This is a unique account of the impact that the Second World War had on the city of Sheffield. Soon after the declaration of war, the government and the people of Sheffield realised that the Germans would make the city one of their prime targets, due to the importance of the steel industry. Also, for the first eighteen months of the war Sheffield had the only drop hammer in the country, which was capable of producing Rolls Royce crankshafts for Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft. Using contemporary diaries, letters, police accounts and other archive material, this book reveals how, despite heavy bombing, the people of Sheffield refused to be intimidated. It looks at the events that were happening in the city during the countdown to the war, such as the evacuation of the children not only to other safer districts, but to the Dominions, and the development of the Sheffield Home Guard, who started out as 'Dads Army' but were sent to London to relieve its Home Guard when the capital was under heavy fire from German rockets. Also included is a description of the protection of the dams above Sheffield and how the Ladybower reservoir was used as a training ground for the 'Dambusters'.Finally, there are accounts not only of Sheffield men who were taken as prisoners of war, but how the police dealt with the German and Italian prisoners at Lodge Moor Camp.

This volume collects together the most shocking criminal cases from Sheffield's Victorian newspapers. These grisly cases will transport the horrified reader back to a time where horse-drawn carriages clattered through the streets of the city, and the town's gin palaces and music halls teemed with thieves, drunkards and fallen women. In an age where the gap between rich and poor was enormous, crime was understandably rife - and the penalties for it dreadful. Filled with infamous historical cases - including grave robbing, murder, poisoning, bigamy, and daring jewel and garrotte robberies - and richly illustrated with photographs from private collections and from the local archives, Sheffield Crimes will fascinate residents, visitors and historians alike.

This absorbing collection of some of the foulest deeds from Rotherham's past promises to interest anyone who is unaware of this forgotten part of the town's character. With stories ranging from child murders to brutal stabbings, the misdemeanours that are revealed promise to shock and fascinate in equal measure. While some of these felonies are unjustifiable, much of Rotherham's crime was the result of the desperate poverty that many of the area's inhabitants experienced. Illustrated with both rare images and archive reports, this volume shows just how difficult life in Victorian England was for those who had nowhere else to turn. Written by local author Margaret Drinkall, a true crime expert, this book tackles a subject that many would prefer to ignore, but which remains an important part of Rotherham's history.

Discover the darker side of Yorkshire with this remarkable collection of true-life crimes from across the county. Featuring tales of highwaymen, cut throats, poachers, poisoners, thieves and murderers, all factions of the criminal underworld are included in this macabre selection of tales. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources and containing many cases which have never before been published, Yorkshire Villains will fascinate everyone interested in true crime and the history of Yorkshire.

Rotherham is a town where new buildings are replacing ones which have been there for centuries. This delightful, full-colour collection of images celebrates the Rotherham of days gone by. Pairing rare images from the Rotherham archives with modern photographs, it reveals the enormous changes that the town has witnessed. Many of these images have not appeared in print before. They include such places as the cattle market, the public library and even images of some of the slums which have now been eradicated. Compiled by Rotherham's own historian Margaret Drinkall, author of Rotherham Workhouse and Murder & Crime in Rotherham, this book serves as an evocative link to the past.

Discover the darker side of Leeds with this remarkable collection of true-life crimes from across the city. Featuring all factions of the criminal underworld, this macabre selection of tales includes the case of Mary Bateman, known as the Yorkshire Witch, and that tale of a man so determined to kill his wife that he tried five times, before finally succeeding with his sixth attempt. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources and containing many cases which have never before been published, Leeds: Murder & Crime will fascinate everyone interested in true crime and the history of the city.

This fascinating volume explores all aspects of life in that dread institution, the workhouse. From the staff who lived and worked here to the lunatics who were kept - sometimes unsuccessfully - in the medical wing, the babies and mothers whose lives began - and sometimes ended - in the maternity ward, and the tramps, families and destitute persons who passed through the doors every day, it reveals a side of Rotherham that has long since been forgotten. This book also contains something that will delight all family historians - an extensive list of workhouse inmates in Rotherham. With more than fifty illustrations, this book will amaze locals, residents and historians alike.

Discover the darker side of Halifax with this chilling collection of true-life murders from the town's past. Featuring all factions of the criminal underworld, this macabre selection of tales includes the case of a husband who boasted that he had played 'Jack the Ripper' after slitting his wife's throat, a mother who murdered her two children and a man who was bludgeoned to death in a newspaper office. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources and containing many cases which have never before been published, Halifax Murder & Crime will fascinate everyone interested in true crime and the history of this West Yorkshire town.

In July 1922 the Rotherham Advertiser requested that the people of Rotherham remember the impact which the First World War had on the town and the changes which had been made. They recommended that: 'it be placed on record how the town was transformed by its army battalions, the recruitment drives which took place, the massive loss of life, food shortages, queues and rationing, how women were performing men's work and the zeppelin raids. Cannot the Corporation set about the task of producing such a book?' Although the Corporation was unable to produce such a book at the time, this is the writer's own small attempt to try to redress that balance. As we now know, the period of peace was to be tragically short-lived, and this book extends that record to include the interwar years and the years of the Second World War that followed. Richly illustrated, and filled with true tales of local heroism and of the unbreakable spirit of the people of Rotherham during these tumultuous years, this nostalgic volume will delight locals and visitors alike.

The records of the Sheffield Workhouse were destroyed in the bombing of Sheffield during the Second World War. However, using archive material, newspaper reports, and the remaining Guardians' minutes from 1890, this book reveals the story of this feared local institution. Famously contentious, the Sheffield Board of Guardians often went against the wishes of the Local Government Board, and even of their own workhouse staff. Containing the full and fascinating histories of Sheffield's three workhouses (as well as the workhouse school and the attached farm), this book will captivate residents and visitors alike.