The Duquesne spy ring included 30 men and three women operating under the direction of Frederick “Fritz” Joubert Duquesne, a flamboyant South African adventurer and soldier who had also spied for the Germans during World War I. explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. From May 1, 1941, explosives rained down on the region for eight successive nights destroying 90,000 homes and causing damage to major landmarks, including Lewis’s, the Bluecoat Chambers and Walton Prison. After a brief lull, 1st May 1941 saw a renewed German attack with a whole week of continual bombing of the whole city. It was another site bombed during the May 3 attacks. It is thought some 4000 people died in Liverpool during the Blitz, with 100,000s left homeless. Residential and commercial areas of Liverpool were badly hit. Now a pedestrianised shopping street, with flagship store John Lewis, there is little evidence of the horrors Paradise Street experienced when bombs fell on the city centre. It was closed in 1967 and demolished a few years later. It was one of several parachute factories the company operated during the war, producing millions of parachutes, and tens of thousands of dinghies and pontoons for the armed forces. The city’s port status meant Liverpool was a key target for the Geman Luftwaffe in WW2 and it became the most heavily bombed area outside London. Photographs 3. Starting in the late 1930s, members of Duquesne’s … Today, the street is home to rows of terraced housing. Photo by Ian Cooper, 75th Anniversary of the Liverpool Blitz. Initially, only information relating to London, Birmingham and Liverpool was collated but by September 1941 the bomb census had been extended to cover the rest of the UK. The former Mill Road Hospital, in Everton, was another struck by a parachute mine. This was known as the ‘bomb census’. Views of bomb sites during the second world war that resulted in fatalities. Today Kirkdale train station is a busy point on Merseyrail's northern line, carrying passengers between Ormskirk and Liverpool, and beyond. One of the worst attacks of the evening of May 3/4, took place on Index Street, off County Road, in Walton, when a parachute mine destroyed half the street. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. ... After what is believed to be a third World War II bomb was discovered in Liverpool city centre, we've mapped out the areas bombed in WW2 during The Blitz. Custom House was left gutted after bombings across the city centre into the early hours of May 4. You can unsubscribe at any time. Its purpose was to provide the government with a complete picture of air raid patterns, types of weapon used and the damage caused – in particular to strategic services a… When the sirens rang out on the evening of May 3, many ran into a shelter in the basement of a school.