During World War Two, Percy Street in the Shankill area of West Belfast ran between 88 Shankill Road and 155 Divis Street. Well-kept terraced houses lined the street. A maze of side streets ran off Percy Street in both directions.
The main Shankill Road escaped the worst of the Belfast Blitz but the surrounding area suffered greatly. Photos taken of Percy Street after the Easter Raid highlight the devastation inflicted on the area.
Percy Street in 1939
The following information is taken from the 1939 Belfast Street Directory.
Number | First Name(s) | Last Name | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | G | Fenning | Caretaker |
1a | Belfast Co-Operative Society Ltd. | Posting Establishment | |
3 | James M | Blackford | |
5 | Thomas F | Murray | Window Cleaner |
7 | Frederick | Owens | Draper |
9 | Samuel | Strange | |
9a | Thomas | Clucas | Dealer |
11 | Samuel | Addis | Inspector |
13 | F | Atkinson | Painter |
15 | John | Murphy | |
17 | AW | Codoo | Postman |
19 | H | Neilly | Driver |
21 | James | Mitchell | Coalman |
23 | May | Dennis | |
25 | Ellen Mary | Gribbin | |
27 | John | Martin | |
29 | WJ | Arbuthnot | |
31 | Mrs. | Nugent | |
33 | Samuel | Garvin | Publican |
35 | H | Turner | Horse Shoer |
37 | Hugh | Beattie | |
39 | J | Callan | Sanitary Inspector |
41 | William | Ellison | Glazier |
43 | D | Trainor | Carter |
45 | James B | McFall | Labourer |
47 | Leonard | Downe | Royal Ulster Constabulary |
49 | Miss M | Gibson | |
51 | Charles | Campbell | Carter |
53 | Arthur | Stewart | Machinist |
55 | William | Spence | Plater |
57 | M&K | Peacocke | |
59 | Mts. Ethel | Kirk | Confectioner |
61 | Hugh | Boyd | Bread Server |
63 | Hugh D | McDonald | |
65 | Mrs. | Birch | |
67 | Andrew | Black | Painter |
69 | James | Parkinson | Grocer |
71-75 | Isaac Andrews and Sons Ltd. | Flour Mills | |
77 | Charles | Boyle | Carrier |
79 | James | Loughran | Dealer |
81 | Sarah | Hills | |
2 | Side Door | ||
4 | Mrs. | Reid | |
6 | James | Neill | Labourer |
8 | HT | Boyd | |
10 | Mrs. A | Neill | |
12 | Thomas | Magee | Labourer |
14 | J | Heaney | Joiner |
16 | RM | Irvine | |
18 | Vacant | ||
20 | Mary | Barlow | |
22 | WH | Guy | Carter |
24 | William | Smith | |
26 | Samuel | McGee | |
28 | John | Lockhart | Labourer |
30 | William | McCreedy | Cinema Operator |
32 | John H | Hosick | |
34 | Emily | Dougan | |
36 | Miss D | Mateer | |
38 | Mrs. Annie | Thompson | |
40 | J | Dickson | Preparing Master |
42 | Andrew | Diffy | |
44 | Vacant | ||
46 | W | Marmion | Sheet Metal Worker |
48 | Miss | Templeton | |
50 | Robert | Major | Labourer |
52 | George | Templeton | Iron Turner |
54 | John | Bradley | |
56 | W | McFerran | Book Binder |
58 | TJ | Ritchie | |
60 | Mrs. | Cunningham | |
62 | W | McCullough | Joiner |
64 | Mrs. | Holloway | |
66 | Samuel | Geddis | Organiser |
68 | Robert | Bennett | |
70 | Robert | Nugent | |
72 | Mrs. M | Martin | |
74 | Davidson | ||
76 | Mrs. E | Carvill | |
78 | Sadie | Hunter | |
80 | Francis | Mitchell | |
82 | Hugh | Boyd | Printer |
84 | Henry Davis Ltd. | Apron and Pinafore Manufacturers | |
94 | Hamilton | Kennedy | Driller |
96 | Eliza Ann | McKenna | |
98 | Robert | Scott | Painter |
100 | Sarah | Morrison | |
102 | Joseph | Stranaghan | Clerk |
104 | J Hamilton and Co. Ltd. | Engineers | |
104 | Marine Governors Ltd. | Marine Engineers | |
106 | Con | McCourt | Manager |
108 | Samuel | Cunningham | Driver |
110 | JJ | Clarke | Sea Captain |
112 | Miss M | Davey | |
114 | John | Kennedy | Stone Mason |
116 | Joseph | Burns | Butcher |
118 | The Model Works | Engineers and Brass Founders | |
120 | WJ | McErlean | Traveller |
122 | W | Price | |
124 | Side Door |
16th April 1941
Kenneth Taylor, a lorry driver, and Auxiliary Fire Service volunteer watched as a parachute mine fell on Percy Street. He was on the flat roof of a mill on North Howard Street, a few streets away from the incident and, at first, thought a Luftwaffe pilot had bailed out. The bomb landed about 15 feet away from the entrance of the public air raid shelter.
The resulting blast was deafening and the suction as a result of the blast caused the walls to disintegrate and the shelter to collapse. As the outer walls crumbled, the large concrete roof lifted with no supporting walls providing further strength. The 30 foot long and 5 feet thick concrete slab then fell into the shelter crushing many of those inside.
Residents of Percy Street ran from their houses putting themselves in more danger as bombs continued to fall across Belfast.
Percy Street in 1943
The following information is taken from the 1943 Belfast Street Directory.
Number | First Name(s) | Last Name | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | G | Fenning | Caretaker |
1a | Belfast Co-Operative Society Ltd. | Posting Establishment | |
3 | James M | Blackford | |
5 | Murray | ||
7 | William | McKee | Labourer |
9 | Wilson | ||
11 | Samuel | Addis | Clerk |
13 | Atchison | Decorator | |
15 | Richard | Ellwood | |
17-19 | Vacant | ||
21 | Thomas | Casey | Labourer |
23-33 | Vacant Ground | ||
35 | Vacant Ground | ||
37 | Occupied | ||
39 | Vacant | ||
41 | William | Marmion | Sheet Metal Worker |
43 | Samuel | McQuiston | Iron Dresser |
45 | McFall | ||
47-49 | Vacant | ||
51 | Mrs. E | Barnes | |
53 | Thomas | Wright | Bus Conductor |
55 | Vacant | ||
57 | Mrs. S | Black | |
59 | Vacant | ||
61 | James | Connor | |
63 | Frank | Graham | Labourer |
65 | Edward | Brown | Labourer |
67 | Mrs. Mary | Devine | |
69 | James | Parkinson | Grocer |
71-75 | Ardmoulin Cottages | ||
71-75 | National Fire Service Station | ||
71-75 | Isaac Andrews and Sons Ltd. | Flour and Provender Mills | |
77 | F | McCartney | |
79 | James | Loughran | Dealer |
81 | Sarah | Hills | |
4 | Mrs. Letitia | Reid | |
6 | Mrs. | Dixon | |
8-18 | Vacant Ground | ||
20 | Mrs. | McCray | |
22 | Thomas | Willoughby | |
24 | Hugh | Reynolds | Labourer |
26 | Samuel J | Vogan | Soldier |
28 | John | Lockhart | Labourer |
30 | Occupied | ||
32 | Henry | Lamb | Labourer |
34 | James | McCalum | Motor Driver |
36 | Misses | Mateer | |
38 | Mrs. | Thompson | |
40 | George | Fitzsimons | Machinist |
42 | Robert | Farr | |
44 | Robert | Bell | |
46 | Robert | Rea | Engineer |
48 | Miss Ann | Templeton | |
50 | Occupied | ||
52 | John D | Dennison | Moulder |
54 | Ross T | Wallace | Fitter |
56 | Victor | Millar | Tram Conductor |
58 | John | Cleland | Labourer |
60-62 | Occupied | ||
64 | S McN | Todd | |
66 | Donald | Fleming | Iron Moulder |
68 | Henry | McStravick | Labourer |
70 | Martin | ||
72 | Mrs. | Edwards | |
74 | Hardy | ||
76 | Miss Jessie | Carvill | |
78 | Mrs. J | Walker | |
80 | Armstrong | ||
82 | Hugh | Boyd | Printer |
84 | Henry Davis Ltd. | Apron and Pinafore Manufacturers | |
86 | Church Hall | ||
94 | Harold | Buckle | |
96 | Eliza Ann | McKenna | |
98 | Thomas | Fitzsimmons | |
100 | Sarah | Morrison | |
102 | Joseph | Stranaghan | Clerk |
104 | J Hamilton and Co. Ltd. | Engineers | |
106 | J | McBennett | Bootmaker |
108 | TH | Magee | |
110 | Alfred | Quinn | |
112 | Miss M | Davey | |
114 | John | Kennedy | Stone Mason |
116 | Joseph | Burns | Butcher |
118 | The Model Works | Engineers and Brass Founders | |
120 | WJ | McErlean | Traveller |
122 | Albert | Price | Upholsterer |
124 | Side Door |
Life carried on in the Shankill area and stories of the horrors on the Belfast Blitz began to circulate. Neighbours wept in the street as news broke on many of the deaths in the area.
Anecdotes tell of one man who rushed home from the Gaeity Cinema to be with his family. A warning flashed on the screen and many left the safety of the cinema to be with their loved ones. He joined his family in the Percy Street shelter and all died when the shelter collapsed.
Some residents of Percy Street and the surrounding side streets had their lives saved when the shelter filled. Some who could not get in the shelter returned to their houses, taking cover under tables or beneath the stairs.
![Percy Street after the Belfast Blitz](https://archives.wartimeni.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2019/01/wartime-ni-percy-street-clearance.jpg)
Imperial War Museum Photo: Vacant ground on Percy Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim. Before 16th April 1941, Percy Street was a street lined with small terraced houses that could not withstand the devastation of Luftwaffe Bombs. This photo is used in 'Belfast Blitz: The City in the War Years' by Professor Brian Barton.
The day after the attack, the Civil Defence Corps and Royal Ulster Constabulary sealed off the street with a rope cordon. The search for casualties continued. Wardens also patrolled the area and one of them spotted a young boy standing in his pyjamas in the debris of what had once been the shelter.
Hugh Mackie had regained consciousness to find masonry from the air raid shelter wedged against his chest. He noticed his mother and grandmother sitting opposite him on the other side of where the shelter had been. Both women had died in the position they sat when the blast struck the shelter.
Casualties of the Belfast Blitz
Last Name | First Name(s) | Rank | Date of Death | Place of Death | Age |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boyd | Elias Jones | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 15 |
Boyd | Elizabeth Kate | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 10 | 70 |
Boyd | Hugh | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 18 |
Corry | Elizabeth | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 0 |
Corry | Martha | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 27 |
Cory | Samuel | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | |
Curry | William John | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 52 |
Elliott | Samuel Stewart McComb | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 31 | 32 |
Gribbin | Nancy Simms | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 25 | 74 |
Guy | Henry William | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 50 |
Guy | Mary | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 50 |
Guy | Mary Doreen | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 22 |
Guy | Reginald | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 10 |
Guy | Sydney | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 12 |
Heaney | AJ | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 52 |
Heaney | Edith | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 41 |
Heaney | George | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 3 |
Heaney | Vera | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 18 |
Irvine | Agnes | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 16 | 72 |
Irvine | Margaret Hill McQuoid | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 16 | 35 |
Irvine | Robert McCullough | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 16 | 72 |
Larkin | William | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 49 |
Magee | Daniel | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 12 | 18 |
Magee | Jane | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 12 | 19 |
Magee | Mary | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 12 | 31 |
Magee | Mary | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 12 | 54 |
Magee | Thomas | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 12 | 54 |
Magee | Thomasina | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 12 | 29 |
Martin | John Andrew | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 27 | 51 |
Mells | Mary Jane | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street Shelter | 65 |
Neill | Annie | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 10 | 66 |
O'Neill | Hugh | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 48 |
Robinson | Agnes | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 10 | 65 |
Simmons | John Thompson | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street 25 | 5 |
Smyth | William John | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 22 |
Swann | John | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 31 |
Swann | Martha | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Royal Victoria Hospital | 18 |
Swann | Mary | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Royal Victoria Hospital | 32 |
Swann | Margaret Isabella | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 58 |
Swann | William | Civilian | 16th April 1941 | Percy Street | 59 |
In his book ‘Post 381: Memoirs of a Belfast Air Raid Warden’, Jimmy Doherty states the shelter had taken a direct hit. He estimates the casualties to be around 70 people as he recounts a personal tale from 16th April 1941.
We left the Irish firemen on the Shankill Road and went down Percy Street, the scene of the greatest disaster of the raid. A shelter had suffered a direct hit and almost 70 people were killed when it collapsed. I knew many of those who died. When I was serving my apprenticeship in that area, I had walked up Percy Street every evening. One of the women standing close by remembered me and recalled my friendship with a young girl who lived in the street. She was very pretty and often waited for me as I came out of the workshop. The older boys chaffed me about this but, as I have said, she was very pretty and I was proud that she had singled me out from the other boys. She was in the shelter when the bomb hit it. I swallowed hard and held back a tear. My memory went back to those days and my first day at work. But we had to push on, so I wished the old woman goodbye and we continued down the debris-strewn street towards the Falls Road.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records suggest that 37 people died in Percy Street that night. Two more died later as a result of their injuries at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Of those, 10 had sought refuge in the public air raid shelter. In total, 29 residents of Percy Street died as a result of enemy action on the night of 16th April 1941.