1. Some of the British cities that were bombed during World War 2.
2. How the British people defended their cities.
3. How people tried to protect themselves and each other.
From 7th September 1940 to May 1941, the German Luftwaffe deliberately bombed British cities. This period in the war is referred to as the Blitz (after ‘blitzkrieg’). This deliberate attack on civiliansinstead of military targets was shocking.
Did You Know?Hitler wanted the Blitz to reduce the morale of the British public. Some people blamed Jews for the misery caused by the Blitz.
They were accused of getting access to the best shelters and not helping the war effort
enough. There was also some tension between the rich and poorer members of society. Most of the German bombs fell in industrial areas in the big cities where the working class members of society lived.
Despite this, most people worked together to help each other in difficult times.
London attacksAt first the Luftwaffe focused on bombing London and the city was bombed for 76 nights in a row. People took to sheltering in underground stations and many were evacuated. During the Blitz, 20,000 Londoners were killed.
By November 1940, the attacks began to expand to other cities including Liverpool, Coventry and Birmingham. Coventry was a target because it had many aircraft factories. On the 14th and 15th of November, Coventry suffered its biggest attack. Three quarters of the city’s factories were destroyed, along with the beautiful cathedral.
Military DefenceA number of defences were used to help protect people during the Blitz. Huge searchlights scanned the skies at night to detect enemy aircraft and anti-aircraft guns were used to shoot them down.
Large air balloons called barrage
balloons were also used. These were positioned over the countryside to stop enemy planes from flying low or landing. If a plane got too close, it ran the risk of getting caught up in the long cables that were used to stop the balloons floating away.
The Home Guard and ARPIn May 1940 the government set up the Local Defence Volunteers, which was later known as the Home Guards. These volunteers were meant to protect Britain in case of attack by German parachutists. The Home Guards were made up of men who were too old or too young to enlist in the army. They patrolled at night to watch out for any parachutes landing.
At first they were not trained and did not have any weapons. Instead they used broomsticks or any other homemade weapons. However, by 1942 they had been trained and were properly equipped. Nearly two million volunteers served in the Home Guard.The Air Raid Precaution (ARP) unit was also set up using volunteers to help defend civilians. Their main role was to patrol at night and make sure no lights were showing as these would attract the bombers’ attention.
• Windows were taped to prevent shattered glass from causing further injuries. • Sandbags were piled up outside buildings to offer some protection.• Blackout curtains were used to prevent any light from showing through windows (as this would provide a target for enemy bombers).• Homes could also install their own air raid shelters.
Gas masks and Anderson sheltersAs a precaution at the beginning of the war, gas masks were issued to all civilians to protect them in case of a gas attack. However, gas bombs were never used.The main threat to civilians was from bombs. The government issued Anderson shelters to families in cities that were likely to be bombed. These were made from corrugated steel sheets that had been bolted together. In order to offer more protection, they were half buried in the garden. The shelters were damp and could flood but they did offer some protection.
Morrison SheltersFor those who preferred to sleep in their own homes, a Morrison shelter could be used. This was a steel framed shelter and it was about the height of a table. It looked like a large metal cage and could accommodate two adults, two children and the family dog!It was warmer and more comfortable than an Anderson shelter.
In preparation for air raids, families could protect themselves in different ways:
Underground stationsWhen the Blitz reached its fiercest, the government allowed London’s underground stations to be used as shelters. 79 of these were used and they protected around 177,000 Londoners each night. The deepest stations were the most popular as noise from the
bombs could not be heard, but people often had to queue from 10am to use them! Initially facilities were not very good and people slept on the platforms, stairs and even on the lines after 10pm. However, facilities were improved and 200,000 bunks and proper toilets were put into stations by Christmas 1940. Tube trains with food and drink on board were also made available.
Bombs, destruction and casualtiesDespite all the preparation and shelters, the Blitz still caused a lot of damage and huge loss of life. No home built shelter could protect anybody from a direct hit. During the Blitz approximately two million houses were destroyed and 60,000 civilians were killed. A further 87,000 were seriously injured.
The German bombs were not all designed to explode straight away. Parachute mines exploded above or on the ground, causing a lot more damage than the usual iron cased bombs. These lost some of their effectiveness when they hit the ground as they buried deep into the ground, lessening the effect of the explosion. Other bombs were delayed explosives. These were timed to explode several hours
after they had been dropped. All people within a 600 metre radius had to
St. Paul’s Cathedral surrounded by smoke and bombed-out buildings in December 1940.
People walking to work after an air raid in London.
Bomb damage in Birmingham in 1940.
Rescue An Auxiliary Fire Service was set up to support the main fire services. London taxis were converted to pull fire equipment and hand pushed ‘Soapbox’ fire engines were made. These had a cardboard box that was pushed on pram wheels and carried hand pumps, buckets and sandbags.
Rescuing those trapped in bombed buildings was extremely dangerous. Civil defence rescue workers, fire fighters, ambulance crew and stretcher bearers all worked together to free people. Buildings that had been bombed could easily collapse and everyone had to work in silence to hear if anybody was trapped under the rubble.
At the start of the Blitz, little help was available for those who had lost their homes. Hundreds of people were sent to church halls with no facilities. Eventually the government was able to offer temporary housing. Sometimes people took up residence in the homes of those who had been evacuated.
At the start of the war, the British government put forward plans to evacuate thousands of children from busy cities. School aged children were sent by train or bus to live in the countryside. Mothers with young children and babies were also evacuated together.As evacuation was not compulsory, some parents did not want to send their children away. Others sent their children away at the beginning of the war in the ‘First Wave’ of evacuations. However, during the first seven months of the war (referred to as the ‘phoney war’) no bombing occurred so many parents brought their children home.
The Second WaveIn 1940, when fighting intensified and the Blitz began, families sent their children away again to protect them from the heavy bombing. In June alone, 100,000 children were evacuated from London and south-east England. This was followed by another 210,000 children at the beginning of August.
How was evacuation organised? • Teachers, volunteers and education authorities usually organised the evacuation and many schoolteachers accompanied their class of evacuated children. The Women’s Voluntary Service often looked after children at railway stations and during their journey to keep them safe. • Trains and buses were used to evacuate the children. Trains ran every nine minutes out of London stations to cope with the volume of people. • Billeting officers made sure that all the evacuees found a billet (temporary home) when they arrived. It was a difficult job as some people did not want to have evacuees staying in their homes. The officer also had to make sure each child had a school to attend.
Where did the evacuees go?Evacuees were sent all over the UK. Anyone in the countryside with a spare room had to take at least one. When the children arrived at their destination, they were taken to a church hall (or other public building) and were given something to eat after their journey, as well as rations to last them a couple of days.
Children were lined up so that host families could choose who they wanted to look after. Older girls and boys were preferred as they could help with chores and work on farms and small holdings. Siblings were often split up and any children who were dirty and neglected were often chosen last.
Host FamiliesFamilies who took in evacuees were paid up to ten shillings a week to help pay for their up keep. This was only 50p in today’s money and did not cover the costs of feeding and clothing a child. Many of the host families found it difficult looking after children from the slums in London. These children were often dirty and arrived with skin disease and lice. Many had never used a proper toilet, had a bath, brushed their teeth or even wore underwear.
Postcards homeOnce the evacuated children had settled into their new homes, they were told to send a postcard home with their billet address on. This was important as parents did not know where their children had been sent.
Once parents received their postcard, they could then write letters to the children.
The Third WaveOnce the Blitz ended, many evacuated children returned home to their families, but in 1944 Germany began to bomb London again. At first, the bombing was light and not much damage was caused so families refused to send their children away again. This changed when the Germans began to use the V-1 flying bomb (also called the doodlebug). This could drop anywhere and caused a lot of damage. About 1.5 million people left and many did not return until 1945, when it became clear that the Allies were going to win the war.
Evacuation from EuropeBefore the war began, the Nazi government passed laws that removed Jewish people’s rights, forbidding them to have German citizenship, marry Germans and teach in German schools. Gangs of people attacked Jews, stole from them and even burned their synagogues.
This caused many Jewish people to leave Nazi Germany. The Nazis encouraged Jews to emigrate but took all their money before they left, leaving them with only a suitcase of clothes. Many countries then refused to take in those people as they needed a lot of financial support.
In 1938, the British government started to accept Jewish children up to the age of 17 who could be placed with adoptive families. Over 9,000 Jewish children were evacuated. Many of them never saw their families again as they were killed by the Nazis or perished in Nazi concentration camps.A memorial cemetery at a former
The effect of evacuationWhen children returned home from their evacuation, many had mixed feelings. Most were happy to return home to their families. Some were sad as they had been well looked after by their billeted families and had made friends.
After the war, evacuation had a large impact on society. Many host families were shocked by the condition that evacuee children from the city slums arrived in.
People began to see the need for everyone to have a minimum standard of health and housing. This led to the setting up of the Welfare State years after the war. This still exists today, supporting poorer, disadvantaged people in the UK.
Evacuees’ experiencesEvacuation must have been a very frightening experience for young children who had been uprooted from their families. Many were homesick and anxious about the safety of their families back in the cities.
However, lots of children (especially those from poorer families) flourished in the countryside. Many had a healthier diet, fresh air and they were loved by their host families.
Some children were not so lucky and found themselves in worse conditions than back at home. Host families did not treat them well and forced them to work hard on farms or doing domestic chores. They even spent the money they were given for taking in an evacuee on other things, providing the children with very little.
