The Salford Blitz

Luftwaffe target photograph of Salford Docks, November 1940 (NARA)

The Civil Service mobilised 5,593 members of the Corps composed of a part-time strength for each section of: 87.6% of Wardens, 78% of Fire Wardens, 85.9% of Cyclist Messengers. In the early hours of June 2nd, Dr Wyse supervised the removal of the patients of Salford Royal Hospital alongside the nurses, in all they helped evacuate 150 patients from the hospital to nearby safety. Some of these nurses had only performed the first few weeks of their training At 2:05 am a H.E. (Heavy explosive) bomb was reported at Chapel Street, St. Philip’s Square. The Salford Royal Hospital had received a direct hit, collapsing a basement shelter where hospital nurses and their tutor sought refuge. The H.E. bomb was identified as a 100 kilo magnesium incendiary bomb, which itself in one interpretation could have teared its way through the upper floors of the Nurses Quarter before deflecting and detonating in the roadway, caused the demolition of the building — killing 14 nurses and burying a number of nurses under the highly volatile rubble. Later the 30 to 40 tons of rubble above this shelter had to be dislodged by vibration.

From that night, at great mortal risk, these individuals below embodied the highest level of bravery, endurance, and gallantry endangering themselves to save the nurses in the rubble. G. Aspin (Squad leader, rescue service), D.M. Barlow (Staff Officer, casualty Services), W.A. Walker (City Engineer and Head of Rescue Service), A. Edwards (Superintendent Parka and Rescue Leader), and Dr R.W. Wyse (Resident Surgical Officer, Salford), Sergeant Lindsey, Police Fireman Irwin, Auxiliary Fireman 678 Kean, and Auxiliary Fireman Smith, all exhibited these qualities in the effort to free the trapped nurses.

Lindley and Kean arrived immediately at the scene, following the detonation of the bomb, and identified and extricated two nurses in the rubble. Mr Walker, despite being blown down by near misses of bombs, answered the priority call on the Salford Royal Hospital. At the site, Edwards succeeded in removing debris which enabled the rescue of a nurse at the risk of being buried under the rubble. A key story at the site was began by Irwin and Smith who discovered a second female nurse trapped under the rubble. Subsequently, Aspin and Barlow spent hours meticulously removing stone after stone of debris around this nurse to try to free her. This nurse had proved impossible to release from the rubble due to her left arm being trapped by a heavy girder and tons of debris.

After it was determined that it was necessary to remove the nurse’s arm to free her, Dr Wyse administer morphia to her and performed a multi-hour amputation of her left arm, but tragically she died a few days later according to the Manchester Evening News. Dr Wyse also provided medical attention to another nurse in the rubble and later returned to the hospital wards to provide surgical treatment to that nights air raid casualties. After 10 hours of the combined efforts of the Civil Defence Services, the first nurse who was rescued from the site was Phyllis Norman. Norman in 2001 unveiled a plaque commemorating the 14 nurses who died in this air raid at Salford Royal Hospital.