I S S U E 2 - P A G E 1 B L I T Z , B L A C K O U T S , E V A C U A T I O N KEEP KIDS L E A R N I N G R E S O U R C E THE BLITZ, BLACKOUTS AND EVACUATION W W I I AIR RAIDS & THE BLITZ British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 after its unprovoked attack on Poland. World War Two was fought both in the air and on the ground. Enemy attacks from the Luftwaffe or German Air Force were called air raids and mainly happened at night. The Blitz started in September 1940 and lasted 8 months until May 1941. It involved frequent and heavy bombing of cities including London, Birmingham, Coventry, Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Sheffield, Liverpool, Plymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth and Manchester. These were all targeted because bombing them would cause the most damage by destroying rows of houses and the production of weapons or ports where ships carrying supplies would come to. Air raid sirens became an almost daily part of life for Londoners during the Blitz. Listen to what the siren sounded like here: The siren sounded a warning that enemy planes were on the way and people stopped what they were doing and made their way to shelter. SHELTER In London many people sheltered in Underground stations so they would be protected from bombs, fire and falling debris. Large towns also set up public air-raid shelters as the bombing continued. I S S U E 2 - P A G E 2 B L I T Z , B L A C K O U T S , E V A C U A T I O N MORRISON ANDERSON SHELTERS SHELTERS Anderson Shelters were small, cheap and designed Morrison Shelters were metal cages to be built in people’s gardens. Around 3.5 million which people lay inside until the end Anderson shelters were built saving many lives and of an air raid. They also doubled as preventing major injuries during air raids. They a kitchen table and were used by were also cold, damp and dark as were half buried people without a garden. They in the ground and covered with a thick layer of soil! came as a Do It Yourself (DIY) kit to be built inside the home. BLACKOUT During the Blitz, the government enforced a Blackout to prevent any light on the ground from escaping and showing enemy aircraft where to drop their bombs. There were no streetlights or illuminated signs. Traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect the beam downwards. People had to cover their windows and doors at night with blackout curtains, paint or cardboard so that no light showed outside their houses. Windows were taped across as shattered glass from bomb blasts was very dangerous. The Blackout began two days before the start of the Second World War on 1 September 1939. Air Raid Wardens (ARP’s) patrolled the streets after dark to check that lights could not be seen from house windows. If ARP’s spotted light they shouted, ‘Put that light out!’ or ‘Cover that window!’ to those inside. White stripes were painted on roads and lamp posts to help prevent accidents. Even with a 20 mile per hour speed limit, car crashes were frequent. Thousands of people died in road accidents and many injured themselves in the darkness by tripping, bumping into things or falling. I S S U E 2 - P A G E 3 B L I T Z , B L A C K O U T S , E V A C U A T I O N EVACUATION British evacuation began before the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939 and was called Operation Piped Piper. When the expected air raids on cities did not happen, many evacuees returned home. In 1940 when the Blitz began there was a second evacuation and some children ended up being sent overseas to North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. From June 1944 Germany attacked by firing V1 and V2 bombs and rockets on Britain and over one million children, young and expectant mothers and some people with disabilities were evacuated from London to places considered safer, usually in the countryside. This included Devon and Cornwall. Arriving in the countryside was a shock for many evacuees who had grown up in a city and had never seen cows or pigs, anywhere so green or breathed truly fresh air. Children who were evacuated had labels attached to them as though they were parcels. They stood at railway stations not knowing where they were going, how long they would be away for or if they would be split from brothers and sisters. They often felt scared about being away from their families and had to adjust to new schools and make new friends. For some children the opportunity to live somewhere different must have felt like a great adventure. Evacuees were taken to village halls where they were met by a billeting officer who helped them find a family who would take them in and look after them. Families who took in evacuees received money from the government to help pay for living expenses. Evacuees brought a suitcase which had clothing, some food and other personal items. They also had their identity card and gas mask with them. AIR RAIDS ON DEVON AND CORNWALL Between 1940 and 1943 t housands of bombs fell on D evon and Cornwall. Most were aimed at the Plymouth dockyards trying to destroy the Royal Navy and airfields like Royal Air Force St Eval. F ind out more about the BODMIN BOMBING bombings in Cornwall: On 7 August 1942 two German aircraft dropped several bombs on Bodmin and cannon fire which hit the gasworks, a food depot and many family homes. Nine people were killed and eighteen injured. Eight people were from the Sargent family, whose home was wrecked. I S S U E 2 - P A G E 4 B L I T Z , B L A C K O U T S , E V A C U A T I O N BOMBS AND ROCKETS From 1944, Germany used two new types of weapons. The V1 - known as a Doodlebug or buzz bomb because of the noise it made. The V1 didn’t have a pilot and was a flying bomb powered by jet engines. V1s were launched from catapult ramps or aircraft. As soon as the droning stopped people had 15 seconds to escape from the blast that followed. Many V1's fell short of London into the sea while others fell in the countryside. See: British Pathe V1 Flying bomb video The V2 (rocket) - arrived without any warning sound and flew very fast and high in the air. This meant that they were too high to be shot down by the anti-aircraft guns of fighter aircraft. They crashed and exploded without warning on target cities, such as London. V2 rockets were 14 metres high and carried a tonne of explosives. It took just five minutes from launch to landing. See: British Pathe Secret V2 footage discovered 1946 BRITISH RESPONSE BARRAGE BALLOONS There were three lines of defence against the Barrage balloons usually flew over important buildings and V1s and V2’s: fighter planes over the English coast to shoot or tip down the incoming areas which needed defending including cities, ports and bombs before they reached their target, anti- industrial areas. aircraft batteries in Kent and barrage balloons. They were filled with hydrogen gas and had thick cables which were designed to rip the wings off anything that flew into them. Barrage balloons were on average 18 metres long by 7 metres in diameter which is approximately the same length as three giraffes or two double decker buses end on end. The silver balloons were held by cables which were fixed to winches on lorries and sent to heights of 1524 metres. German aircraft had to fly high to avoid the balloons which made them less accurate. If the balloon was shot it exploded, taking the aircraft with it. I S S U E 2 - P A G E 5 B L I T Z , B L A C K O U T S , E V A C U A T I O N ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS This quick-firing Swedish Bofors gun was used to fire at enemy aircraft overhead. Anti-aircraft guns were set up around airfields, docks, military bases and in towns and cities. They made a tremendous noise and the shells that they fired burst into fragments in the air, called flak or flack. The guns were nicknamed 'ack-ack'. See: Anti-aircraft gun demonstration in Whitehall ACTIVITIES 1.Write a letter to your parents or family telling them about your evacuation experience and describe your feelings. Things to think about: a. The train journey b. The selection process c. Your new temporary family d. Your new home. Use some emotive language, powerful adjectives and verbs to describe your feelings and thoughts. 2.If you were a child during the war you needed to know which were enemy planes and which were British. Research British and German planes to create a fact file or vlog about some of the best- known planes during World War Two. These might include Spitfire, Lancaster Bomber, Messerschmitt and Junkers. You might like to include: a drawing or photo of each aircraft, their colours, insignia, engines, size, crew members, guns and speed.