It was eight nights of horror which no-one who lived through it would ever forget - and which changed the face of Liverpool.
The May Blitz of 1941, which started 80 years ago this weekend, is the name given to the week-long campaign by the German Luftwaffe to bring terror and destruction to the port city.
Over the course of that dreadful week, 1,746 people lost their lives, with 1,154 others injured. More than 90,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 75,000 people were left homeless.
Although Liverpool had suffered bombing raids before because of the vital role played by its docks in the war effort, it had so far escaped the sustained poundings which other cities such as Coventry, Southampton and - in particular - London had suffered.
But all that was to change during the first week of May, when wave after wave of bombers struck relentlessly at the city and surrounding areas such as Bootle, Wallasey and Birkenhead.
All these areas were strategically very important locations - providing anchorage for naval ships from many nations and receiving 90% of all war material brought into Britain from overseas.
The worst attack during the week-long campaign was on the night of May 3 and the second worst was the final assault on May 7.
Thousands of people fled the city each night seeking the safety of the countryside.
Others gathered in public shelters and in cellars at home as hundreds of bombs rained down, destroying some of the city’s best-known buildings and bringing destruction to long-standing communities.
The German bombers were ostensibly aiming their firepower at the docks. In reality, however, the hit-and-miss nature of night-time bombing raids meant that civilian targets were also struck - including, shockingly, a maternity ward filled with mums and new babies.
In all, 85 people died including a number of mothers and newborns when the Mill Road Infirmary was struck, in one of the worst losses of life.
A total of 681 enemy aircraft took part in the night-time attacks, dropping more than 800 tons of high explosives and more than 112,000 incendiary bombs.
Among the landmarks to be struck were the Liverpool Overhead Railway and the Lewis's building. The Anglican Cathedral - at that time still only partially built - was struck by a German bomb but, remarkably, it bounced off - causing damage to surrounding properties.
Less fortunate was St Luke's Church, which was hit by an incendiary bomb on May 6, 1941. Its burnt out shell at the top of Bold Street serves as a constant reminder of one of our darkest times.
