The Bombing of Ward Street
in October 1940
Of all the local history stories that I have discovered, learned about or have been told, this one is perhaps the closest to home. I've known about the events that took place on Ward Street in Lostock Hall, part of the Preston Rural District at the time, since I was a small boy.
I spent some of my childhood at Ward Street. My Grandparents had once resided at number 74 Ward Street and we often visited one of my Grandmother's close friends and former neighbours, Peggy, Arthur and their son John, who still lived on nearby Fairfield Street. I can't honestly remember which number house that was, but I have a recollection of being inside the terraced house and going into the back yard.
Whilst we did talk about 'The Bombing of Ward Street' when we were there. I can't remember much of the detail. Perhaps none were discussed. It was maybe just spoken about in general terms. There was a small factory on some of the site that had been bombed. I can't remember if it was still operating at the time. They had made shoes there. Some of the area was waste ground or derelict. Much the same as any vacant land these days, it has since become a carpark.
There are a few references to the events that took place online. There are personal accounts of events on the BBC website, an article in the Lancashire Evening Post, some discussion about it on local online forums and some photographs of the aftermath in the Lancashire Archives. However, I tried to do a bit of digging, to see if I could uncover any more of the facts. Over the years the details seemed to have become a bit muddy and there had been a lot of conjecture about the real 'target'. I had read an account that said they were at the wrong 'Lostock' and should have been targeting the one near Bolton.
Newspaper reporting at the time of the incident would have been very limited due to obvious press restrictions. Although, some degree of recording had been permitted. Local press photographers had been at the scene taking pictures.
Ward Street Bombing
The Bombing of Ward Street took place on the 27th October 1940. Most of the German bombing of the UK was concentrated in the early parts of World War II. During the period between 1940 and 1941 the country was subjected to heavy bombing, which would become known as 'The Blitz'. Germany was trying to knock Britain out of the war with this tactic. After the failure of the Blitz, Germany shifted its focus eastward and lacked the capacity for sustained strategic bombing. Improved British defences, the Luftwaffe’s limitations, and the growing Allied bombing campaign against Germany all ensured that large-scale raids on Britain never returned to their early intensity.
Away from the larger cities of Liverpool and Manchester, Lancashire was relatively unscathed by Nazi air raids during the Second World War, despite having a large number of manufacturing industries that were involved in the war effort. As far as planned raids on Preston and the other outlying towns, there was even some conjecture online that 'Lostock Hall' had been mistaken for another place called 'Lostock' on the outskirts of Bolton. However, that notion seems to be held by the minority and in reality the Luftwaffe’s aircraft were definitely targeting Leyland. There are documents, including maps and aerial photographs, that form part of a LUFTWAFFE TARGET FOLDER that is currently held by the Imperial War Museums. The contents of this folder included specific details about the Leyland Motor Company.
The [LUFTWAFFE TARGET FOLDER] collection is named:
Grossbritannien. England (Lancashire) : Werk fur Motorenteile Leyland Motor Company. Leyland
It is reasonably easy to decipher, but the translation is:
Great Britain. England (Lancashire): Leyland Motor Company engine parts factory. Leyland
The object description in the Imperial War Museums' online collection is not particularly detailed and just states the following:
"Shows the location of the Leyland Motor Company's Works at Leyland, just south of Preston."
The folder contains two maps of the area, the second of which is at a larger scale, an aerial photograph and a target record card. The area of the factory can be clearly seen on the maps and photograph.
The Luftwaffe’s Zielstammkarte (“target record card”) from a Zielunterlagenheft or Luftwaffe target folder Zielstammkarte G.B. 73 38 contains the following details.
Zielstammkarte G.B. 73 38
Target: Werk für Motorenteile Leyland Motor Co. (factory for engine/motor vehicle parts, i.e. Leyland Motors).
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Coordinates: 53°42'00" N, 2°41'30" W (which indeed lands on Leyland).
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Description: “Important works of the aircraft industry” (the Luftwaffe assumed Leyland was producing aircraft-related engines/parts).
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Layout: Three factory groups (N-Gruppe, S-Gruppe etc.), with details of building sizes, foundry, test track.
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Landmarks for navigation: The Ribble estuary, Preston–Wigan railway, Farington station, Manchester and Liverpool city centres.
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Nearby airfields: Southport, Squires Gate (Blackpool), Stanley Park.
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Assessment: Notes on workforce size (ca. 1,500 men), construction, defences in the wider Liverpool–Manchester corridor, etc.
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Date: 16 October 1940 (shortly before the Ward Street bombing).
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| Luftwaffe’s Zielstammkarte (“target record card”) for Leyland Motor Co. |
Based on my knowledge of old Ordnance Survey Maps, the maps that the Germans were using are very similar to the OS series that I am familiar with. However, they are not the same. Online, I can view OS maps from around 1910. They would be useful, but things would have changed during the thirty year period leading up to the Second World War. There are later maps, but these are currently available online, to my knowledge.
Central Lancashire:
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Last pre-war revision was around 1927–1932, at both 6-inch and 25-inch scales.
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Luftwaffe target maps almost certainly used these interwar OS sheets (sometimes reduced to 1:50,000) or the new 1:25,000 Provisional series.
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| Map Showing the Leyland Motor Company's Works South of Preston |
The second map appears to be based on the last pre-war revision that was carried out around 1927–1932, at the 25-inch scale.
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| Map Showing Target Areas at the Leyland Motor Company's Works |
An aerial photograph shows the same areas that have been marked on the target maps. Studying the photograph, the caption and stamps show the following details:
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“Bild Nr. 749a/40/32 (v.)” — Bild Nummer (image number). This is the Luftwaffe’s internal photo reference; the “40” almost certainly denotes the year (1940).
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“Aufnahme vom 29.8.40” — date the photo was taken: 29 August 1940.
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“GB 73 38 / Genst. 5. Abt. Oktober 1940 / Karte 1:100 000” — that links this photo to the target card/folder (GB 73 38) and shows the target-folder production date (General Staff 5th Dept., October 1940). The folder contains the card + this aerial photo reproduced at a given scale.
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Red annotations / boxed areas — photo-interpreters marked the target factory groups and (sometimes) nearby secondary targets or reference points.
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The style and typography (and the use of “Genst.” and “Bild Nr.”) indicate this is an official Luftwaffe reconnaissance print, not a commercial postcard or OS aerial.
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| Aerial Photograph Showing Target Areas at the Leyland Motor Co. Works |
Whilst the German intelligence information is now available to view, at least in part, there is very little to be seen in Newspaper Archives. It is logical the reporting would be limited, as details would potentially make their way back into enemy hands. Local photographers did visit the bombing aftermath, and perhaps wartime correspondents. There is a series of five photographs that are now held in the Lancashire Archives. Some of them can be seen on the Lancashire County Council Red Rose Collections website. Three of those images appear to have been published online. They are also included in the Preston Digital Archive’s Flickr collection of photos and other Preston related material.
The photographs in the Lancashire County Council Red Rose Collections have the Reference identifiers of CLE20110702001, CLE20110702002 and CLE20110702003. The photographs were taken Monday 28th October 1940 - the day after the bombing.
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| Aftermath at Ward Street of bombing raid on Sunday 27 October, 1940. |
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| Aftermath at Ward Street of bombing raid on Sunday 27 October, 1940. |
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| Aftermath at Ward Street of bombing raid on Sunday 27 October, 1940. |
The Aftermath of the Ward Street Bombing
Sadly, aftermath of the Ward Street bombing did not just amount to the destruction of buildings that can be seen in the photographs. The loss of life was significant. Twenty-five people, including 12 children, were killed. The houses from number 48 to number 68 were completely destroyed and demolished. This include some of the terraced houses that were on the same block and number 74 where my grandparents resided at the time.
Shortly after teatime on Sunday, 27th October 1940 the air raid Headquarters at Walton le Dale Urban District Council offices (at the junction of Brownedge Lane, Collins Road and Station Road - now considered to be in Bamber Bridge) received a report of an enemy plane circling over Lostock Hall. By 6.24pm news bombs had fallen in the Ward Street area had been received. At 6.27pm the sirens were operated and the rescue teams despatched.
They were joined by teams from Farington and Leyland. Unfortunately, the delay had proved fatal. There was a shelter available close at hand, and it was not damaged in the attack. The people of Ward Street had neither a received a warning or had time to reach shelter. Though the rescue arrangements worked well and desperate efforts made to get people out of the wreckage, the last survivor could only be got out at 1.30am. This was seven hours after the attack. Accounts vary, but the bombs seem to have fallen at 6.15pm.
Twenty-five people had been killed in seven houses at Ward Street, including Cyril Watson, his wife Helen and six of their family at number 56. The subsequent investigation found two high explosive bombs had been dropped, ‘totally destroying’ nine houses in Ward Street and damaging 33 dwellings in total. A further 14 houses were damaged in the adjacent streets.
The full list of the people of sadly died that evening is as follows:
PRESTON, COUNTY BOROUGH
Emily Wilson - 53 years old
WALTON-LE-DALE URBAN DISTRICT
Mavis Adams - 13 years old
Ann Banks - 36 years old
Annie Banks - 15 years old
William Banks - 36 years old
Alice Benson - 12 years old
Johnathan Clarkson - 74 years old
Margaret Annie Coates - 50 years old
Marian Coates - 7 years old
Richard Coates - 58 years old
Beatrice Maud Cookson - 52 years old
Robert Cookson - 55 years old
Monica Hollinshead - 16 years old
Jennie Livesey - 27 years old
John Trafford - 11 years old
Alan Watson - 9 years old
Cyril Watson - 41 years old
Cyril Watson - 14 years old
Frank Watson - 11 years old
Helen Watson - 40 years old
Helen Watson - 12 years old
James Watson - 15 years old
Robert Watson - 14 years old
Henry Wilson - 20 years old
John Wilson - 54 years old
SOUTH RIBBLE BOROUGH COUNCIL/ IN MEMORY/ This plaque was donated by the Borough Council/ to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the air raid/ on the 27th October 1940./ During which the following members/ of the Ward Street Community/ tragically lost their lives./ (Names as listed on this page above)/ 11th NOVEMBER 1990
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| Ward Street 1940 Bombing Memorial, Lostock Hall, South Ribble |
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| Ward Street 1940 Bombing Memorial Plaque, Lostock Hall, South Ribble |
Looking at the list of names, it is clear that the event had a huge effect on the Watson family. I don't know if any of the family survived that evening. Cyril the father came from Farington, and the family is buried at St Andrews Church in Leyland. Somebody posted a picture of the family gravestone on a local Social Media Forum.
Cyril Watson 19 June 1899 - 27 October 1940
Helen (nee) Peacock 27 March 1900 - 27 October 1940
James 02 Dec 1914 - 27 October 1940
Robert 26 May 1926 - 27 October 1940
Cyril 26 May 1926 - 27 October 1940
Helen 22 Sep 1927 - 27 October 1940
Frank 28 May 1929 - 27 October 1940
Richard Allan 1931 - 27 October 1940
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| The Watson Family Grave at St Andrews Church in Leyland |
I have been to the graveyard a few times over the years and visited earlier this year looking for another specific gravestone. At the time, I didn't realise that the Watson family were there. I will look for it next time that I visit.
Back to My Family Connection
After the war a canteen for the nearby mills was built on the site. At one stage this was used as a Dance Hall, but by the time the current owners, The New Day Church (South Ribble), bought the building in 1982 it had become an industrial building. At that time it was owned by the Bacup Shoe Factory. I don't know if shoe were being manufactured at Lostock Hall or whether the building was perhaps a small warehouse.
What is strange is that my recollection of some derelict land doesn't quite fit with a picture of the area that comes from the Bacup Shoe Factory era. There is no waste or Spare ground. That seems to have come later, so what I thought to be the left overs of the bomb site was a later demolition of some buildings related to the Bacup Shoe Factory operation. I can't date the photograph precisely but, considering that is is black & white and looking at the cars, it appears to be from the late 1960s.
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| Black and White Photograph of Ward Street in the 1970s by George Birtill |
The mill is significant to our family, as I understand that it is where both my Grandmother, Alice, and my Grandfather, William, worked. It's possibly also where they met. Whilst trying to unravel the details of my families connection to the bombing, it became apparent that they wouldn't have been there at the time. My Grandma, Alice, was only 17 at the time, and she would have very like still have been living on the farm at Ulnes Walton, even if she had been travelling to work in Lostock Hall by then.
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Further reading and sources of information
Ward Street bombing - Red Rose Collections from Lancashire
Aftermath of bombing raid of Sunday 27 October, 1940. Photo taken 28 October. Twenty-five people, including 12 children, were killed. Houses 48 to 68 were destroyed and demolished.
iBase ID: 233968 | Reference identifier: CLE20110702003
https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/view-item?i=233968
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WALTON-LE-DALE - five photographs of bomb damage at Ward Street, Lostock Hall on 28 Oct. 1940.
CC - Lancashire County Council records (pre-1974) - 19th-20th cent
WD - War Damage Act | WDP - Photographs of war damage - 1944
Lancashire Archives Document reference: CC/WDP/9
https://archivecat.lancashire.gov.uk/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=CC%2fWD%2fWDP%2f9
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Report on bombing incident at Ward Street, Lostock Hall with photographs
UDWD - Walton-le-Dale Urban District Council - 19th-20th century
68 - Air Raid Precautions, War and Civil Defence Records
Lancashire Archives Document reference: UDWD/68/5
Date: 27 Oct 1940
https://archivecat.lancashire.gov.uk/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=UDWD%2f68%2f5
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Grossbritannien. England (Lancashire) : Werk fur Motorenteile Leyland Motor Company. Leyland : [LUFTWAFFE TARGET FOLDER]
Shows the location of the Leyland Motor Company's Works at Leyland, just south of Preston. IWM (LBY LUFT 1362)
Imperial War Museums
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1504009480
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'They've All Gone': Bombing of a Small Village in Lancashire
by Colin Fairclough - WW2 People's War
An archive of World War Two memories - written by the public, gathered by the BBC
Location of story: Lostock Hall, Preston
Article ID: A2037115
Contributed on: 13th November 2003
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/15/a2037115.shtml
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Ward Street, Lostock Hall - WW2 Air Raid Casualties Memorial
Stone of remembrance in Lostock Hall, South Ribble
Imperial War Museums
https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/13161
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Bomb attack which killed 25 people in Lancashire
Lancashire Evening Post - 14 Feb 2019
https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/bomb-attack-which-killed-25-people-in-lancashire-114000
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