82 years on: The devastating WW2 bombing on Salford Royal Hospital

This week marks the 82nd anniversary of the devastating World War II bombings which took the lives of 87 men, women and children in Salford, and destroyed the old Salford Royal Hospital, on 1-2 June 1941. We take this time to remember the acts of strength and bravery, as well as remember those who lost their lives in destructive acts of war.

Not even six months since the catastrophic ruin the Christmas Blitz left in its wake, the evening on 1-2 June 1941 heard air raid sirens blared through the streets of Salford and Greater Manchester, again.

As a Luftwaffe bombing raid began to strike down across the city, particularly in areas of Higher Broughton and Pendleton, nurses at the old Salford Royal Hospital, Chapel Street/Adelphi Street, took shelter in the basement. Many of the nurses, from as far as St. Helens, Buckley and even Ulverston, were trainees, before the hospital was recognised as a dedicated undergraduate teaching establishment in 1974.

In a night of relentless bombing, killing men, women and children across the city, 14 nurses and one tutor were killed, after a blast from the empty nurses’ quarters went down into the basement, where the group were sheltering. A commemorative plaque was later unveiled on the building, now flats, by HRH The Duchess of Kent February 16 1944.

Meanwhile, families across Salford mirrored the movements of the nurses, taking shelter in basements and secure bunkers.

Recalling her family’s struggles with rationing in WW2, Salfordian Mrs. Martin, said: “My mother told me about numerous occasions when the air raid sirens went off in the middle of the night and her mother ushered her and her sister and brother into the air-raid shelter.

“Once awake and alert to what was going on, the children became hungry and asked for their breakfast. Their mother told them that, because of rationing, they only had a certain amount of food to last for the day. They all agreed that they would eat then and not bother with breakfast when they got up in the morning.

“They ate and once the all clear siren went, they all went back upstairs to bed. In the morning when they got up, the children asked for their breakfast.

“No matter how many times this happened, the children still asked for their breakfast in the middle of the night, and due to the continuation of rationing there was still no food to be had, and on the occasions that they insisted on eating in the night, they had to go to school hungry.”

This wouldn’t be the last, or most devastating raid on Salford, with an estimated 382 civilians killed across the city during the two years of air raids. These figures show the estimated number of deaths in each borough (pre-1974 boroughs):

This week, we remember those who died in the horrific acts of violence in the Salford, Manchester, and national bombings, as well as all the families left behind. We will remember them.