The Blitz

The photo of St.Paul's Cathedral emerging from the flames is probably the best-known image of The Second World War. It symbolizes the enduring and unbroken spirit of the courageous British people during the Blitz.

The Blitz, consisting of air-raids over London and other British cities by the German Luftwaffe lasted from September 1940 until May 1941. It killed and injured thousands of British civilians and destroyed thousands of homes.

In August 1940 the Germans intending to bomb military targets instead killed civilians and destroyed homes near the centre of London. Churchill ordered that Berlin be bombed in retaliation, arousing the ire of the Germans, who decided to employ a strategy of bombing British cities. The intention was to demoralize the British people and break their will.

At first the raids on the Greater London region had been small and scattered. Morale was high. "When Wimbledon had its first raid on 16 August, killing fourteen and wounding fifty-nine", spirits were so high that 'sightseers impeded the rescue work. Colin Perry rushed to the spot with his journalist father. "Honestly its unbelievable,' he wrote. "They are just having a look around like a child looks at a new toy. There will never be any breaking the British morale."1

The real dawn of the Blitz was on 7 September. The air filled with dozens of German planes - 375 German bombers and supporting fighters. Their bombs set the London docks ablaze, starting thousands of fires. 430 people were killed and 1600 seriously injured. London was bombed every night during September - an average of 160 bombers attacked nightly.

Gas mains were destroyed, electricity cut off and communications often crippled. However, no essential service was ever more than temporarily impaired.

Children were evacuated; gas masks were provided and Anderson air-raid shelters were built. Blackouts were introduced to make navigation difficult. The fire service was severely tested; having no rest for two months. People were forced to take shelter in the Underground where conditions were dreadful - overcrowding and poor sanitation were some of the problems. Unfortunately, as the Authorities had thought, many stations were not deep enough to provide protection from the bombs and many were killed.

Although there were incidents of panic and fear, the prevailing mood was 'defiance and resolution'.2 Pubs were often packed, and although theatre attendance fell, the cinemas were never closed. People went to work as usual, and, indeed, 'Business as Usual' was a slogan often scrawled on shop and office windows.

The worst hit was the East End which was devastated. However soon the bombing was extended to the West End. On September 13, the palace was bombed. The King and Queen (now the Queen Mother) visited bombed areas in the East End on the same

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