Grandfather of Jack Johnson who Tragically Drowned in Icy Lake.

Dec 202023
 
At the beginning of December I was commissioned by the Sunday Mirror to travel down to Birmingham and photograph Steve Johnson, grandfather of Jack Johnson. Jack tragically drowned along with 3 of his pals playing on an ice covered pond near his home in Solihull .
The images below are a mixture of posed and candid shots taken during the interview by journalist Matthew Dresch which took place days before the first anniversary of the tragedy. The full story can be found here:


Posted 20 December

All Images © Paul David Drabble
All rights Reserved
Moral Rights Asserted

Sheffield Rallys Support for Ukraine

Mar 012022
 

Sheffield Town Hall Sunday 27th February. Stand with Ukraine Sheffield group held a rally of support for Ukraine and its people, and a protest of condemnation of Putin’s invasion of the country.
After and elderly Ukrainian woman reported told a Russian soldier
‘You should put sunflower seeds in your pockets so that they will grow on Ukrainian land after you die.’
Supporters of Ukraine carried Sunflowers alongside their placards some of which called for an end to the war others repeated the reported reply from Ukrainian border guards who died defending Zmiinyi Island after being called upon to surrender by a Russian warship.


Covering Monday the 28th Solidarity with Ukraine Sheffield Rally was a little more of a challenge what with it being Illuminated by the street lamps and held in a fairly constant drizzle. At Six pm on a rainy Monday evening evening the people of Sheffield turned out for the second time in two days to show support for the Ukrainian people and to protest against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. A variety of speakers addressed the rally from the steps of Sheffield Old Town Hall including a number Ukrainian people who told of their personal struggles to maintain contact with their families as well thank people for the support and urge the people of Sheffield and the world to maintain their show support.


Snow Brings Travel Chaos

Jan 142021
 

Thursday 14 January 2020: Sheffield: There was traffic chaos on the A616 Stocksbridge By-Pass as snow fell across much of the country despite the best efforts of snow ploughs and gritters. I counted four snow ploughs as I made my way past a number of cars, lorries vans and a number of people on foot that were having difficulty negotiating the slippy conditions around lunchtime.

Caption: Heavy snow forecast for most of the day causing traffic chaos on the A 616 Stocksbridge By-Pass around lunchtime today

Images © Paul David Drabble
All Rights Reserved
Moral Rights Asserted

Sheffield Enters Tier 3 Covid restrictions

Oct 272020
 

As Sheffield Enters Tier 3 of Covid-19 restrictions. I’ve read news reports that the Government are looking at options for a ‘Tier 4’ to add to the current Covid 19 restrictions should the current Tier Three restrictions not curb coronavirus cases. Here are a few images shot in Sheffield on Saturday 24th October, the first morning that Sheffield Enters Tier 3,. For those who know sheffield the images show
1. Top of Fargate,
2. & 3. looking down The Moor,
4. Charter Row all in Sheffield City centre.

Images © Paul David Drabble
All Rights Reserved
Moral Rights Asserted


German Military Cemetery Staffordshire

Oct 042020
 

German Military Cemetery Staffordshire

Many of you will know I am quite interested history, especially military history.  While doing a little research I discovered  a German Military Cemetery in Staffordshire Britain. Not something I had ever considered but probably should have. All wars result in casualties on both sides and while there were no land battles in Britain, there was the war in the air and at sea, not mention Prisoners Of War.


My interest piqued I took a trip to Staffordshire to shoot some images at the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof.  The cemetery contains the graves of 2143 soldiers of the first world war and 2786 soldiers of the second world war. All the headstones are very similar but unlike British CWGC headstones they don’t seem to say, with any consistency, which branch of the armed forces the personnel served with or their unit, though they do indicate rank.

In 1959 the UK German government came to an agreement for the care of the graves of German nationals who lost their lives in the United Kingdom during the two World Wars. The result was the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof at Cannock Chase Staffordshire. This resulted in the transfer of all graves in the UK, not already effectively maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, to this central cemetery. This transfer of graves of German servicemen and civilian internees from both world wars was arranged by the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgraberfursorge).  The inauguration and dedication took place on the 10th June 1967 and is immaculately maintained by the CWGC.

A few notable graves to look out for amongst the photos for are….

Generalfeldmarschall Ernst Bernhard Wilhelm Busch

holder of the Pour le Merite (Blue Max) and Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He commanded troops during the invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and the invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa). His final command was Army Group Northwest. His task, to stop Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s advance into Germany. Busch surrendered to Monty on 3 May 1945 and died of heart failure in a prisoner of war camp in Aldershot, England.

SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Maximilian Karl Otto von Herff.

Originally in the Wehrmacht Herff was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1939. He served with the German Afrika Korps, was then promoted to Colonel and commanded “Kampfgruppe von Herff”. In June 1941 was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross for his service in North Africa. He transferred to the Waffen-SS and joined the Nazi Party in 1942. From August 1942-1945 Von Herff was ‘Chef fur Personalhauptamt’. The man in charge of the office responsible maintaining the service records for all commissioned Waffen-SS and Allgemeine-SS personnel. Captured in 1945, and held at Grizedale POW camp he died in Conishead Priory Military Hospital as the result of a Stroke.

 

Four Graves Containing the Remains of Four Zeppelin Crews

Tablet marks the four graves containing the remains of Four Zeppelin crews Shot down during World war one with each Crew being buried together.

A small black and white photo at the bottom of the headstone marking the last resting place of Eugen Geyer and Franz Andele. Both were members of the German Luftwaffe


Cannock Chase War Cemetery Staffordshire

Before reaching the actual German Military Cemetery you will encounter Cannock Chase War Cemetery which is closer to the road. Cannock Chase War Cemetery contains 97 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, most of them New Zealanders, and 286 German burials. There are also three burials from the Second World War.

Images © Paul David Drabble
All Rights Reserved
Moral Rights Asserted

Empty Places Covid-19 Pandemic

Apr 202020
 

Empty Places Covid-19 Pandemic A collection of images showing some places and spaces deserted due to the UK restrictions on going out during the Global Coronavirus Pandemic –

Endcliffe Park outdoor gym being used despite Coronavirus

Mar 262020
 

26 March 2020 – Endncliffe Park Sheffield. Third day of the emergency measures which were announced by Prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday evening (24th march).
A group of young men use the parks outdoor gym equipment despite it being clearly marked off as out of bounds


Murder inquiry after Body Found in Sheffield City Centre

Mar 242020
 

UPDATE 27 March – Man named in Sheffield murder inquiry.

A 26-year-old man who died following a fight in Sheffield city centre named as Xiangyu Li.

Emergency services were called to the junction of Union Street and Charles Street at around 3.30am on Tuesday (24 March) after Mr Li was found unconscious
A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder in Frankfurt, Germany on Wednesday (25 March) under a European arrest warrant.

Police secure the scene in union street Sheffield where the body of a man in his 20s was found in the early hours of Tuesday morning (24th March 2020). Police have identified man and officers are now trying to trace the man’s family. The young mans death is currently being treated as “unexplained” and the area has been cordoned off.

24 March 2020

Coronavirus Covid-19 23/03/2020

Mar 242020
 

Coronavirus Covid-19 Monday 23 March the first workday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the closure of all UK Pubs, clubs, cafes, bars, restaurants, museums, gyms etc in the fight against


Signs of Covid-19

Mar 242020
 

“First Signs of Coronavirus Covid-19” – A series of signs directly related to the Coronavirus pandemic

At the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic and essentially in the middle of what is currently the world’s biggest news story and on the first day of increased protective measures which have closed pubs, bars, cafes, theatres, cinemas, gyms and much more,I was trying to think of a different way of recording what’s happening all around us. It struck me that the notices displayed by various businesses are not all the same. Many may carry the similar messages but they are all different. Here is a short collection of them which I have called the first Signs of Coronavirus (COVID-19)


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