MILL ROAD HOSPITAL BOMBING

Mill Road Hospital played its part during the Liverpool Blitz helping to treat the injured from bombing raids across the city. On 3rd May 1941 the hospital  itself fell victim to the German bombs, leading to large loss of life in one of the saddest chapters of the WW2 bombings.

                                                               Mill Road Hospital pictured before WW2

                                          Photograph courtesy of Liverpool records office

The bomb that hit caused total devastation when it landed in a courtyard to the rear of the hospital. A maternity ward was hit killing mother's and their new born babies. Amazingly the ward next to the Maternity was full of injured soldiers, yet they recieved no injuries from the blast. Many drivers died in the ambulance room that was in the courtyard and many ambulances and other vehicles in the area were set alight. A number of medics operating on a man were also killed, while the man himself survived. A nurse attending the operation had to scramble through a window to raise the alarm. Many more staff members and patients lost their lives in this tragedy. Three of the ward blocks were totally destroyed.

                                                                          The damage caused by the bomb

                                          Photographs courtesy of Liverpool records office

The rescue workers faced a daunting task with so many people trapped beneath the debris. To add to their struggle bombs kept falling nearby making the rescue even more dangerous. They risked so much to help, they are the unsung heroes. A lot of unaffected patients were moved out to other hospitals as the rescue took hold, the building being too unsafe for them to stay there. Those injured in the blast were helped and if possible transfered elsewhere for treatment. Then the grim task of bringing out the dead was undertaken, hampered by the debris and fires. It became clear that a few of the bodies could not be recovered so soldiers were brought in to lime over and cement the area.What the rescue workers witnessed must have stayed with them forever.

The number of people killed in the bombing will probably never be known. Mill road was a working hospital that was recieving a large amount of casualties from raids across the city. It was hit during the Liverpool May Blitz, one of the most fierce and continuous attacks upon the city. Victims would have died at the hospital from injuries recieved elsewhere, though we have no way of telling how each persons death was caused.

From records I have found details on 78 people that died as a result of the bombing at the hospital and have listed them at the bottom of this page. The true figure however will be much higher.

                                   Mill Road Maternity Hospital and the operating theatres

                                         Photographs courtesy of Liverpool records office

Leonard Findlay was appointed as hospital Superintendent in 1937. He received the George Medal for bravery during the German air raids on the city in May 1941.

Gertrude Riding started work at Mill Road in 1910. She was Matron from 1927 until she retired in 1948. She lost an eye as the result of injuries during the bombing,  and she was awarded the O.B.E  for her services during the war.

                                              Monument to the civilian victims of WW2 in Liverpool

          Very touching when thinking of the mothers and babies who died at Mill Road
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In 2011 I did interviews with The Liverpool Echo and The BBC to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Mill Road Hospital Bombing. The links below will take you to the articles.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-13210575

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/liverpool-blitz/liverpool-blitz-stories/2011/05/04/mums-and-babies-among-victims-of-liverpool-s-mill-road-hospital-raids-during-may-blitz-100252-28627500/

LIVERPOOL ECHO 1941

The assistant Matron, assistant medical officer and a number of patients, nurses, students and surgeons were fatally injured. The operating theatre in the basement was completely wrecked.

A nurse assisting an operation raised the alarm by climbing through a window and several people were saved before part of the hospital collapsed.

The destroyed wards were devoted to women patients, some of whom, it is feared, are still buried. One nurse was rescued after 12 hours. Untiring efforts continued to reach the trapped patients.

A member of staff said " Everyone was heroic, nurses and patients alike. They took it remarkably coolly. The nurses were wonderfully brave "
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I was born 2nd May 1941 in Mill Road hospital. In the confusion after the bombing my  mother was separated from me with us both going to different hospitals, it was two days before we were reunited.

Joseph Domingo
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The following quotes are from the BBC's " WW2 People's War " websiteThe website can be viewed through this link            http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/


" Mill Road Hospital was hit and a whole team performing an operation were hit,although the patient survived. Patients were brought to Walton Hospital and children mixed in with adults."

Edna ( liverpoolagec )/WW2 People's War


" My aunt related to my mother how only a few days previously, she was returning home with her daughter in the pram, when she heard a tremendous explosion. She discovered later that it was Mill Road Hospital that had taken a direct hit and that many people were killed and seriously injured. (It was the bombed debris of this very same hospital that my friends and I used to play in after the war). "

Leonard Crossley/WW2 People's War


" My aunt worked at an auxiliary nurse at Liverpool’s Mill Road Hospital, where she worked with forty men and one other nurse. It was her job to man the amubulance room and go out to incident sites in the ambulance. It was towards the end of the raid and they received a call out. It was the other nurses turn to attend but Nell volunteered to go instead of her as she had just returned from a difficult incident. Whilst Nell was attending this incident the ambulance room received a direct bomb hit and all the people that she worked with at the station were killed. Nell was safe but not without guilt as it could have easily been her and not the other nurse who she volunteered to help out."

Audrey Thomas/WW2 People's War


" I was bombed out three times altogether, Mill Road was the worst. There was that many bodies they covered them over in cement. My dad worked in Derwent Road where the soldiers where, they had to cement over all the bodies, they couldn’t get them all out. That’s all over Merseyside; there should be a memorial to them."

Sarah Clarke/WW2 People's War


" Then came the May Blitz of 1941 and a weekend I will never forget. 30 ambulances were lined up along Alder Road containing 300 casualties from Mill Road Hospital which had taken a direct hit. It was horrendous - mothers and their new-born babies, air-raid casualties including doctors and nurses, some of whom sadly died. There were also patients who had been in the operating theatre. The rubble from the raid was still on patients as they were brought in."

Annie Vera Kelly/WW2 People's War


" Mill Road Hospital was hit and that was a big disaster. I know a man who lost his life he was an ambulance driver, and he left a family of seven children."

Florence Tyrer/WW2 People's War


" We lived by Mill Road Hospital, where a land mine hit on 3rd May, 1941. 400 patients were transfered to another hospital. 83 people were killed and 27 injured, including 17 members of staff who were killed and 22 injured. Leonard Findley was the Medical Supervisor who directed the staff although he was wounded himself. Matron Miss Gertrude Riding worked tirelessly to rescue an Auxiliary Nurse and the Chaplain who had been pinned down under the debris, despite her having received an injury to her eye which she later lost. (OBE went to Miss R. George and a medal for Mr. Findlay)."

Mrs. Rose Davie/WW2 People's War


" In Liverpool I witnessed the aftermath of a landmine dropped on Mill Road Maternity Hospital — horrifying images."

M. G. Hughes/WW2 People's War


" My mother came out of Mill Road Hospital one day before it was bombed in the May Blitz! "

H. Gallagher (nee North)/WW2 People's War
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                                Three pictures of Mill Road Hospital before it closed in the 1990's

                                       Photographs courtesy and copyright of Rotunda College PLS

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Local author Mike Royden's book on Mill Road Hospital has been out of print for a few years, but he has  uploaded a free PDF copy on his site – It has a chapter on the May Blitz,  the research of which was also helped after a radio appeal for patient and staff memories – we received a sackful (back in the early 90s). 

http://www.btinternet.com/~m.royden/mrlhp/publications/royden/royden.htm   (sixth item down)

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Memorial plaque sited inside the United Reformed Church on Green Lane. Commemorating church member Dorothy Mc William who lost her life in the bombing at Mill Road hospital.

Listed below are the names and details of 78 people who were killed when the bomb hit Mill Road Hospital. The true figure of those that died will be much higher. May they all rest in peace.

JOHN JOSEPH ALLEN
died 03/05/1941, aged 12.
of 35 Gardners Row. Son of Gnr. John Joseph Allen, R.A., and M. Allen. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

THOMAS ERNEST ATHERTON
died 03/05/1941, aged 54.
A.R.P Ambulance Driver; of 38 Penton Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARGARET LINDSAY REID BARLOW
died 03/05/1941, aged 46.
Wife of John Peter Barlow, of C.L.C. Station House, Garston. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

FREDERICK BARTLETT
died 03/05/1941, aged 44.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Son of the late J. Bartlett; husband of Eva B. Bartlett, of 170 Queens Drive. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

JOYCE HONOR BELL
died 03/05/1941, aged 19.
of 53 Hunt Street. Daughter of Mr. H. W. Bell. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

SUSAN BELL
died 03/05/1941, aged 1 Week.
of 53 Hunt Street. Daughter of Joyce Honor Bell. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ADA BENTON
died 03/05/1941, aged 59.
of 26 Bowley Road. Wife of William A. Benton. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

EMILY AMELIA BIRCH
died 03/05/1941, aged 32.
of 52 Westcott Road, Anfield. Wife of Andrew Birch. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

CATHERINE BUTCHARD
died 03/05/1941, aged 16.
Daughter of Mrs. P. Butchard, of 115 Wilbraham House, off Scotland Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

FLORENCE MARY CAMPBELL
died 03/05/1941, aged 52.
Red Cross Nurse; of 60 Scarisbrick Crescent. Widow of George Campbell. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

BABY CONNOR
died 03/05/1941, aged 2 days.
Daughter of George and Elizabeth Ann Connor, of 20B Warwick Gardens. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

CECIL COVENTRY
died 03/05/1941, aged 38.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Husband of Elizabeth Coventry, of 53 Janet Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

JAMES CULLEN
died 03/05/1941, aged 65.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Husband of Ann Jane Cullen, of 56 Phoebe Ann Street, Mill Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARY CULLEY
died 03/05/1941, aged 38.
Wife of John Andrew Culley, of 74 Adcote Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

JOHN JOSEPH CUMMINS
died 03/05/1941, aged 42.
of 5 Coltart Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

PERCY DARBY
died 03/05/1941, aged 61.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Husband of Ethel Lilian Julia Darby, of 21 Alderson Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

AMY LILIAN DAVIES
died 03/05/1941, aged 21.
Daughter of William Davies, of 54 Gaerwen Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

BRIAN DAVIES
died 03/05/1941, aged 1 Day.
Son of Amy Lilian Davies. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

EMILY DOYLE
died 03/05/1941, aged 66.
of 96 Herschell Street. Wife of Andrew James Doyle. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARY CATHERINE EDWARDSON
died 03/05/1941, aged 32.
Wife of James Edwardson, of 51A Speke Road Gardens, Garston. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ALICE EVANS
died 03/05/1941, aged 38.
of 14 Cornwall Street. Widow of Daniel Evans. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARION FARRELL
died 03/05/1941, aged 52.
of 6 Blodwen Street. Widow of Thomas Farrell. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

EUGENE LOUIS FAWCETT
died 03/05/1941, aged 58.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Son of the late Eugene Louis and Ann Fawcett, of Wigan; husband of Constance Fawcett, of 8 Hadassah Grove. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

SAMUEL FISHER
died 03/05/1941, aged 32.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver; of 47 Arundel Avenue. Husband of Pearl Fisher. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

EDITH FOY
died 03/05/1941, aged 23.
of 43 Pecksniff Street. Wife of Pte. Lawrence Foy, Pioneer Corps. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

LAWRENCE FOY
died 03/05/1941, aged 1 Day.
Son of Pte. Lawrence Foy, Pioneer Corps, and of Edith Foy. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MURIEL EVA GRAY
died 03/05/1941, aged 14.
Daughter of Elizabeth Gray, of 5 Cottenham Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

BERTHA GRIEVE
died 05/05/1941, aged56.
of 7 Index Street, Walton. Daughter of the late Edward and Hannah Jenkin, of 43 Radcliffe Street, Everton; widow of Adam Ernest Grieve. Injured 4 May 1941, at Index Street; died same day at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARGARET GRIFFITHS
died 03/05/1941, aged 20.
Probationer Nurse. Daughter of David and Margaret Griffiths, of 8 Rosemary Lane, Denbigh, North Wales. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

LOUISA HANDLEY
died 03/05/1941, aged 49.
Deputy Matron of Mill Road Infirmary. Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. Handley, of 11 Curzon Street, Runcorn, Cheshire. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

WALTER CHARLES HARRISON
died 03/05/1941, aged 29.
Firewatcher. Son of Edward and Caroline Harrison, of 4 Berwick Street, West Derby Road; husband of Ellen Harrison, of the same address. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MILDRED HART
died 03/05/1941, aged 41.
C.N.R. Wife of Thomas Joseph Hart, of 28 Warham Road, Anfield. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

DANIEL PERCY HENDERSON
died 03/05/1941, aged 42.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Husband of Florence Henderson, of 2 Okehampton Road, Childwall. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARY ELLEN HOUGHTON
died 03/05/1941, aged 68.
of 68 Canterbury Street, William Henry Street. Daughter of H. Houghton. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

LYDIA MARGARET CHARLOTT JEFFRIES
died 03/05/1941, aged 21.
Probationer Nurse. Daughter of Herbert and Florence May Jeffries, of 5 Albany Road, Old Swan. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

WALTER JOHNSON
died 03/05/1941, aged 41.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Husband of Amy Johnson, of 66 Score Lane, Broad Green. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ELLEN MARGARET JONES
died 03/05/1941, aged 17.
Daughter of John David Jones, of 39 Shallcross Street, Everton. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARGARET KING
died 03/05/1941, aged 47.
of 129 Hartnup Street. Wife of Vernon King. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

GRACE KNOX
died 03/05/1941, aged 25.
Daughter of Thomas Rowlands, of 41 Swallowhurst Crescent, West Derby; wife of Hugh Knox, of the same address. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

HUGH KNOX
died 03/05/1941, aged 1 Week.
Son of Hugh Knox, of 41 Swallowhurst Crescent, West Derby, and of Grace Knox. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ELIZABETH LILLEY
died 03/05/1941, aged 42.
of 119 Victoria Square. Wife of Edward Lilley. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

FRANCIS LILLEY
died 03/05/1941, aged 18 Months.
of 119 Victoria Square. Son of Edward Lilley, and of Elizabeth Lilley. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MORRIS LOUIS PEACE LYONS
died 03/05/1941, aged 22.
Son of Joel and Flora Lyons, of 239 Woolton Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

REBECCA MALONE
died 03/05/1941, aged 63.
Wife of Peter Malone, of 3 Cartmell Terrace, West Derby. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

WILLIAM MARTLAND
died 03/05/1941, aged 29.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver; of 63 Halsbury Road, Kensington. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

FRANCES McIVER
died 03/05/1941, aged 17.
Daughter of Sarah McIver, of 22 St. Sylvester Place, Vauxhall Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

DOROTHY McWILLIAM
died 03/05/1941, aged 24.
Daughter of Walter and Susie McWilliam, of 10 Podium Road, Stoneycroft. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

LILIAN MELLING
died 03/05/1941, aged 35.
Daughter of Alice Woods, of 27 Burke Street, and of the late Thomas Woods; wife of William Melling, of 9 Burke Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

HERBERT MUNDAY
died 03/05/1941, aged 41.
of 44 St. Domingo Grove. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ELIZABETH MURPHY
died 03/05/1941, aged 27.
Wife of Hugh Murphy, of 39 Towson Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

JOHN HENRY NEWELL
died 03/05/1941, aged 46.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver. Husband of Mary Jane Newell, of 63 Louisa Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

JOHN O'BRIEN
died 03/05/1941, aged 3 Days.
Aged 3 days; of 41 Guernsey Road. Son of Norah O'Brien. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

NORAH O'BRIEN
died 03/05/1941, aged 27.
Daughter of Charles and Mary O'Brien, of 41 Guernsey Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

FLORENCE BEATRICE PALLISER
died 03/05/1941, aged 28.
of 30 Southgate Road, Old Swan. Daughter of the late Mrs. A. Ford; wife of Pte. James A. Palliser, Pioneer Corps. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

SUSANNAH PARRY
died 03/05/1941, aged 27.
C.N.R.; of 7 Breckfield Road. Daughter of Elizabeth Parry. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ALICE RAFFERTY
died 03/05/1941, aged 26.
of 57C Caryl Gardens. Wife of Francis Rafferty. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

JOAN RAFFERTY
died 03/05/1941, aged 2 Days.
Aged 2 days, of 57C Caryl Gardens. Daughter of Francis Rafferty, and of Alice Rafferty. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MAVIS JOY REID
died 03/05/1941, aged 27.
S.R.N. Daughter of Robert William Reid, of 80 Quarry Avenue, Lower Bebington, Wirral, Cheshire, and of the late Mary Reid. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARGARET ROACH
died 03/05/1941, aged 48.
of 6 Court, 4 House, Currie Street. Wife of Joseph Roach. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARY HANNAH ROBERTS
died 03/05/1941, aged 49.
Wife of John Roberts, of 63 Grantham Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MEGAN EGERTON ROBERTS
died 03/05/1941, aged 21.
C.N.R. Daughter of Mrs. Egerton Roberts, of 4 Hafod Road, Prestatyn, Flintshire, and of the late J. E. Roberts. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ROBERT ROBERTS
died 03/05/1941, aged 58.
Driver, Police Fire Brigade. Husband of Ruth N. Roberts, of 7 Mcfarren Street, Old Swan. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARGARET ROBINSON
died 03/05/1941, aged 76.
of 31 Grey Rock Street. Widow of James Robinson. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

JOHN ROSSITER
died 03/05/1941, aged 50.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver; of 30 Powis Street. Son of the late Joseph and Emily Rossiter; husband of Elizabeth Rossiter. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ELSIE MAY RUTLEDGE
died 03/05/1941, aged 21.
Probationer Nurse. Daughter of Francis and Elizabeth Rutledge, of 47 Victoria Road, Tue Brook. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

FLORENCE SEDGEWICK
died 03/05/1941, aged 20.
Daughter of Thomas and Florence Elizabeth Sedgewick, of 38 Cunningham Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

SARAH ANN SPEED
died 03/05/1941, aged 28.
of 60 Eastbourne Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

GERALD HORACE PERCY STAPLETON
died 03/05/1941, aged 56.
of 328 Stanley Park Avenue. Son of the late G. H. P. and S. E. Stapleton, of 34 Cramner Street, Nottingham; husband of the late Edith Marion Stapleton. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

HENRY FREDERICK SUTTON
died 03/05/1941, aged 24.
A.R.P Ambulance Driver. Son of William R. and Ethel Sutton, of 60 Hannan Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

EDWARD TALLON
died 03/05/1941, aged 30.
Son of William Tallon, of 4 Plan Street, and of the late Emily Tallon. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

BRENDA THOMPSON
died 06/05/1941, aged 4 Days.
Aged 4 days. Daughter of Albert Thompson, of 32 Beechdene Road, Anfield, and of Margaret Stella Thompson. Injured 3 May 1941, at Mill Road Infirmary; died at Alder Hey Emergency Hospital.

MARGARET STELLA THOMPSON
died 04/05/1941, aged 24.
Wife of Albert Thompson, of 32 Beechdene Road, Anfield. Injured 3 May 1941, at Mill Road Infirmary; died at Alder Hey Emergency Hospital.

CHARLES JOHN TUFT
died 03/05/1941, aged 51.
A.R.P. Ambulance Driver; of 5 Kellitt Road. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARY JANE TWIST
died 03/05/1941, aged 54.
Wife of George Henry Twist, of 41 Opie Street. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ALICE JOSEPHINE WHITEHEAD
died 03/05/1941, aged 56.
Wife of George Whitehead, of 8 Verger Street, Everton. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ELIZABETH FRANCES WHITLEY
died 03/05/1941, aged 45.
C.N.R.; of 82 Venmore Street. Wife of Charles Whitley. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

MARGARET WILLIAMSON
died 03/05/1941, aged 27.
Daughter of David Henry and Eleanor Bell, of 93 Northumberland Terrace; wife of John Thomas Williamson, of 91 Northumberland Terrace. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

ANN WORRALL
died 03/05/1941, aged 54.
of 6 Job Street. Wife of John G. Worrall. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

HAROLD STUART LESLIE YOUNG
died 03/05/1941, aged 20.
Son of Stuart John and Janet Mary Young, of Eastwood, Bryneithin Avenue, Prestatyn, Flintshire. Died at Mill Road Infirmary.

                           ALSO FOR THE UNKNOWN, MAY THEY REST IN PEACE