History of Hull: The Decoy Docks

During World War 2, the city of Hull, being a major port, was targeted heavily by German bombing raids. This episode, we take a look at the brilliant attempt to distract the German bombers from the city with a giant optical illusion!
If you're anything like me, viewing historical Ordnance Survey maps side by side with modern satellite views will certainly eat up far too much of your time!
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[@cryzcryz2345]

It was a very interesting movie! Thank you very much for that! The history of the city of Hull is very rich and that's why I like your movies. Greetings from a Polish woman who lives in this beautiful city.

[@oldiesoutdoors58]

Brilliant .. yet another fascinating look at the history in and around Hull from the local master ... Hull History Nerd ...

[@williamrobinson7435]

Being somewhat a native, I have heard of this, but I've never heard it so comprehensively described. Nice one, this is great, as ever! Have a lovely Xmas or Jolablodt or whatever you have!

[@iamdarola]

Wow...necessity is the mother of invention. Fabulous coverage. I enjoy your content 👏🏽

[@poshbird600]

Wow. I lived in Hull for many years and I did not know about this. Absolutely no idea. So very interesting.... Thank you. Glen. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

[@jasonleary1073]

another fine gem suffering with crippling depression and living a distance away your videos cheer me up keep um coming but be safe doing them

[@adrianrlloyd]

One of my favourite channels, keep up the good work.

[@slw0599]

I can only imagine most people in hull didn't know this? ....more fascinating stuff from the ever excellent hull history nerd.... great work 👍

[@wetdogFBK]

Thanks for that. We appreciate the time you must put into these videos.

[@asc.445]

I've learnt something today. Both my Dad and Auntie were teens in Hull during the war, neither told me of this. Marvelous!

[@hullhistorynerd]

I suspect a lot of people didn't know unless they were directly involved. Careless talk costs lives, and all that!

[@RHR-221b]

RazzleDazzle on Steroids ... Thank you once again, Jamie. Your upload, although serious and grave re Hull's atrocious and kept-secret bombardment, loss of life and decimation of the City's proud environment, is a very welcome and educative distraction from the (similar?) madness of present days. My SanityBatteries have been re-charged. 🔋 Stay free, J and Family. Rab 🍻 😎 🌠

[@jimpilot330]

Superb - a topic not known by many!

[@philgreen815]

As a kid in the early 60s my large family lived at Paull, and we spent much of our time playing up the river front in the area we called strays, for many hours we wandered up the bank and found these very strange lamp posts ? And each post was over what we thought were paddling pools ? As a kid I was intrigued by these paddling pools ? They were quite intact and untouched at the time being less than 20 years after the WAR. Eventually we found out there true purpose, it was fascinating.

[@vicm7870]

The wartime stuff around East Yorkshire is so fascinating. Like the sound mirror out at Kilnsea and the old batteries too. (think that's WW1). I wish I listened more carefully when my grandad was telling me when I was a kid.

[@hullhistorynerd]

The sound mirror actually makes an appearance in my video about the Spurn Military railway!

[@vicm7870]

@@hullhistorynerd haven't watched that one. Will do. Ta!

[@robbieg416]

Very interesting. Thank you very much for the video!

[@imsiimsi12341]

Brilliant piece of history.

[@thehermit407]

My dad was born in Hull in '37. My grandad moved his family to Wakefield to escape the bombing. If that hadn't happened my dad wouldn't have met my mum and I wouldn't exist. It's a sobering thought knowing that I, and no doubt many others, only exist because of Hitler and WW2.

[@jymmyt604]

Well presented again. I'm sure this information you describe is quite unknown around the city even to those of an older age. Thanks

[@briandobson9272]

every time i watch your videos i learn somthing new ,keep up the good work, looking forward to your next one. thanks brian d.

[@10mins]

A fascinating piece of history. I'd read of the illusions created by Jasper Maskelyne to hide the Suez Canal and Alexandria's docks during WW2, but I didn't realize Hull had adopted a similar strategy. I imagine it was a top-secret project at the time, so the handful of farms close to the decoy site must have been mightily puzzled as to why their empty fields were being bombed every night.

[@hullhistorynerd]

The project was across the whole UK, with lighting decoys for cities and towns, fake airfields and industries plants, fake railway sidings... but I suspect that the Germans probably cottoned on to it in short order. But they still saved lives in the meantime, and that was the purpose in the first place!

[@dreambakes6007]

Where I live has a few places named Decoy Bank, Street etc- I assume that as a town that produced trains/rails that we also had some decoys but I can't find any information on it!

[@AndrewShenton]

What an excellent documentary of a fascinating subject, one that I’d known nothing about- the saying goes you learn something new everyday, and today it was the Hull Decoy Docks.

[@hullhistorynerd]

I didn't know about them until I started reading up on the docks for my other videos a couple of years ago, fascinating stuff!

[@rwalker9644]

Didnt know anything about this at all M Nerd - have a great xmas cheers Rob

[@damedavidfrith55]

Thanks for another cracking vlog 🎉

[@hippygoat75]

Very interesting stuff, thanks for that!! And well presented sir, from a fellow cod head

[@johnaboardviolet237]

Please keep up your good work. Your videos are informative and well researched. The street that I grew up in Woodhouse St on Hedon Rd as a lad in the 50s and 60s was most of the street bomb buildings from the war.

[@HoY71]

Fascinating story! I love to learn something new every day. Great work! Please keep it up!

[@hullhistorynerd]

Don't worry, I will! New episode coming tomorrow evening on the history of the Class 37 diesel locomotive, one of the most commonly seen engines of the 60s and 70s!

[@kevincollis2632]

Excellent HHN . Knew nothing about decoy docks . Great subject 👍

[@alanrobertson9790]

Never heard of this and fascinating.

[@Wedgedoow]

Wow so interesting loaded once at KG V Dock in 1979, never knew anything about the decoys, how ingenious . Thanks for another pearl.

[@davefrench3608]

They did the same trick for Portsmouth, with the same amazing effect

[@ChrissieCaulfield]

Fascinating, I knew nothing about this!

[@WILD35]

Is about bloody time that someone did this loved the video mate

[@terrycrook2349]

Never kinew this thank you for the well presented video most interesting

[@mtem2253]

Brilliant, a subject not often covered in the history of the war.

[@NickB_Yorkshire]

Absolutely fascinatiing. As a local, I'd heard a little about the Decoy Docks, but this was a comprehensive and compelling feature. Thanks as always 👍🏼🙏🏼😁

[@TheKhirocks]

Fantastic! I had no idea such a thing was undertaken. Great video. Your channel has the quality, interest and uniqueness of Mark Felton's channel 👍🏻

[@waldorfstatler9474]

I was watching a programme on the starfish sites, a brilliant idea and it worked. I didn't know they adopted the idea for Hull docks. Again your video expands my knowledge :)

[@hamsterclamper]

Fascinating, great video! I grew up in Hull, but had never heard of the fake docks. And well done for pursuing the photo-thumbnail👍 Best wishes from a slightly less chilly Algarve😊

[@comeonman8191]

Hi. Another informative video, brilliant work. The two specific Hull blitz incidents that I have researched are the Ellis Terrace parachute mine incident and the bombing of the Prudential building. It would be interesting to see you cover these.

[@logotrikes]

What an astonishing episode HN! Who knew about this? Not I. Mind you it's typical of the subterfuge employed by both sides during the war. Clever misdirections and befuddlery by all. Amazing stuff....

[@mikego18753]

Thumbs up.It would be interesting to find some craters! Thanks.

[@jamiewhite6853]

nice one. i didn't know any of that. thanks hull's history nerd. keep em coming. i was gonna ask about the 1/3 scale problem but, as you say, from alt it is hard to tell. BTW higgins brown...good tones. i like. cheers all

[@misskittysmith]

That plane! I nearly choked laughing. Thanks for that. 😂 Massively interesting video though thanks!

[@steveclem]

Another great video.

[@myname7284]

Good vid there is still some fake dock ponds next to bp near hedon haven always wondered what they was

[@PibrochPonder]

That’s super interesting

[@robbrown4281]

Great film. I wonder how many UXB’s are still lurking in the marshes … ?!?!

[@SeeScotland]

I enjoyed that very much, thanks 👍🖖

[@royfearn4345]

Psychology is a wonderful weapon!

[@yorkie2789]

Fantastic stuff, guess this is where the decoy railway yards at Doncaster come from.

[@hullhistorynerd]

Interesting, I didn't know about them but yes, probably the same project!

[@yorkie2789]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 Thanks, that's cleared that up.

[@comedyhunter]

Another interesting video, clearly well researched. Is that area listed and protected for its historical importance ?

[@hullhistorynerd]

Yes, the remains were scheduled in 2001.

[@tedthesailor172]

Very interesting. That would be the district of Sunk Island, which is still an empty wetland today...

[@HullYorkshireMemoriesM.Coldham]

Keep it up Jim, great stuff (y)

[@bhgdetjbngfd]

Another great video HHN

[@nervo6321]

Never knew...everyday is a school day.

[@MrGarydry]

excellent

[@Domina7ion]

Wow, had no idea that this sort of thing went on. Genius how they are invisible during the day. Do we have any estimate of how many tons of bombs were directed at these sites?

[@hullhistorynerd]

Sadly I couldn't find any figures for that, partly I'm sure down to the military nature of the site and the fact that much of that info would have been classified in the day. I did find plenty of stuff saying that the decoys worked and that many lives were saved due to them, so I can only assume that there must have been a few bombs dropped here.

[@WaveForceful]

I think the germans saw huge success in the early months of the eastern front, but once winter hit, the Russians pushed them right back, the moment the germans failed to take Moscow they lost that front.

[@hullhistorynerd]

Yes, I condensed about 4 years of war history into a brief comment because this video really wasn't about the Eastern Front. All I needed to do was really mention it as the reason why the bombing raids slowed down from 1941.

[@hughjarse4627]

So if them docks was never put there, me or you might not ever of been here today! What a weird thought.

[@Gamersisrules]

Interesting

[@andrewmccutcheon4650]

I never knew about this! Where are they? I suppose out towards Thorngumbald and Cherry Cobb Sands.

[@hullhistorynerd]

Very near Cherry Cobb Sands, yes.

[@bongopongo6206]

Are those docks small or far away ? - Father Ted

[@hullhistorynerd]

Ha! Awesome reference!

[@carlharris2808]

Hi Jamie interesting video so do you think there are any unexploded bombs in this area or would they have swept the area after the war? Also I grew up in tickton and just outside the village there was a dummy airfield still with a air raid shelter even now to decoy the luftwaffe from leconfield.

[@hullhistorynerd]

That's an interesting point! I'm sure a lot of flood defence work has been done along that area as well as some land reclamation projects, so I would assume that any such things that were around would have been deactivated and removed. I hope!

[@dreamjewels]

Thanks for the insight into such a little known area. What I am interested in. I would love to know how many bombs were dropped on that area (If it is known of course). Have you researched Paul at all? I remember it as a chid and was told there were many tunnels under the area.

[@hullhistorynerd]

I too would love to know about how effective it was, but sadly, presumably due to the military nature of the site, that info was nowhere to be found in my research.

[@adrianevans1764]

Has any ordinance been found around there ?

[@hullhistorynerd]

Not that I know of, but being a military site, I'm guessing that anything that did fall wasn't made public knowledge.

[@royfearn4345]

Psychology is a wonderful weapon!

[@hullhistorynerd]

Also a scary one in the wrong hands!