When Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough became home for Sheffield United…
While the country was bombarded over a period of months, it was the nights of December 12th and 15th, 1940, that hit home for the Steel City. 660 were killed, 1,500 injured and 40,000 were made homeless by ‘Operation Crucible’, with the bombing causing devastating damage to one of the country’s industrial hubs.
Britain did as Britain did, kept calm and carried on as they sought to return to normal life as soon as possible despite the devastation. Less than a month later, there was a Steel City Derby to be played between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United, with the Blades set to play host.
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Hide AdSadly for United though, their Bramall Lane stadium had been decimated during the tragic events of The Blitz, and the fixture was therefore shifted to Hillsborough due to the bomb damage.
So on Christmas Day 1940, just 10 days after the second night of what was code-named ‘Schmelztiegel (Crucible)’ by the Germans, 6,000 fans made the trip to S6 to watch the 143rd meeting of the clubs as they marked 50 years of rivalry – it ended 0-0, with both teams suffering from a lack of players.
And with Bramall Lane being rebuilt, over the coming months United were back at Hillsborough, facing Rotherham United, Hull City, Barnsley and Newcastle United there between February 1941 and April 1941.
They lost 3-2 to Rotherham, beat Hull 2-1 and Barnsley 3-1 before claiming a 2-0 victory over Newcastle, so haven’t a decent record of losing only one of their ‘home’ games at Hillsborough.
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Hide AdUnited returned to Bramall Lane in September 1941 after the necessary fixes were made, with the Blades and the Owls continuing to play in the wartime regional football leagues at their respective homes until the 1945/46 campaign – the first peacetime football season since the 1939–40 season was cut short following the declaration of war.