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It is believed that the wartime government covered up the death toll because of concern over the effect it would have had on public morale. Authorities quickly implemented plans to protect Londoners from bombs and to house those left homeless by the attacks. But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". Given Belfast's geographic position, it was considered to be at the fringe of the operational range of German bombers and hence there was no provision for night-fighter aerial cover. Indeed, on the night of the first raid, no Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft took to the air to intercept German planes. An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. Londoners enjoyed three weeks of uneasy peace until May 1011, the night of a full moon, when the Luftwaffe launched the most intense raid of the Blitz. Victory for the Royal Air Forces (RAFs) Fighter Command blocked this possibility and, in fact, created the conditions for Britains survival and the eventual destruction of the Third Reich. During what was known as the "Belfast Blitz," 1,000 people were killed by bombs dropped by the Nazis in 1941 during the Second World War. Many in Northern Ireland thought that Belfast was outside the range of the Luftwaffe. After the passing of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, it became the seat of the government of Northern Ireland. High explosive bombs predominated in this raid. The raids on London primarily targeted the Docklands area of the East End. No significant cut was made in necessary social services, and public and private premises, except when irreparably damaged, were repaired as speedily as possible. On July 16, 1940, Hitler issued a directive ordering the preparation and, if necessary, execution of Operation Sea Lion, the amphibious invasion of Great Britain. Islington parish church, the rebuilt Our Lady of Victories (Kensington), the French church by Leicester square, St. Annes, Soho (famous for its music), All Souls, Langham place, and Christ Church in Westminster Bridge road (whose towerfortunately savedcommemorates President Lincolns abolition of slavery), were among a large number of others. The couple, who ran a children's home, stayed with Anna's parents, William and Harriette Denby, and her sisters, Dot and Isa, at Evelyn Gardens, off the Cavehill Road, in the north of the city. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The past doesnt change, its just over.. However, the Docklands was also a densely populated and impoverished area where thousands of working-class Londoners lived in run-down housing. In Bristol, the bombed-out ruins of St Peter's Church were left standing with added memorial plaques to the civilians who were killed. These figures are based on newspaper reports of the time, personal recollections and other primary sources, such as:- There is no slacking in our loyalty. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. headquarters, Toynbee hall and St. Dunstans; the American, Spanish, Japanese and Peruvian embassies and the buildings of the Times newspaper, the Associated Press of America, and the National City bank of New York; the centre court at Wimbledon, Wembley stadium, the Ring (Blackfriars); Drury Lane, the Queens and the Saville theatres; Rotten row, Lambeth walk, the Burlington arcade and Madame Tussauds. 10,000 "officially" crossed the border. This option had been forbidden by city officials, who feared that once people began sleeping in Underground stations, they would be reluctant to return to the surface and resume daily life. Apart from one or two false alarms in the early days of the war, no sirens wailed in London until June 25. The Luftwaffe crews returned to their base in Northern France and reported that Belfast's defences were, "inferior in quality, scanty and insufficient". Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. Tragically 35 were crushed to death when the mill wall collapsed. Over the course of three days, some 1.5 million civiliansthe overwhelming majority of them childrenwere transported from urban centres to rural areas that were believed to be safe. So had Clydeside until recently. A short respite followed, until a widespread series of night raids on April 7 included some targets in the London area. Morale did suffer amid the death and devastation, but there were few calls for surrender. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. The most heavily bombed area was that which lay between York Street and the Antrim Road, north of the city centre. The refugees looked dazed and horror stricken and many had neglected to bring more than a few belongings Any and every means of exit from the city was availed of and the final destination appeared to be a matter of indifference. Men from the South worked with men from the North in the universal cause of the relief of suffering. Strand Public Elementary school, York Road railway station, the adjacent Midland Hotel on York Road, and Salisbury Avenue tram depot were all hit. What happened in 1941 changed the city forever. Belfast Blitz: Marking the lost lives 80 years on A force of 180 bombers dropped 750 bombs - including 203 tonnes of high explosives - and 29,000 incendiaries over a five-hour period. Outside of London, with some 900 dead, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the Blitz. His reply was: "We here today are in a state of war and we are prepared with the rest of the United Kingdom and Empire to face all the responsibilities that imposes on the Ulster people. A Luftwaffe pilot gave this description "We were in exceptional good humour knowing that we were going for a new target, one of England's last hiding places. During the whole period, although the citys operation was disrupted in ways that were sometimes serious, no essential service was more than temporarily impaired. Richard Dawson Bates was the Home Affairs Minister. Subs offer. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. Video, 00:03:09, Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. Anna and Billy returned to England and continued running the children's home. The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. The famous places damaged include the palace of Westminster and Westminster hall, the County hall, the Public Record office, the Law Courts, the Temple and the Inner Temple library; Somerset house, Burlington house, the tower of London, Greenwich observatory, Hogarths house; the Carlton, Reform, American, Savage, Arts and Orleans clubs; the Royal College of Surgeons, University college and its library, Stationers hall, the Y.M.C.A. The higher the German planes had to fly to avoid the balloons, the less accurate they were when dropping their bombs. The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. Between April 7 and May 6 of that year, Luftwaffe bombers unleashed death and destruction on the cities of Belfast, Bangor, Derry/Londonderry and Newtownards. Very early in the German bombing campaign, it became clear that the preparationshowever extensive they seemed to have beenwere inadequate. Since most casualties were caused by falling masonry rather than by blast, they provided effective shelter for those who had them. The A.R.P. With tangled hair, staring eyes, clutching hands, contorted limbs, their grey-green faces covered with dust, they lay, bundled into the coffins, half-shrouded in rugs or blankets, or an occasional sheet, still wearing their dirty, torn twisted garments. It would appear that Adolf Hitler, in view of de Valera's negative reaction, was concerned that de Valera and Irish American politicians might encourage the United States to enter the war. At the time of the first attack in April 1941, there were no operational searchlights, too few anti-aircraft batteries and scarcely enough public air raid shelters for a quarter of the population. The Luftwaffe never attacked the city after May 1941, but it would be many years before life returned to normal for many in the city. After a brief lull, the Luftwaffe returned in force on February 17. Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East EndMickeys Shelter. When the bombing began, 76-year-old William and 72-year-old Harriette took refuge under the stairs along with Dorothy, Dot and Isa. The mass relocation, called Operation Pied Piper, was the largest internal migration in British history. Another claim was that the Catholic population in general and the IRA in particular guided the bombers. Lecturer of History, Queens University, Belfast, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belfast_Blitz&oldid=1136721396, During the war years, Belfast shipyards built or converted over 3,000 navy vessels, repaired more than 22,000 others and launched over half a million tons of merchant shipping over 140. Initially it was thought that the Germans had mistaken this reservoir for the harbour and shipyards, where many ships, including HMS Ark Royal were being repaired. The database Mr Freeburn has compiled is, he believes, the most accurate list of those killed and includes 222 children aged 16 or under. This raid overall caused relatively little damage, but a lot was revealed about Belfast's inadequate defences. The first attack was against the city's waterworks, which had been attacked in the previous raid. Another attacked Bangor, killing five. By mid-September 1940 the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. Here are 10 facts about both the German Blitzkrieg and the Allied bombing of Germany. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. He described some distressing consequences, such as how "in one case the leg and arm of a child had to be amputated before it could be extricated. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Some 27 percent of Londoners utilized private shelters, such as Anderson shelters, while the remaining 64 percent spent their evenings on duty with some branch of the civil defense or remained in their own homes. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. [26], Initial German radio broadcasts celebrated the raid. On the 17th I heard that hundreds who either could not get away or could not leave for other reasons simply went out into the fields and remained in the open all night with whatever they could take in the way of covering. Despite the attacks, Belfast continued to contribute to the war effort, and within less than a year the city witnessed the arrival of thousands of American troops. Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. In another building, the York Street Mill, one of its massive sidewalls collapsed on to Sussex and Vere Streets, killing all those who remained in their homes. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. The Blitz began at about 4:00 in the afternoon on September 7, 1940, when German planes appeared over London. 55,000 British civilian casualties were sustained through German bombing before the end of 1940 This included 23,000 deaths. Updates? It is situated at on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. Another defensive measure employed by the British was barrage balloonslarge oval-shaped unmanned balloons with stabilizing tail finsinstalled in and around major target areas. In total over 1,300 houses were demolished, some 5,000 badly damaged, nearly 30,000 slightly damaged while 20,000 required "first aid repairs".[3]. Only four were known still to be alive. By the. The devastation was so great that the Germans coined a new verb, to coventrate, to describe it. J.P. Walshe, assistant secretary, recorded that Hempel was "clearly distressed by the news of the severe raid on Belfast and especially of the number of civilian casualties." On 4-5 May, another raid, made up of 204 bombers, killed another 203 people and the following night 22 more died. An air raid shelter on Hallidays Road received a direct hit, killing all those in it. John Wood Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in Belfast in 1887. Belfast was not properly prepared for the attacks, with too few shelters and not enough anti-aircraft guns. In addition, there simply was not enough space for everyone who needed shelter in one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. A victory for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain would indeed have exposed Great Britain to invasion and occupation. They remained for three days, until they were sent back by the Northern Ireland government. parliament: "if the government realized 'that these fast bombers can come to Northern Ireland in two and three quarter hours'". ", US journalist Ben Robertson reported that at night Dublin was the only city without a blackout between New York and Moscow, and between Lisbon and Sweden and that German bombers often flew overhead to check their bearings using its lights, angering the British. Of the churches, besides St. Pauls cathedral, where at one time were five unexploded bombs in the immediate vicinity and the roof of which was pierced by another that exploded and shattered the high altar to fragments, those damaged were Westminster abbey, St. Margarets Westminster, Southwark cathedral; fifteen Wren churches (including St. Maps and documents uncovered at Gatow Airfield near Berlin in 1945 showed the level of detail involved. The fourth and final Belfast raid took place on the following night, 56 May.