ACM Retro

ACM Retro Sheffield based publisher/events organisers and more. www.acmretro.com We are on the look out for new ideas, products and publications.

ACM Retro first hit the headlines in 2008 with the release of 'The Reel Monty'
DVD, the legendary1971 Sheffield film, originally titled City On The Move. Our first book, 'Take It To The Limit', about iconic Northern venue, The Limit,
became an instant best seller whilst 'Sheffield's Date With Hi**er' was turned into
a major BBC1 documentary.

'Blitz Kids' Project Launched to Honour Sheffield Blitz MemoriesThe Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust turned back the clock...
28/10/2024

'Blitz Kids' Project Launched to Honour Sheffield Blitz Memories

The Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust turned back the clock to World War Two with a 1940s-themed afternoon tea to launch the new 'Blitz Kids' Project.
Held at The Silver Plate, Sheffield College, the event drew over 40 attendees, including civic dignitaries, councillors, 'blitz kids,' academics, and local businesses.
Supported by a £91,280 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project is focused on preserving the memories of the last generation that remember the blitz air raids that devastated Sheffield in December 1940 and made over a tenth of the city homeless.
Sheffield College catering students prepared a 1940s-inspired tea.
Neil Anderson of the Sheffield Blitz Memorial Trust said: “This project is about recording the memories of the last generation that remember the attacks first hand – people that were children at the time of the attacks. Their memories are unique and give a deeply personal perspective on this defining event in Sheffield’s history.”
As part of this ambitious ‘Blitz Kids’ project, the trust will expand the Sheffield Blitz exhibition at the National Emergency Services Museum and produce a new book featuring personal stories from ‘blitz kids’ themselves. Beyond archival efforts, the project aims to engage the local community through educational activities.
Volunteers will have the opportunity to develop valuable skills in interview recording, web design, and historical research, contributing to a project that ensures the endurance of Sheffield’s wartime stories.
The trust is calling on the community to get involved, whether by volunteering or supporting the project’s upcoming events. By sharing stories of resilience and endurance, the ‘Blitz Kids’ Project will make Sheffield’s history accessible and alive for future generations.
More information from www.sheffieldblitz.co.uk















15 Years in the Making: Sheffield Blitz Collection Unveiled 📚✨After 15 years uncovering the hidden truths of the Sheffie...
26/10/2024

15 Years in the Making: Sheffield Blitz Collection Unveiled 📚✨

After 15 years uncovering the hidden truths of the Sheffield Blitz, I’m proud to announce the release of ‘Sheffield Blitz – The Definitive Collection’ — a project that’s probably as close to my life’s work as it gets.

This isn’t just a book collection; it’s a deeply researched journey that lays bare Sheffield’s wartime secrets, overturning 80 years of myths surrounding those fateful nights in December 1940, when our city was left devastated and nearly a tenth of it homeless.

The collection includes something truly unique —copies of three original German bombing maps of Sheffield, marking the targets the N***s aimed to hit during WW2. These documents are a rare glimpse into the chilling strategy behind the attacks.

Creating this collection was my way of honouring our city’s incredible resilience and offering readers a deep, meticulously researched account of what really happened. This is for those who seek a comprehensive understanding of the Blitz, built on years of studying and collecting primary sources.

If you’d like to find out more, you can check it out here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/the-story-of-the-sheffield-blitz-the-definitive-collection

Stories of Survival: Sheffield's Darkest Nights Remembered 💔🔥As the author of 'Countdown to the Sheffield Blitz', I've h...
22/10/2024

Stories of Survival: Sheffield's Darkest Nights Remembered 💔🔥

As the author of 'Countdown to the Sheffield Blitz', I've had the privilege of hearing some truly heart-wrenching stories from those who lived through the darkest nights of our city's history. Below are a couple of accounts that capture the courage, fear, and resilience of Sheffielders during the bombings. You can check out the newly republished book here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/countdown-to-the-sheffield-blitz

✝️💔 One young girl remembers hiding with her grandmother and uncle in their Anderson shelter. With each bomb, the shelter shook, and her grandmother prayed the rosary aloud. Neighbours banged on the door, bleeding and desperate for help. The air was thick with the smell of burning, and cries for help filled the night. The next morning, their home was barely standing, and the family had to walk through streets littered with bodies. "All I wanted was for this war to be over," she said
🚑🔥Emma Pyecroft was only 18 when she became an ARP ambulance driver, transporting the injured during the Sheffield Blitz. The roads were dark due to blackout regulations, and the air was filled with smoke and fire. Emma vividly recalled pulling bodies from air raid shelters and taking eight dead to a makeshift morgue in a barn. "When you're young, you cope with anything," she said, showing remarkable resilience.
You can check out the book here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/countdown-to-the-sheffield-blitz

💔 Devonshire Green’s Heartbreaking Tale – A Family Evacuated into Danger ⚠️One of the biggest combined losses of life in...
21/10/2024

💔 Devonshire Green’s Heartbreaking Tale – A Family Evacuated into Danger ⚠️

One of the biggest combined losses of life in the Sheffield Blitz occurred in the Devonshire Green area. Before the attacks, it was a thriving community of back-to-back housing.
Many WWII stories focus on people being evacuated out of Sheffield, but some were tragically evacuated into danger. One family paid the ultimate price.

“My grandparents never spoke of the time when their daughters died in the war. I cannot remember how old I was when I first heard about the death of my father’s younger sisters and saw a photograph of two little girls who would have been my aunts if they had lived. Over the years, I have learned more about the events in Sheffield on the night of December 12th, 1940, and have passed the story on to my children."

It's a heartbreaking story – like many in my newly republished 'Countdown to the Sheffield Blitz': https://dirtystopouts.com/products/countdown-to-the-sheffield-blitz

So many people don't realise the history of Devonshire Green and the tragedy that occurred there.

🎄 Christmas Eve 1944: The V1 Rocket That Hit SheffieldSo much has been written about the two-night Sheffield Blitz of De...
20/10/2024

🎄 Christmas Eve 1944: The V1 Rocket That Hit Sheffield
So much has been written about the two-night Sheffield Blitz of December 1940 – but far less about Hi**er’s relentless assault on Sheffield throughout the rest of the war.
It was while researching my ‘Countdown to the Sheffield Blitz’ book, now back in print, that I truly grasped the severity of what the population endured across the years of World War Two.
The final bomb – a V1 rocket – hit the Beighton area on Christmas Eve 1944, a full four years after the Blitz.
My book details every raid across the war. Sheffield had 136 air raid alerts, with around a dozen of those occurring in daylight hours.
You can check out the book here:https://dirtystopouts.com/products/countdown-to-the-sheffield-blitz

Rave Reviews and Retro Delights: The Era That Keeps On Giving!🌟📚Even though I've been penning books for 15 years I still...
17/10/2024

Rave Reviews and Retro Delights: The Era That Keeps On Giving!🌟📚

Even though I've been penning books for 15 years I still get a fantastic buzz when I see a positive review - and I totally loved this one I received today for my newly re-published
'Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1980s Sheffield':
"I received this yesterday and to be honest, I can't put it down. It's full of beautiful memories and is beautifully written. So many places I remembered that I'd completely forgotten about. My only complaint is, that even though it covers absolutely everything, it leaves you wanting more and not in a bad way either."
So on that note here's a few pics to jog your memory from the era. You can check it out here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/dirty-stop-outs-guide-to-1980s-sheffield

🚪 Unlock Sheffield's '80s Past With Our Stunning Photos! 🗝️Though I wax lyrical about the months of research that go int...
12/10/2024

🚪 Unlock Sheffield's '80s Past With Our Stunning Photos! 🗝️
Though I wax lyrical about the months of research that go into one of my books, I know it's pictures that really make the deep emotional connections.
The right photo has the ability to transport you straight back to a time or event you'd virtually forgotten about.
It brings a smile to your face as you start to read the emotions on the faces in the photo and hone in on the shops and buildings you'd forgotten existed.
Within seconds, you switch from a forgotten memory to reliving an amazing time in your life as you remember the people you were with, the clothes you were wearing, and the experiences you had.
My newly re-published 'Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1980s Sheffield' is full of the most amazing photos.
These are some more of my personal favourites from the era. You can check out the book here:
https://dirtystopouts.com/products/dirty-stop-outs-guide-to-1980s-sheffield

🕺 City's Retro Glory Days Celebrated in My Latest Book! 🎶Sheffield deserves to be happy today. It got pride of place in ...
11/10/2024

🕺 City's Retro Glory Days Celebrated in My Latest Book! 🎶

Sheffield deserves to be happy today. It got pride of place in one of my most popular books of the year - the ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Britain – In Pictures’. Venues like the Fiesta, the Limit, Hofbrauhaus, Penny Farthing and Sheffield City Hall have been lighting up the lives of retro-lovers across the country! Though it competed with the likes of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and many other places it was obviously Sheffield that made it so popular.😉 You can check it out here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/dirty-stop-outs-guide-to-1970s-britain-in-pictures-pocket-size-edition

Sheffield Under Fire: A Library Worker’s Story 📜🔥As we edge ever nearer to the Blitz anniversary there was one interview...
01/10/2024

Sheffield Under Fire: A Library Worker’s Story 📜🔥
As we edge ever nearer to the Blitz anniversary there was one interview from my 'Defiant!' book that always stayed with me.
It was Joyce Spurr - she was working in the reference library on Surrey Street when the sirens rang out at 7pm on December 12th, 1940. She remembered:
“We led the public down to the Library Theatre, which was sandbagged as an official shelter. It was absolutely full but people still kept coming in. Me and one of the janitors had to keep going upstairs to make sure that no incendiary bombs had taken hold on the upper floors. There were frightening crashes and bangs, and the building shook. Some of the noise was from anti-aircraft guns. The sky outside was red from fires of the burning buildings.
“When the ‘all clear’ sounded, and we came out,the Air Raid Wardens directed us round a huge crater in which was an unexploded bomb. It was at the corner of Surrey Street and Tudor Street, just alongside the corner of the library, so we had a lucky escape.
“I had to walk home to Woodseats. When I saw The Moor, I was appalled, as it was a
blazing inferno with the black skeletons of trams silhouetted against the flames. The image remained with me for the rest of my life."
People spoke with such eloquence and detail as they recounted those two nights in December 1940. These were stories of ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times.
Captivating pictures and a number of first-hand memories make up Defiant! which is back in print for a limited time. You can check out the book here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/defiant

Rebels: Sheffield’s Rock Sanctuary Of The '80s 🎸In the heart of 1980s’ Steel City, a rock haven emerged on Dixon Lane th...
01/10/2024

Rebels: Sheffield’s Rock Sanctuary Of The '80s 🎸
In the heart of 1980s’ Steel City, a rock haven emerged on Dixon Lane that would go down in history.
Rebels wasn’t just a nightclub; it was the beating heart of a resurgent rock scene, drawing in fans from all over as the city’s music scene soared to new heights, with Def Leppard leading the charge. I practically lived there!
My newly re-published 'Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1980s Sheffield' captures the essence of this venue that took its Penthouse roots and attracted crowds from right around the region: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/dirty-stop-outs-guide-to-1980s-sheffield
Rebels was more than just a night out — it was a refuge from the mainstream, offering a dedicated space for rock fans to lose themselves in the music.
What are your memories of this much missed venue?

Sheffield’s Fighting Spirit Triumphed in its Darkest Hour 💥💪This weekend marks the return of my ‘Defiant!’ book. Now rep...
29/09/2024

Sheffield’s Fighting Spirit Triumphed in its Darkest Hour 💥💪
This weekend marks the return of my ‘Defiant!’ book. Now republished, the book provides a fresh twist on the Sheffield Blitz story.
‘Defiant’ was the word that appeared in The Star in the hours following the attacks – it perfectly summed up the mood of the Sheffield population.
Their renewed determination to defeat the N**i war machine was held up as an example to the entire nation by Winston Churchill.
The book takes the reader from the build-up to war, right through to the city beginning to rebuild – both structurally and emotionally. It features stunning pictures and evocative first-hand memories.
The journey continues up to the 1951 Pageant of Production – the massive Sheffield City Hall event aimed at celebrating the city’s achievements and pointing to a brighter future. Even Princess Margaret attended, along with scores of other VIPs.
You can check out the book here: https://dirtystopouts.com/products/defiant

Address

Sheffield
S80SB

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when ACM Retro posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to ACM Retro:

Shortcuts

Share

Category