7 September: The Blitz

80 years ago today, in 1940, The Blitz began as German bombers began an all-night raid on London. It lasted from 7 September 1940 (which came to be known as “Black Saturday”) until 21 May 1941 when Nazi Germany targeted 16 British cities for bombing raids. Birmingham, Liverpool, and Plymouth were hit 8 times, Bristol 6, Glasgow 5, Southampton 4, Portsmouth and Hull 3, and nearly every other major city at least once. The worst hit was London, which suffered 71 attacks, including, at one point, 57 nights in a row. 10 things you might not know about the Blitz.

1. The word blitz comes from the German language, a shortened form of the word “blitzkrieg” which translates as “lightning war”. It was the word for the German style of military action at the time – move in fast with a lot of force so the opponents will surrender.
2. As soon as Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, the British people expected something like this and preparations were made as people built bomb shelters. However, Hitler waited over a year before attacking British cities. Why was that? Two reasons. Firstly, Hitler was busy shoring up his efforts on mainland Europe and wasn’t ready to take on the British. Secondly, he thought an attack on London would bring a counter attack on Berlin. However, lack of success with military targets frustrated Hitler to the extent that he decided to start bombing cities. He hoped that the British people would get tired of the war. Only they didn’t.
3. Coventry was another city which was heavily bombed and virtually destroyed. On 14 November 1940 Coventry not only suffered massive loss of life but its entire infrastructure was destroyed, including its Medieval cathedral. The Germans even invented a new word – Koventrieren, meaning a city razed to the ground and destroyed.
4. One common image of the Blitz is of people camping out in London Underground stations overnight to shelter from the bombs. The government advised against this, in fact. They were concerned about people falling onto the lines, not wanting to leave the stations at all, and the spread of disease. Underground staff were told to lock the gates once the trains stopped running at night to stop people getting in. People did it anyway, and the government’s fears proved unfounded. That didn’t mean it was completely safe. If a station suffered a direct hit, people were killed. In 1943 173 people died in a panic at Bethnal Green station after a woman fell down the stairs. 68 people died in Balham in October 1940 when bombs destroyed water pipes and the tube station was flooded.
5. One statistic I came across was that only one in seven Londoners used air raid shelters at all. Whether that was because they didn’t want to, or didn’t have access to one I don’t know – but it was certainly common for people to end up trapped in the rubble of their homes. Special Constable Brandon Moss, who rescued one person after seven hours of digging, was one of many who received a George Cross, an award introduced during the Blitz, the highest gallantry award for civilians. Dogs played a part, too, sniffing out people who were buried under rubble. One little terrier named Rip saved 100 lives in this way and was awarded the Dickin Medal.
6. It was feared that the Germans might use chemical weapons – namely gas, as part of their offensive and so 40 million people were issued with gas masks. There was also the blackout, to ensure no lights were shining to help the German planes navigate and find their targets at night. Thousands of women and children were evacuated to rural areas to keep them safe.
7. Around 40,000 civilians lost their lives in the Blitz and two million homes were destroyed. 750 people in bomb disposal teams died while trying to defuse unexploded bombs (one in ten didn’t go off when they were dropped). There were animal casualties too, as 750,000 domestic pets were put down amid the fears of bombing. London Zoo, afraid bomb damage might lead to animals escaping, killed all its venomous Snakes and Spiders.
8. Why did it stop? In order to avoid getting shot down the Luftwaffe tended to attack at night, and come May, there were less hours of darkness. Plus Hitler had learned that when the Brits said, “We can take it” they weren’t kidding. So Hitler gave up and turned his attention to invading Russia instead.
9. British people were said to have a “Blitz spirit” characterised by the “Keep calm and carry on” attitude. It was expected that there would be a lot of traumatised people in need of psychiatric help and psychiatric clinics were opened especially for people suffering from Blitz related shock, but closed due to lack of demand. Suicides and drunkenness declined; women hung out their washing amid the rubble, people found new routes to work and kids played on bomb sites. This was interpreted by the government as high morale, although one researcher has said that studies of the letters and diaries written by people at the time told a different story. People carried on with their lives because they basically had no other choice. I wonder, too, if the demand for psychiatric clinics was low because people were even less inclined then to talk about their mental health than we are today.
10. 750,000 tons of rubble from the bomb sites was transported to make runways for RAF bases. After that, some of the sites were turned into vegetable gardens to help ease the food shortages. These areas were called Victory Gardens.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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