28 February 2013
Zeppelin
Zip zap Zeppelin Chug chug chug Cross the channel Chip chop Bombs drop. Port splat Liverpool flat Zip zap
Ship shape Air Ship Shiny shimmer Creep cruise Coast claimed Follow river Lay waste Blood taste Zip zap
Murky Mersey,s Finger follow See below Shows the way Silver thread Betray to dead While all abed Zip zap
Tip toe Toe Rag Tip up tip out Bombs rain on .....Tipton Hang on... That's not right That's no fight Zip zap
Thats not Liverpool. Someone's got lost!
Bish bash big blunder Rumble grumble Mrs Smith hears the thunder In the street standing under Quick,quick run home Oh no! All is blown Nellie, Tom and little Ina Zip zap Are dead!
In January 1916 nine Zeppelins left their bases in Germany intending to bomb the port of Liverpool. They planned to navigate by following the Mersey. In murky conditions two got hopelessly lost and followed the Birmingham canal instead. They dropped their bombs on a small town called Tipton and on nearby Wendsfield, mistaking this for Liverpool. Three of the victims were Nellie (13), Thomas (11), and Ina (7) Smith. I first heard this story 2 years ago (2011) from my granny who remembered being pulled from her bed and seeing these monstrous machines in the sky. She was 5. It was a memory I thought should be recorded!
Zeppelin • Opuss № I