The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. The first (April 7 -8), a small attack, was most likely carried out to test the city's defenses. By 4 am the entire city seemed to be in flames. 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. As many as 5,000 people had packed into this network of underground tunnels, which was dangerously overcrowded, dirty, and dark. Simpson shot down one of the Heinkels over Downpatrick. The city has been a leader in women's rights. ", Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. In the east of the city, Westbourne and Newcastle Streets on the Newtownards Road, Thorndyke Street off the Albertbridge Road and Ravenscroft Avenue were destroyed or damaged. In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War, an invitation was received by the Dublin Fire Brigade for any survivors of that time to attend a function at Hillsborough Castle and meet Prince Charles. Several theatres and many cinemas were open, and there were even a few sporting events. In Bristol, the bombed-out ruins of St Peter's Church were left standing with added memorial plaques to the civilians who were killed. Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Hitler abruptly changed his strategy. Despite the military and industrial importance of the city, the Luftwaffe described the defences asweak, scanty, insufficient. Munster, for example, operated by the Belfast Steamship Company, plied between Belfast and Liverpool under the tricolour, until she hit a mine and was sunk outside Liverpool. But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". "A lot of the people I spoke to were relatives who ended up donating images and handwritten letters from before and after the Blitz. The mass relocation, called Operation Pied Piper, was the largest internal migration in British history. The House of Commons, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum were severely damaged, and The Temple was almost completely destroyed. Churches destroyed or wrecked included Macrory Memorial Presbyterian in Duncairn Gardens; Duncairn Methodist, Castleton Presbyterian on York Road; St Silas's on the Oldpark Road; St James's on the Antrim Road; Newington Presbyterian on Limestone Road; Crumlin Road Presbyterian; Holy Trinity on Clifton Street and Clifton Street Presbyterian; York Street Presbyterian and York Street Non-Subscribing Presbyterian; Newtownards Road Methodist and Rosemary Street Presbyterian (the last of which was not rebuilt). The use of the Tube system as a shelter saved thousands of lives, and images of Londoners huddled in Underground stations would become an indelible image of British life during World War II. There was unease with the complacent attitude of the government, which led to resignations: Craigavon died on 24 November 1940. 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. The Luftwaffe crews returned to their base in Northern France and reported that Belfast's defences were, "inferior in quality, scanty and insufficient". Unlike N Ireland, the Irish Free State was no longer part of the UK. Published: September 7, 2020 at 12:00 pm. Video, 00:01:37Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. "[22], In his opinion, the greatest want was the lack of hospital facilities. Both planes quickly proved their mettle against German bombers, and Germanys best fighter, the Bf 109, was of limited use as an escort due to its relatively short operating range. 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. Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. In the course of four Luftwaffe attacks on the nights of 7-8 April, 15-16 April, 4-5 May and 5-6 May 1941, lasting ten hours in total, 1,100 people died, over 56,000 houses in the city were damaged (53 per cent of its entire housing stock), roughly 100,000 made temporarily homeless and 20 million damage was caused to property at wartime values. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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]. 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." Added to this was the repair and refitting of 22,000 more vessels. Fighter Commands efforts were greatly aided by the lack of any consistent plan of action on the part of the Germans. [12], There was little preparation for the conflict with Germany. From their photographs, they identified suitable targets: There had been a number of small bombings, probably by planes that missed their targets over the River Clyde in Glasgow or the cities of the northwest of England. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 7,000 feet (2,100m), dropped incendiaries, high explosive and parachute-mines. The raid so infuriated Hitler that he ordered the Luftwaffe to shift its attacks from RAF sites to London and other cities. There was no opposition. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? [27] One widespread criticism was that the Germans located Belfast by heading for Dublin and following the railway lines north. Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; and Major Sen O'Sullivan, who produced a detailed report for the Dublin government. 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. But the authorities were afraid that bombs might not be the. The British thus fought with the advantage of superior equipment and undivided aim against an enemy with inconsistent objectives. By the end of the attacks, between 900 and 1,000 people were dead and thousands more were injured, homeless and displaced. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn.. 9. 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. Video, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. Poor visibility on the night meant that the accuracy of the bombers was hampered and the explosives were dropped on densely populated areas of Belfast. They are sleeping in the same sheugh (ditch), below the same tree or in the same barn. Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. Has it taken bursting bombs to remind the people of this little country that they have common tradition, a common genius and a common home? Roads out of town are still one stream of cars, with mattresses and bedding tied on top. His death (along with preceding ill-health) came at a bad time and arguably inadvertently caused a leadership vacuum. For more than six months, German planes had flown reconnaissance flights over Belfast. By 6am, within two hours of the request for assistance, 71 firemen with 13 fire tenders from Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin, and Dn Laoghaire were on their way to cross the Irish border to assist their Belfast colleagues. As well as photographs, the Luftwaffe gathered information on landmarks, potential targets and defences or lack thereof. After the war, when the first girl from the home got married Billy gave her away, having lost his only daughter. Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. The government was blamed by some for inadequate precautions. Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow.. Fewer than 4,000 women and children were evacuated. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow Before the war broke out, civilians had been issued with gas masks and Anderson shelters, which people were encouraged to build at the. The Titanic was built in Belfast. 2023 BBC. The fall of France in June, 1940, enabled the Luftwaffe to establish airfields across the north of the country, leaving Ulster within reach of bombers. Another attacked Bangor, killing five. Blitz Fibre UK Blitz Fibre UK Published Mar 1, 2023 + Follow Fact 1- Small but Mighty . 55,000 houses were damaged leaving 100,000 temporarily homeless. 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. Tommy Henderson, an Independent Unionist MP in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, summed up the feeling when he invited the Minister of Home Affairs to Hannahstown and the Falls Road, saying "The Catholics and the Protestants are going up there mixed and they are talking to one another. While some of the poorer and more crowded suburban areas suffered severely, the mansions of Mayfair, the luxury flats of Kensington, and Buckingham Palace itselfwhich was bombed four separate timesfared little better. 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. Two of the crews received refreshments in Banbridge; others were entertained in the Ancient Order of Hibernians hall in Newry. Nevertheless, through sheer weight of numbers, the Germans were on the brink of victory in late August 1940. Few children had been successfully evacuated. 29 - Belfast was once bigger than Dublin The raids on London primarily targeted the Docklands area of the East End. Apart from one or two false alarms in the early days of the war, no sirens wailed in London until June 25. Elsewhere in the skies over Britain, Nazi official Rudolph Hess chose that same evening to parachute into Scotland on a quixotic and wholly unauthorized peace mission. Government ministers in Northern Ireland began to realise the Luftwaffe may launch an attack, but it was too little, too late. 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. The success of Mickeys Shelter was another factor that urged the government to improve existing deep shelters and to create new ones. Video, 00:00:26The German bombing of Coventry, Living through the London 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. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. The raids hurt Britains war production, but they also killed many civilians and left many others homeless. The creeping TikTok bans. While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. [6] It was MacDermott who sent a telegram to de Valera seeking assistance. Video, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Mother who killed her five children euthanised. 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. Nevertheless, for all the hardship it caused, the campaign proved to be a strategic mistake by the Germans. 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. Once more, London was targeted and children were victims. By 1941, production of the Short Stirling Bomber and the Short Sunderland Flying Boat was underway. Authorities had noted Queens Island in the cityas a vulnerable point as early as 1929. There were Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s and Dornier Do 17s. At the core of this book is a compelling account of the Luftwaffe's blitz on Belfast in April-May 1941. [17] A stray bomber attacked Derry, killing 15. Liverpool, for example, protected by 100 guns. In the New Lodge area people had taken refuge in a mill. As well as these two major targets, other firms in Belfast produced valuable materials for the war effort including munitions, linen, ropes, food supplies and, of course, cigarettes. 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. "We can still see the physical scars of the Blitz in Belfast, that is what is left. In his interview, Becker stated that only military objectives were aimed for. Belfast confetti," said one archive news report.
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