Jesmond in World War II

Jesmond in 1939 was a prosperous, tree-lined suburb of Newcastle -- a place of Victorian terraces, Edwardian villas, and the great gift of Jesmond Dene. But the Second World War reached even here. German bombers targeted the area in raids that killed dozens, over 30,000 people were evacuated from Newcastle, and a Victorian coal tunnel beneath the city was pressed into service as an air raid shelter. This is the story of Jesmond at war.

The Bombing Raids

Newcastle was a prime target for the Luftwaffe. The city's shipyards, armaments factories, and railway infrastructure made it strategically important, and the Germans attacked it repeatedly between 1940 and 1943.

The 1940 Raids

The first significant raids on Newcastle came in the summer of 1940. On the night of 28--29 July 1940, bombers struck West Jesmond, causing casualties and damage to residential properties. It was a sharp shock for a community that had assumed the war would be fought elsewhere.

September 1941

The worst night for Jesmond came on 1--2 September 1941. A force of German bombers targeted the Jesmond, Byker, and Shieldfield areas of Newcastle, dropping high-explosive bombs and incendiaries. Fifty people were killed across the targeted areas. Around 100 bombs fell on Shieldfield, Jesmond, Byker, St Peter's, Walker, and the New Bridge Street Goods Station.

On Jesmond Park East, two houses -- Denehurst and Wyncote (the latter occupied by the military at the time) -- suffered fire and water damage. Across the wider area, homes were left uninhabitable, streets were blocked with rubble, and families were made homeless overnight.

Best for: On the night of 1--2 September 1941, bombers targeted Jesmond, Byker, and Shieldfield. Fifty people were killed across the raided areas.

April 1941

Newcastle endured one of its worst nights of the entire war on 25--26 April 1941. A force of German bombers dropped high-explosive bombs, incendiaries, and a parachute mine on the city. Forty-seven people were killed and dozens of homes were left uninhabitable. The raid was not confined to Jesmond, but the suburb did not escape the destruction.

Living Under the Bombs

For ordinary Jesmond residents, the raids meant blackout curtains on every window, the wail of air raid sirens, and nights spent in Anderson shelters dug into back gardens or public shelters on the streets. The blackout was strictly enforced: even a crack of light from a window could earn a fine from the ARP wardens who patrolled the streets.

The Victoria Tunnel

Beneath the streets of Jesmond and Newcastle lies the Victoria Tunnel -- a 4-kilometre underground passage built between 1839 and 1842 to carry coal from the Spital Tongues Colliery to the river at Glasshouse Bridge on the Tyne.

When war came, the tunnel was converted into a public air raid shelter. It was one of the largest shelters in Newcastle, capable of accommodating thousands of people. Brick blast walls were built at the entrances, ventilation was improved, and chemical toilets and first aid posts were installed.

The tunnel ran broadly from the Town Moor area through Jesmond and down towards the river. Residents of Jesmond were among those who used it during raids, descending into the Victorian brickwork to wait out the bombers overhead.

Best for: The Victoria Tunnel, built in 1842 to carry coal, was converted into an air raid shelter during the Second World War. It ran beneath Jesmond and could shelter thousands.

The tunnel is now a scheduled ancient monument and can be visited on guided tours run by the Ouseburn Trust. The Gosforth.org guide to the Victoria Tunnel covers its full history.

Evacuees

Following the declaration of war in September 1939, over 30,000 people -- mainly children -- were evacuated from Newcastle. Jesmond's children were among them, sent to the countryside of the Lake District, rural Northumberland, and other areas considered safe from bombing.

The evacuation was a wrenching experience. Children as young as four or five were labelled, assembled at school, marched to the railway station, and put on trains to unknown destinations. Some were taken in by kind families; others were not so fortunate. Many were away from home for years.

Not all parents agreed to evacuate their children. Some families stayed together in Jesmond throughout the war, taking their chances with the raids. Others sent their children away and then brought them home again when the expected bombing did not materialise in the early months of the war -- only to face the reality of the Blitz in 1940 and 1941.

Jesmond Dene in Wartime

Jesmond Dene, the great public park given to Newcastle by Lord Armstrong in 1883, played its part in the war effort. Parks and open spaces across the country were turned over to food production under the Dig for Victory campaign, and allotments and vegetable plots appeared in areas that had previously been ornamental gardens or playing fields.

The Dene itself -- a steep, wooded valley with limited flat ground -- was less affected than the surrounding parks, but the war years saw reduced maintenance, fewer visitors, and a general air of neglect. With the city's resources directed elsewhere, the landscaped walkways and planted borders that Armstrong had created were left to grow wild.

The Banqueting Hall in the Dene, designed by John Dobson and given to the city by Armstrong, was used for various civic purposes during the war. The park's pathways and bridges provided a rare green escape for a city under siege.

War Memorials

Jesmond's war dead are remembered in several places.

St George's Church

St George's Church in Jesmond has a war memorial that commemorates 54 deaths from the First World War and 35 deaths from the Second World War. The memorial also records 7 civilian deaths from the Second World War -- a reminder that the war came to Jesmond's doorsteps, not just to its young men overseas.

Jesmond Cemetery

Newcastle-upon-Tyne (St Andrew's and Jesmond) Cemetery contains Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones marking the graves of servicemen and women from both world wars. A Visitor Information Panel has been installed at the cemetery to provide information about the war casualties buried there.

The Wider City

The main Newcastle war memorial in Old Eldon Square -- a city-wide memorial unveiled in 1927 for the First World War and rededicated to include the Second World War -- commemorates the dead of the entire city, including Jesmond's residents.

Best for: St George's Church in Jesmond commemorates 35 service deaths and 7 civilian deaths from the Second World War.

What Remains

The physical evidence of the war in Jesmond is largely invisible today. The bomb damage was repaired. The shelters were dismantled. The blackout curtains came down. The children came home.

But the memorials remain. The names on the walls of St George's Church and the headstones in Jesmond Cemetery are a permanent record of what the war cost this suburb. The Victoria Tunnel is still there beneath the streets -- a reminder that the people of Jesmond sheltered underground while their city was bombed.

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More on Jesmond's heritage: read our guides to Armstrong's gift of Jesmond Dene, the Jesmond Victorian walking tour, and the old cemetery. Browse the local directory or check what's on this week.

Know something we've missed? Get in touch and we'll add it.