Origins

Although a small motte and bailey castle had earlier been built by the Normans at West Derby, the origins of the city of Liverpool are usually dated from 28 August 1207, when letters patent were issued by King John advertising the establishment of a new borough, and inviting settlers to come and take up holdings there. It is thought that the King wanted a port in the district that was free from the control of the Earl of Chester. Initially it served as a dispatch point for troops sent to Ireland, soon after the building around 1235 of Liverpool Castle, which was removed in 1726. St Nicholas Church was built by 1257, originally as a chapel within the parish of Walton-on-the-Hill.

With the formation of a market on the site of the later Town Hall, Liverpool became established as a small fishing and farming community, administered by burgesses and, slightly later, a mayor. There was probably some coastal trade around the Irish Sea, and there were occasional ferries across the Mersey. However, for several centuries it remained a small and relatively unimportant settlement, with a population of no more than 1,000 in the mid 14th century. By the early fifteenth century a period of economic decline set in, and the county gentry increased their power over the town, the Stanley family fortifying their house on Water Street. In the middle of the 16th century the population of Liverpool had fallen to around 600, and the port was regarded as subordinate to Chester until the 1650s.

Taken from here

The Blitz

The seven nights of the 1941 May Blitz (1st-7th May) were the heaviest consecutive nights of bombing experienced by Liverpool during the whole of the Second World War. In those few nights around 681 planes dropped 870 tonnes of high explosives and over 112,000 incendiaries (firebombs) on the area, killing over 1,700 people and making around 76,000 homeless.

A parachute mine destroyed Waterloo dock warehouse 20/21 December 1940
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Liverpool, and its surrounding towns of Bootle, Wallasey and Birkenhead, was attacked mainly because of its huge dock system. This west coast port was the main link between Britain and the USA, and saw food, fuel, raw materials, weapons and troops enter the country. Without these supplies it is doubtful whether Britain could have survived Hitler's attacks.

The area around Lord Street and Castle Street was severely damaged. 3/4 May 1941
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General Admiral Erich Raeder, Commander in Chief of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy), understood how important Liverpool was to Britain's war effort. He saw that if supplies into the country were cut off then Britain would be weakened, morale would fall and Prime Minister Churchill would be open to negotiation. Luckily for Liverpool and the country as a whole, Hitler did not listen. Many heavy air attacks were launched but not on a sufficient scale to close the docks or seriously disrupt shipping. However, they did cause a lot of damage to the city and her people.

Kirkby munitions factory workers around a bomb
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While fighting these attacks and keeping the country's supply line open, the people of Liverpool tried to lead normal lives: going to work, looking after families, shopping, going out etc. This website tells some of their stories, often in their own words. While the day presented is fictional, all of the events represented happened, many of them during the May Blitz of 1941.

Taken from here

Cheers
Ryan Partington