made possible with help from a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant. For more visit sheffieldblitz.co.uk.
* Neil Anderson, famed for his popular Dirty Stop Out retro books, which chronicle decades of nightlife and social culture across Sheffield and beyond, has launched Sheffield Blitz – The Definitive Collection — a groundbreaking four-book set that reveals the untold war secrets Sheffield families believed had gone to the grave.
His 15-years of research includes interviews with hundreds of survivors, weeks spent in archives in both the UK and Germany, and collaboration with the Imperial War Museum. The result is a vivid and unprecedented insight into the city’s wartime trauma.
BUY NOW: Sheffield Blitz – The Definitive Collection is available now at dirtystopouts.com - click here.
Neil launched the collection with a talk in conversation with Graham Walker at Sheffield library - watch here.
.If you have an item with a connection to the Sheffield Blitz and would consider loaning or donating, please get in touch with the Sheffield Emergency Services Museum on 0114 249 1999 or email [email protected]
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LINKS:
Web site: sheffieldblitz.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/SheffieldBlitz85th
X: @NESMUSEUM