When the blitz rained down on Sunderland, leaving a trail of destruction
The devastation of war came to Sunderland 84 years ago this month.
It was on August 9, 1940, that the Luftwaffe targeted Sunderland as part of their blitz of the country.
It was seen as an important industrial target. It was a shipbuilding town and a port, and the attacks would not let up until 1942.
The Battle of Britain had reached Wearside and the Echo’s photographers recorded the aftermath.
Examining the wreckage
Here is a scene from Parade Back Lane, showing wardens surveying the wreckage of one house.
The front door is one of the few structures still standing.
On August 9, the Luftwaffe concentrated on Sunderland for daylight raids.
On August 13, there was a close call for one family. The seven people in the house on the right escaped injury by taking cover under the stairs when a bomb fell.
A sitting room wall was blown out
In Viewforth Terrace, this bombing attack on August 15 blew out the front wall of a house and left the sitting room chairs on show.
Later that month, houses in Humbledon were hit on August 26, 1940. This photo shows the blast which ripped through a house, with an air raid shelter under it.
Hundreds dead and more than 800 injured
By the time it was all over, 273 Sunderland people had died and more than 800 had been injured in the raids.
Tell us if one of your relatives lived through it. Email [email protected]