10 facts about the belfast blitz 10 facts about the belfast blitz

This hub of industry and trade represented a legitimate military target for the Germans, and some 25,000 bombs were dropped on the Port of London alone. Video, 00:01:38At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. "[22], In his opinion, the greatest want was the lack of hospital facilities. The first attack was against the city's waterworks, which had been attacked in the previous raid. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. 3. On November 14, 1940, a German force of more than 500 bombers destroyed much of the old city centre and killed more than 550 people. Brian Barton of Queen's University, Belfast, has written most on this topic.[19]. Video, 00:01:03One-minute World News, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. Added to this was the repair and refitting of 22,000 more vessels. By Jonathan Bardon. TOP 10: Facts About Belfast You Didn't Know - Ireland Before You Die Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. [citation needed], Casualties were lower than at Easter, partly because the sirens had sounded at 11.45pm while the Luftwaffe attacked more cautiously from a greater height. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. Around 20,000 people were employed on the site with 35,000 further along in the shipyard. The Premier Online Military History Magazine, Re-printed with permission fromWartimeNI.com. London seemed ablaze from the docks to Westminster, much damage was done, and casualties were high. 19.99. Three vessels nearing completion at Harland and Wolff's were hit as was its power station. parliament: "if the government realized 'that these fast bombers can come to Northern Ireland in two and three quarter hours'". On September 10, 1940, the school was flattened by a German bomb, and people huddled in the basement were killed or trapped in the rubble. Even the children of soldiers had not been evacuated, with calamitous results when the married quarters of Victoria Barracks received a direct hit. Nearby were the citys main power station, gasworks, telephone house and the Sirocco Engineering works. This view was probably influenced by the decision of the IRA Army Council to support Germany. Belfast made a considerable contribution towards the Allied war effort, producing many naval ships, aircraft and munitions; therefore, the city was deemed a suitable bombing target by the Luftwaffe. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. Sixty years after the Germans bombed Belfast in World War II BBC News Online looks back and remembers the anniversary of the blitz. In Bristol, the bombed-out ruins of St Peter's Church were left standing with added memorial plaques to the civilians who were killed. After his optician business was destroyed by a bomb, Mickey Davies led an effort to organize the Spitalfield Shelter. It lies where the Lagan River flows into a part of the Irish Sea. Harland and Wolff: The troubled history of Belfast's shipyard wardens, and members of the Home Guard drilling in the parks, life went on much as usual. 6. Belfast, the city with the highest population density in the UK at the time, also had the lowest proportion of public air-raid shelters. and Major Sen O'Sullivan, who produced a detailed report for the Dublin government. "It says a lot about how these people are forgotten that there is no Blitz memorial in Belfast," Mr Freeburn says. In the mistaken belief that they might damage RAF fighters, the anti-aircraft batteries ceased firing. By British mainland blitz standards, casualties were light. An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. The Germans established that Belfast was defended by only seven anti-aircraft batteries, which made it the most poorly defended city in the United Kingdom. The raids hurt Britains war production, but they also killed many civilians and left many others homeless. [18], Over 900 people died, 1,500 people were injured, 400 of them seriously. There was no smokescreen ability, however there were some barrage balloons positioned strategically for protection. 150 corpses remained in the Falls Road baths for three days before they were buried in a mass grave, with 123 still unidentified. 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. But the RAF had not responded. 13 Facts You Didn't Know About Belfast Omissions? What happened in 1941 changed the city forever. [citation needed]. In Newtownards, Bangor, Larne, Carrickfergus, Lisburn and Antrim many thousands of Belfast citizens took refuge either with friends or strangers. On 4-5 May, another raid, made up of 204 bombers, killed another 203 people and the following night 22 more died. 6. On occasion, forces consisting of as many as 300 to 400 aircraft would cross the coast by day and split into small groups, and a few planes would succeed in penetrating Londons outer defenses. In many cases the daily life of the city was able to resume with delays of only hours. The bombs continued to fall until 5am. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. 2023 BBC. Although it arrested German spies that its police and military intelligence services caught, the state never broke off diplomatic relations with Axis nations: the German Legation in Dublin remained open throughout the war. 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. 10 Facts About the Blitz and the Bombing of Germany When the house was hit William, Harriette, Dorothy, 36-year-old Dot and 41-year-old Isa were all killed. C.S Lewis was born in Belfast, and the nearby countryside helped inspire The Chronicles of Narnia. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Video, 00:01:38, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn." Moya Woodside[23] noted in her diary: "Evacuation is taking on panic proportions. The Blitz of Belfast 1941 - History Learning Site Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. The telegram was sent at 4:35am,[citation needed] asking the Irish Taoiseach, amon de Valera for assistance. Video, 00:01:37, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. Contributions poured in from every part of the world in such profusion that on October 28 its scope was extended to cover the whole of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. The raids on London primarily targeted the Docklands area of the East End. But the raid of 15-16 April - the Easter Tuesday Raid - was on another scale. The "pothole blitz" is a common short-term initiative to combat storm weather damage. On 28 April 1943, six members of the Government threatened to resign, forcing him from office. Corrections? It is perhaps true that many saved their lives running but I am afraid a much greater number lost them or became casualties."[20]. The phrase Business as usual, written in chalk on boarded-up shop windows, exemplified the British determination to keep calm and carry on as best they could. MacDermott would be proved right. Hundreds of incendiary and many high-explosive bombs were dropped, doing little material damage but causing many casualties. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow." Over 150 people died in what became known as the 'Fire Blitz'. At the beginning of the Blitz, British ack ack gunners struggled to inflict meaningful damage on German bombers, but later developments in radar guidance greatly improved the effectiveness of both antiaircraft artillery and searchlights. Belfast | History, Population, Map, Landmarks, & Facts Outside of London, with some 900 dead, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the Blitz. Other Belfast factories manufactured gun mountings. The first (April 7 -8), a small attack, was most likely carried out to test the city's defenses. More than 500 German planes dropped more than 700 tons of bombs across the city, killing nearly 1,500 people and destroying 11,000 homes. 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. The Belfast Blitz - Inside the Deadly 1941 Luftwaffe Raids on Northern In late August the Germans dropped some bombs, apparently by accident, on civilian areas in London. Belfast Blitz: The Luftwaffe attacks Northern Ireland - WartimeNI The fourth and final Belfast raid took place on the following night, 56 May. Just eight days earlier, eight planes destroyed the aircraft fuselage factory and damaged the docks, with 15 people ultimately killed as a result of that raid. On August 2, Luftwaffe commander Hermann Gring issued his Eagle Day directive, laying down a plan of attack in which a few massive blows from the air were to destroy British air power and so open the way for the invasion. The most significant loss was a 4.5-acre (1.8ha) factory floor for manufacturing the fuselages of Short Stirling bombers. Many "arrived in Fermanagh having nothing with them only night shirts". The "Hiram Plan" initiated by Dawson Bates, the Home Affairs Minister, had failed to materialise. Nevertheless, for all the hardship it caused, the campaign proved to be a strategic mistake by the Germans. Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Hitler abruptly changed his strategy. In spite of blackouts, ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the visible effects of mass evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. Hitlers intention had been to break the morale of the British people so they would pressure their government to surrender. These shelters were vital as these factories had many employees working late at night and early in the morning when Luftwaffe attacks were likely. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. Author Lawrence H. Dawson detailed the damage to Londons historic buildings for the 1941 Britannica Book of the Year: The following curtailed list identifies some of the better known places in inner London that have been damaged by enemy action. "Through resources such as the Public Records Office and ancestry and genealogy websites I managed to get about 100 photos - which is about one tenth of the victims," he says. The World's Most-Famous Ship, The Titanic, was constructed here. But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". Three nights later (April 1920) London was again subjected to a seven-hour raid, and the loss of life was considerable, especially among firefighters and the A.R.P. Prayers were said and hymns sung by the mainly Protestant women and children during the bombing. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. Belfast Blitz - Wikipedia 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. Find out how it began, what the Germans hoped to achieve and how it severe it was, plus we visit nine places affected by the attacks. Belfast was largely unprepared for an attack of such a scale as 200 German bombers shelled the city on 15 April 1941. Belfast confetti," said one archive news report. He went to the Mater Hospital at 2pm, nine hours after the raid ended, to find the street with a traffic jam of ambulances waiting to admit their casualties. 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. "A lot of the people I spoke to were relatives who ended up donating images and handwritten letters from before and after the Blitz. By mid-September 1940 the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. Brooke noted in his diary "I gave him authority as it is obviously a question of expediency". By then 250 firemen from Clydeside had arrived. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. Taoiseach amon de Valera formally protested to Berlin. Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland . 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. For two hours on the first day, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters blasted London. The ill-fated ship was built in the city in 1912, and to this day, there is a museum dedicated to its building and the lives of all of those on board. 29 - Belfast was once bigger than Dublin Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East EndMickeys Shelter. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. He was asked, in the N.I. On August 25 the British retaliated by launching a bombing raid on Berlin. 255 corpses were laid out in St George's Market. There wasn't enough room for Anna or Billy, so they sheltered elsewhere, a twist of fate that would save their lives. Children and World War Two - History Learning Site A Raid From Above Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. Streets heavily bombed in the city centre included High Street, Ann Street, Callender Street, Chichester Street, Castle Street, Tomb Street, Bridge Street (effectively obliterated), Rosemary Street, Waring Street, North Street, Victoria Street, Donegall Street, York Street, Gloucester Street, and East Bridge Street. Where they are going, what they will find to eat when they get there, nobody knows. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. He successfully busied himself with the task of making Northern Ireland a major supplier of food to Britain in her time of need.[5]. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom . Rescue workers search through the rubble of Eglington Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after a German Luftwaffe air raid, 7 May 1941, Anna (left) and her husband Billy (back right) survived while Harriette, Dorothy and Billy were killed along with Dot and Isa, Dot and Isa, with Dorothy when she was a toddler, Royal Welch Fusiliers assist in clearing bomb damage in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 7 May 1941, Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. The RAFs Spitfire was a superlative fighter, and it was not always easy for the Germans to distinguish it from the slightly less maneuverable but much more numerous Hurricanes. However they were not in a position to communicate with the Germans, and information recovered from Germany after the war showed that the planning of the blitz was based entirely on German aerial reconnaissance. The Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. The 2017 film Zoo depicts an air raid during the Belfast Blitz. Singer-songwriter Van Morrison was born here. Anna and Billy returned to England and continued running the children's home. Jimmy Doherty, an air raid warden (who later served in London during the V1 and V2 blitz), who wrote a book on the Belfast blitz; Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. British Spies and Irish Rebels by Paul McMahon, Report by the Garda Sochna 23 October 1941 IMA G2/1722, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Irish Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures, "Eamon de Valera and Hitler: An Analysis of International Reaction to the Visit to the German Minister, May 1945", "Extracts from an article, "The Belfast Blitz, 1941", "Historical Topics Series 2 The Belfast Blitz", "Your Place and Mine The Belfast Blitz", "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Biographies", "Belfast Blitz: The night death and destruction rained down on city", "Multitext - the Blitz - Belfast during the second World War", http://www.niwarmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/The_Belfast_Blitz.pdf, http://www.proni.gov.uk/historical_topics_series_-_02_-_the_belfast_blitz.pdf, Extracts from an article on The Belfast Blitz, 1941. William Joyce (known as "Lord Haw-Haw") announced in radio broadcasts from Hamburg that there will be "Easter eggs for Belfast". There were still 80,000 more in Belfast. The higher the German planes had to fly to avoid the balloons, the less accurate they were when dropping their bombs. However that attack was not an error. Death should be dignified, peaceful; Hitler had made even death grotesque. ISBN 9781909556324. Another defensive measure employed by the British was barrage balloonslarge oval-shaped unmanned balloons with stabilizing tail finsinstalled in and around major target areas. When incendiaries were dropped, the city burned as water pressure was too low for effective firefighting. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. I was definitely one of the first over the target and as I flew in there was no great defence because there were not a great many aircraft over the target at that point, recalled Becker. [17] A stray bomber attacked Derry, killing 15. Mr Freeburn set out to find out more about those who died, their personal stories and the tales of those left behind. Death had to a certain extent been made decent. Video, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. And then naturally as I was over the target, I did pick up flak but I have no sense of exactly how weak or how strong it was, because every bit of flak you get is dangerous.. 55,000 houses were damaged leaving 100,000 temporarily homeless. The first deliberate raid took place on the night of 7 April. 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. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II began with Germanys invasion of Poland, the British government implemented a massive evacuation plan. Video, 00:02:12, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. Video, 00:03:09Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz, Belfast City Hall in darkness as the Blitz is marked, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. The district of Belfast has an area of 44 square miles (115 square km). [citation needed], On Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, spectators watching a football match at Windsor Park noticed a lone Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 aircraft circling overhead.[15]. Video, 00:00:36, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. 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. There are other diarists and narratives. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. They are sleeping in the same sheugh (ditch), below the same tree or in the same barn. Between Black Saturday and December 2, there was no 24-hour period without at least one alertas the alarms came to be calledand generally far more. In the eight months of attacks, some 43,000 civilians were killed. But Mr Freeburn's research casts doubt on this. Despite the military and industrial importance of the city, the Luftwaffe described the defences asweak, scanty, insufficient. Their Chain Home early warning radar, the most advanced system in the world, gave Fighter Command adequate notice of where and when to direct their forces, and the Luftwaffe never made a concerted effort to neutralize it. When the bombing began, 76-year-old William and 72-year-old Harriette took refuge under the stairs along with Dorothy, Dot and Isa. Under the leadership of amon de Valera it had declared its neutrality during the Second World War. Fortunately, the railway telegraphy link between Belfast and Dublin was still operational. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). KS3 History (Environment and society) The Belfast Blitz learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers. Unlike N Ireland, the Irish Free State was no longer part of the UK. 7. along with England, Scotland, and Wales. In the first days of the Blitz, a tragic incident in the East End stoked public anger over the governments shelter policy. Some are a total loss; others are already under repair with little outward sign of the damage sustained: Besides Buckingham palace, the chapel of which was wrecked, and Guildhall (the six-centuries old centre of London civic ceremonies and of great architectural beauty), which was destroyed by fire, Kensington palace (the London home of the earl of Athlone, governor general of Canada, and the birthplace of Queen Mary and Queen Victoria), the banqueting hall of Eltham palace (dating from King Johns time and long a royal residence), Lambeth palace (the archbishop of Canterbury), and Holland house (famous for its 17th century domestic architecture, its political associations, and its art treasures), suffered, the latter severely. 10 fascinating facts about Belfast that you probably didn't know The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. Train after train and bus after bus were filled with those next in line. From papers recovered after the war, we know of a Luftwaffe reconnaissance flight over Belfast on 30 November 1940. His death (along with preceding ill-health) came at a bad time and arguably inadvertently caused a leadership vacuum. Public buildings destroyed or badly damaged included Belfast City Hall's Banqueting Hall, the Ulster Hospital for Women and Children and Ballymacarrett library, (the last two being located on Templemore Avenue). Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.