The archive seems to be organised by date taken. So most of the early 1940 ones are indeed wartime, hence the white kerbs and lamp-posts, but showing little visible damage. By the time you get to later in 1940, the ravages of war certainly do show. There are lots of folders ... it's wise to note the folder numbers you've viewed to avoid revisiting old folders and wasting time. There is a logic to the numbering once you've browsed a while.

We have to remember that these were not originally for public consumption, they were purely records for municipal archives. So not all the Anlaby, or Anlaby Road ones, are together, nor are all the city centre ones together. There is a search box for names and keywords to help in that respect. Some areas, even individual houses, have several images from different angles, showing the full extent of damage .. whereas others don't seem to have been photographed at all, or perhaps are not yet published on the site.

It's not a site I can say, 'go and enjoy' .. for most people, especially current younger residents of the city, they may be a bit taken aback, even shocked, to graphically see what their forefathers had to put up with. For older folks, I imagine some of these photos are still a little too raw, the memories too painful to even browse more than a few. I spent a good two hours, and even after that, it's a bit wearing to see and imagine so much hurt and pain and destruction .. all a bit too much to take in. And I wasn't born then either. Having seen so many of these photos of citywide destruction on such a massive scale, I still can't fathom how Hull still managed to function at all, let alone as a seaport. The fact that it did is a credit to that generation and their sheer dogged determination not to be beaten.

SUTTON & WAWNE .. the website for information on the churches and history of these parishes, with pages about the Old School, RAF Sutton, and a good deal of family history information, where to find records, how to make a start, etc. A sort of 'sister site' to our own Brooklands site.

NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS . . a superb site on the run by a hill walker who takes his digital camera everywhere. Dozens and dozens of superb photos .. no bull. Recommended. Ex-pats will be booking a flight home after seeing these.

VIRTUAL TOURIST . . . a portal for private people to upload their own photos of places around Britain for all to see. One of our club members in Hull has joined, and calls himself "Britannia2" ... and shows good quality photographs of Hull and towns in and around the wider Yorkshire area, as well as the East Riding. He has a specially good section on Scarborough.

THE PORTHOLE . . . a super 'portal' - forgive the pun - to a whole host of Hull websites, with many useful links to businesses, and local groups and clubs of every kind. Worth a visit if you are just getting started on the web, and want to see what's already on offer in the Hull and East Riding area.

RAF HOLMPTON ... the top-secret underground Cold War Bunker, open to the public from 17 Feb 2007, with guided tours. A fascinating look at a hitherto unsuspected fact of life on the East Yorkshire coast just south of Withernsea. It houses the only surviving Radar Projection Table in the UK. This is one of the Command Centres that would have run the British nuclear reaction had the 'four-minute warning' been sounded. A very Informative website.

THE EARTH NEED'S CHANGE ... an interesting and thought-provoking website by a young friend of ours, Andrew Hornby, of New Zealand, whose family were originally from Hessle Road. He's right, it certainly does need change, otherwise there may be little left to save, let alone change, in the not too distant future. As he says, we continue taking our very existence for granted at our peril. This is a site that will grow and grow, and has the potential to have some interesting natural history photos within.

THE HUMBER BRIDGE . . fascinating facts and figures, some photos; a well designed and interesting site by Mr Richardson; history of the Humber Crossing, ferries, and the building of the bridge, it's all here.

NORTH YORKS MOORS RAILWAY ... superb new site, all you wanted to know about England's longest preserved steam railway, entirely owned and run by volunteers. Their World War 2 Weekends are something to behold .. everything except the Blitz and real German stormtroopers!

HUMBER CARS . . . while we're on with the name Humber, how about the largest working collection of these superb cars anywhere in the world. So where is it .. ? It's in Hull, just down Stoneferry. At least 19 fully working Humbers, from several examples of the Pullman, down through the Snipe series to the Imperial. Remember the days of bench seats in real leather, column change and semaphore arms, doors that opened forward and a rear cabin that you could walk into and turn round. Visit this site, then drop by Reg and Alan Marshall's collection, and spend a memorable couple of hours. If you are getting married, these are the ONLY cars to be seen climbing out of ! And just for once, we have something the south does NOT have, for Londoners have to make do with mere Rollers and Bentleys . .. but I assure you, these Humbers are in a class of their own. That's why, up to the 1950's, they were the favoured marque of car of the Royal Family. This collection can show three examples owned by royals, including the Edward, Prince of Wales, the Queen Mother and the late King.

SPURN POINT: A cyclic coastal landform . . another fascinating site; it explains how Spurn was formed, is changing, and may not be there much longer ! See why your grandchildren may not be able to enjoy the Spurn you knew. There's links to RSPB, nature watching, etc. Lovely.

HULL KINGSTON ROVERS official site . . aka The Robins .. the second of two homes in Hull to Rugby League, depending on which side of the river you're on. For those in East Hull, this IS the premier site. All the same, for political correctness gone mad on THIS site, best kept apart. And long may the rivalry, friendliness and good-humoured banter continue.

Hull City AFC . . the official site for Hull's premier soccer club, the new stadium, memories of Boothferry Park, et al. Lots of football information.

Hull FC . . just to show we're an impartial club, no introduction needed for the Official Hull FC site, one of two homes in Hull for very succesful Rugby League teams. The website home of Old Faithful ...

Old Maps, dating back to 1846-1899 . . brings up a Counties Gazetteer; select your county, then select your village or town for more incredible history.

Hull Blitz . . . maps plotting the fall of bombs ... this links to a new window and a set of 16 scans of a large streetmap of Hull, dated 1945, onto which has been entered details of all falls of bombs for the period 1940-44. Each section loads separately in a new window, and was roughly A4 in size.

Modern aerial views of Hull . . . a selection of about a dozen views from around 2,000 feet. Most of the city can be seen on the various shots. Also many views of both East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, and the general Humberside area ... and I use that name in the geographical context as it used to be before the name was defiled in the 1974 so-called reforms. As we would talk about Thameside, or Severnside ... nothing to do with politics.

THE INSTITUTE of ADVANCED MOTORISTS ... to gain A SKILL FOR LIFE ...
So you think you know all about driving? Being an Advanced Motorist is about staying alive .. arriving safely .. increasing your awareness and doing everything in your power to keep your family safe, and staying away from the A&E and the Infirmary. It's certainly not about showing off or being 'clever' on the road .. the cleverest thing is to arrive safely, wherever you're going, a trip to the shops or a 2000-mile round trip holiday, and maybe one or two of you may be curious enough to explore this link and take the first steps to perhaps save a life . . . starting with your own. Most of us older drivers know all this, so this course is perhaps a wonderful gift for that grandchild that has recently passed their test. Passing this qualification also lowers insurance, gets cheaper breakdown cover and other benefits. If this is something you've already been thinking about, there's never been a better time ..
this is the East Yorkshire branch ... give them a ring and make a start.