Sheffield is hosting the inaugural Invictus UK Trials this month, bringing around 500 competitors (wounded, injured and sick service men and women) and around 1000 friends and families to the city as supporters.
To celebrate the event and honour those who have served in the armed forces, the There But Not There charity have provided 10 Tommy silhouettes for people to discover at points around Sheffield. One such Tommy has been placed in Atkinsons on the Moor. Bosses at the independent store said: “We’re honoured to say that we’ve been asked to participate, and will be hosting a Tommy in store on the first floor of our independent family-owned Sheffield department store.
“Our own history has been hugely influenced by the events of the World Wars. For example when on December 13th, 1940 during the Sheffield Blitz the entire store was flattened after nine hours of German bombing. We’d had a brand new, bomb proof strong room installed under the store to protect the customer ledgers. This was the one and only record of what was owed to us – in those days many items were paid weekly (‘on tick’) someone forgot to secure the strong room door the night before the Blitz and the whole lot was lost. So we had no store and no record of the thousands of customers that owed us money. This could easily have been the end for us. Amazingly – and this proved the loyalty of our customers – 90% of what was owed had been paid voluntarily within a few weeks of the bombing.
“As such, we’re incredibly proud to be part of the fabric of Sheffield’s historic Blitz trail. We’d encourage you to visit store and support this great initiative, and charity!”
