Sheffield FridayNightRide

we have nothing to lose but our chains

2016/09/06 Zeppelin Over Sheffield

Ride report A night which started fine but the cloud cover grew and even a little bit of precipitation. About 40 of us – I’ve got some photos somewhere or people posted them on their fb pages. We even saw the sculptures in the Don by Blonk St (all washed away later on the year). Most have never been on the streets we visited and in the last 40yrs most of the old housing has gone. Still sad to think about families sheltering fruitlessly in cellars from HE bombs that blew them to smithereens. Much like what is going on nowadays in places like Syria. We finished over at Woodbourn Rd which was the location of the death of the last victim. It was time for the pub. So long FridayNightRide ….

Next Sheffield FridayNightRide
9 September 2016
Zeppelin over Sheffield
Start 6.30pm Sheffield Tap

Theme Sheffield’s first air raid was in Sep 1916 when a single Zeppelin flew over on the night of 25/26 Sep. The crew dropped its whole complement of 36 bombs, which killed 29 people (all from Pitsmoor), injured another 19, and destroyed or damaged nigh on 90 buildings. The first bomb dropped in Burngreave Cemetery nr the Melrose Rd entrance and the subsequent bombs dropped along the path of the flight from Pitsmoor across Attercliffe with the last bombs falling in Darnall. I’ve pieced together 22 bomb sites in the sequence they fell. The ride route will be finally determined later on and the map of the bomb sites with the route (below)

This ride is part of events for Heritage Open Days and is directly linked to a display organised by the Friends of Burngreave Chapel about the Zeppelin Raid and WWI.
The display will be one of the Heritage Open Days events and will be in the chapel in Burngreave Cemetery on Thu 8 to Sun 11 September 11-3.
Yours truly will be leading a guided walking tour of the cemetery Sunday 11 September at 1pm and the tour will include visiting the graves we can find of 19 of the 25 of the victims of the Zeppelin Raid.
(Three victims were buried in Abbey Lane and one victim was buried in City Rd and the rest in Burngreave are no longer marked)

Map:​

Heads Up: !Lights! Locks! spare inner tube, tough tyres, dress appropriately some paths and soft ground but nothing too off-roady

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