Photograph of 1915 bomb damage caused by a Zeppelin raid

The item I would like to add took place between 1939 -1945. In early 1941 my mother and I returned to Yarmouth from Castle Ashby, Northhants. My two brothers were evacuated with their school to Retford. I was about four & half years old and, as the war was rather quiet, we returned. This is where maybe someone might be of help? Does any one know the year and month when an area known as COBB'S PLACE WAS BOMBED BY A GERMAN AIRCRAFT?

The day when the air-raid siren went my second oldest brother and I took to our indoor Morrison shelter, my brother's name was HERBERT WILLIAM (he was known as BUSTER by all his friends). It is possible that the bombs were meant for Grouts silk factory. To work out the location imagine standing in Middle Market Road facing toward the sea (east). Starting from Swirles Place, travel down to what was once the Co-op milk bottling dairy and the passageway on your left leads to Cobbs Place. It is or was now lock up garages but in the 1940s it was a row of houses divided by a passage, the bomb was a direct hit, destroying about 20 two up two down houses.

Our house was at the bottom, along a passage known as Swirles Buildings. The noise and the blast blew the back door and windows in, then came a rush of air which blew in the front door and windows (I understand this is known as filling the vacuum from the blast). As our shelter was in the front room I was cut by a peice of glass, not too badly though, and there was dust every where. Then came the sound of the all clear. Our mother was working at that time at BHS which was on Regent Road. She was allowed to come home on all clear. We could not get out at the back because of bricks and rubble, so we went out the front and around to the back. About four doors along from our house is another passage and at the bottom, piled up against our row there seemed to be nearly half a house with lots of broken timber. Police, firemen and air-raid wardens were pulling and digging in the rubble. I later learned that a young boy about my age and his mother were found wrapped in their mattress and bedding, alas they were dead. How many more fatalities there were I do not know.

If any one out there knows about COBBS PLACE and the dates of the bombing I would be grateful if you could let me know. It is our duty to our younger ones that they remember our history of what is a great town (YARMOUTH). Colin Browne

Cobbs Place was bombed on 31st October 1941. Added by Laura Matthews

I purchased a old hard back book from a second hand book shop titled Front Line 1940-41. Issued by Ministry of Home Security of Information, it is the story of the bombing of London & other parts of the British Isles. One section covers air attacks on seaside areas known as Tip-&-Run.In a chart Great Yarmouth was the highest town to have air attacks (Total raids 72, civilians killed 110, Houses damaged 11.500) the next highest was Lowestoft with 54, 94, 9.000 there are 22 towns in number on the list ranging from Fraserburgh in Scotland to Falmouth in Cornwall At that time when Leicester was bombed my oldest brother Arthur was a member of the auxillary fire serves a Mr. Haylett was then head fire inspector Yarmouth and other fire services were called upon to attend & assist Leicester I remember how worn out he was when he came home but that was a small part of my war years.

I have just read with great interest the contributions regarding the bombing of Cobbs Place. I lived at 22 Gordon Terrace which faced onto Cobbs Place. In fact the name "Cobbs Place" was painted on the front of our house, but my parents preferred the Gordon Terrace address! I was born at home in 1943 and remember Cobbs Place as only a bombed site, which we used for our play. Readers may be interested to know I have a copy of a paperback booklet published by the town entitled "Great Yarmouth Front Line Town". It was compiled by Charles G Box, OBE, Chief Constable and ARP Controller.The book is a detailed account of the bombing raids on the Borough with accounts of the damage and numbers of casualties. There are a number of photographs.
I read Laura's note that Cobbs Place was bombed on 31st October 1941 and checked the entry in the Borough record. It appears there was just one raid that night between 6.22p.m. and 7.01p.m, during which three sticks of bombs were dropped in the sea off South Denes, 12 HE bombs in all. I checked the many other entries for 1941 and wonder if the entry for 1st February is helpful. "At 8.02a.m. an enemy 'plane exhibiting navigation lights, dropped 12 H.E. bombs on allotments off Boundary Road, Southtown. Damage was caused to a slipper factory and houses.
At 12.21p.m. 12 H.E. bombs were dropped in a line extending north to south from Kitchener Road to Middle Market Road. One bomb dropped on the south mill at Grout's Factory, setting it on fire. These bombs were dropped from a very low altitude, some of which ricocheted from the roadway, penetrating the upper stories of premises close by. Casualties were 3 killed and 9 injured. It was most fortunate that this raid did not occur earlier in the day, a Saturday, in the event of which the casualty list would have been much greater."
1941 was a terrible year. Mr Box records "During 1941, which I should imagine was the worst year of terror the Borough has ever experienced. There were 167 raids, and the bombs dropped were 803 H.E., 55 U.X.H.E., 6 mines, 7020 I.B.(estimated). Casualties were 109 killed and 329 injured. The sirens were sounded for 767 Alerts and 1328 "Crash" warnings."
Could this Saturday, 1st February 1941, have been the day when Cobbs Place was destroyed?
John George

I'm not sure if my previous comment got through, so would like to repeat the gist of it.
I was born early in 1943 at 22 Gordon Terrace, Middle Market Road, which faces onto Cobbs Place - in fact the sign "Cobbs Place" was painted onto the front of our house. My parents preferred Gordon Terrace!
I was interested in Laura's date for the bombing of Cobbs Place as I have tried to check it before. I have a copy of the town publication "Great Yarmouth Front Line Town 1939-1945" which lists in date order all the raids on the Borough together with details of casualties and damage. 1941 was a very bad year for the town but the only entry for 31st October is "Between 6.22p.m. and 7.01p.m. three sticks of bombs were dropped in sea off South Denes. 12 H.E. bombs."
The entry which seems to most likely include Cobbs Place is the one for February 1st 1941 which includes the following: "At 12.21p.m. 12 H.E. bombs were dropped in a line extending north to south from Kitchener Road to Middle Market Road. One bomb dropped on the south mill at Grout's Factory, setting it on fire. These bombs were dropped from a very low altitude, some of which ricotheted from the roadway, penetrating the upper stories of premises close by. Casualties were 3 killed and 9 injured. It was most fortunate that this raid did not occur earlier in the day, a Saturday, in the event of which the casualty list would have been much greater."
This pattern would certainly fit with my memory of the local bomb sites, the next in line after Cobbs place being the one across Middle Market Road from the Co-op Dairy.
1941 was a terrible year for the Town. Charles box OBE, Chief Constable and ARP Controller, says: "During 1941, which I should imagine was the worst year of terror the Borough has ever experienced. There were 167 raids, and the bombs dropped were 803 H.E., 55 U.X.H.E., 6 mines, 7020 I.B. (estimated). Casualties were 109 killed and 329 injured. The sirens were sounded for 767 Alerts and 1328 "Crash" warnings."
I know our old house had plenty of shrapnel damage to its front wall!