Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square
12 December 1940 · Sheffield, South Yorkshire
View this record on the map →- Date
- 12 December 1940
- Record type
- Historic bombing site
- Bomb type
- HE
- Location
- Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Position accuracy
- Confirmed site, building-level
What happened
A high-explosive bomb struck the seven-storey Marples Hotel at 11.44pm, collapsing every floor into the cellars where people had taken shelter. Seven people were rescued alive.
Casualty note
Sources give 70 or 78. Local research and the BBC's 2024 blue-plaque report give 70 of the 77 people present; Wikipedia's Sheffield Blitz article gives 78. Only 64 bodies were recovered intact, plus partial remains of six or seven more, which is the root of the disagreement.
Also worth knowing
Consistently described as the worst single loss of life in Sheffield during the war and one of the worst single-incident tolls of the British Blitz. A blue plaque was unveiled on the site in 2024.