Growing your turnips in Chorlton Park ..... and other wartime stories ........

Just what Chorlton Park was like during the last World War will pretty much have faded from living memory, and so stories of air raid shelters and the Dig for Victory campaign among the flower beds will not be readily available.

Chorlton Park, 2020

Like Dominic Anderson I have sometimes wondered how the Park was used during conflict and was galvanised into action when he posted on the Chorlton History site, “Walking in the park today a question struck me - was the land used to grow food during ww2 and if so are there any pictures?”

Well I went looking, but have so far only turned up one which shows an air raid shelter and not a line of turnips.

That said the Manchester Guardian carried a story on October 19th 1939 that “To meet the needs of those who have taken up allotments, and of others interested, the Manchester Corporation Parks Committee has arranged with the Agricultural Committee to provide demonstration plots in the following parks: Heaton Park, Boggart Hole Clough, Brookdale Park, Queens Park, Birchfield Park, Lady Barn, Fog Lane Park, Platt Fields Park, Chorlton Park, Wythenshawe Park.

Starting on Saturday, members of the parks staff will attend to demonstrate correct methods of cultivation, including digging, manuring, and controls of pests.”*

A further series of demonstrations were planned over the following weeks and along with this “A cropping scheme for the average 300 square yard plot will be issued shortly by the Manchester Agricultural Advisory Committee and will be available to all interested.”

Digging your own food, 1940

It is unclear whether these demonstration plots became permanent and nor do we know exactly where they were located in Chorlton Park, which is a ta d annoying given that the newspaper piece specified where to go in some of the parks.

But someone may know and may even have a picture.

That said according to a later report “the trench system in the parks is nearing completion.  Approximately 10,000 people will have shelter in these trenches in Alexandra Park, Queens Park, Moss Side recreation ground, Boggart Hole Clough, Crumpsall Park, Didsbury recreation ground, Platt Fields, Manley Park, Whitworth Park and Chorlton Park.

The trenches, which are of reinforced, precast concrete covered with two feet of earth are being provided with ramps in preference to steps  and emergency manhole exits are placed at frequent intervals.”**

This was part of a much wider provision of shelters, which included the conversion of the Victoria Arches  and the underground canal near Central Station [GMex] , 

Chorlton Park and the site of the shelter, 1939

In addition the Council had indented for “28,000 Anderson steel shelters, with17,000 allocated by the Home Office” and has completed a list of 17,000 names and addresses of people in the city with basements which they desire to have strengthened and the survey of houses with suitable accommodation for brick and concrete shelters is continuing”.

All of which was a start in the preparation for the bombing to come.

And that is it other than to say some will have fun identifying the shelter in the park. And the clue I suspect is that line of chimneys in the distance.

All very different from the place today.

Down by the Brook in the Park, 2020

Location; Chorlton Park

Picture, Chorlton Park, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, “The Penguin Book of Food Growing Storing and Cooking” 1940, Chorlton Park Shelter Surface Shelter, City Engineer, July 12th, 1939, m09588 courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

*Allotments In Manchester, Demonstration Plots, Manchester Guardian, October 19th, 1939

**Corporation Raid Shelters Manchester Guardian, June 22nd, 1939