Video, 00:00:36, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. Belfast was largely unprepared for an attack of such a scale as 200 German bombers shelled the city on 15 April 1941. Read about our approach to external linking. All were exhausted. Apart from one or two false alarms in the early days of the war, no sirens wailed in London until June 25. The nights of November 3 and 28 were the only occasions during this period in which Londons peace was unbroken by siren or bomb. Davies also set up medical stations and persuaded off-duty medical personnel to treat the sick and wounded. "Liverpool, Clydebank and Portsmouth all have a memorial to their victims of the Blitz. Eduard Hempel, the German Minister to Ireland, visited the Irish Ministry for External Affairs to offer sympathy and attempt an explanation. workers. The most significant loss was a 4.5-acre (1.8ha) factory floor for manufacturing the fuselages of Short Stirling bombers. 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. The mortuary services had emergency plans to deal with only 200 bodies. High explosives were dropped. 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). Just before Easter 1941, Anna and Billy Burdett and their 12-year-old daughter, Dorothy, returned to Belfast from England to visit Anna's family. 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; 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. A modern bomb census has attempted to pinpoint the location of every bomb dropped on London during the Blitz, and the visualization of that data makes clear how thoroughly the Luftwaffe saturated the city. These private air-raid shelters were Anderson shelters, constructed of sheets of corrugated galvanised iron covered in earth. Belfast confetti," said one archive news report. The first deliberate raid took place on the night of 7 April. By mid-September 1940 the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. With the surrender of France in June 1940, Germanys sole remaining enemy lay across the English Channel. 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." The creeping TikTok bans. 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 shipyard was among the largest in the world, producing merchant vessels and military shipping. ISBN 9781909556324. 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. The Germans expanded the Blitz to other cities in November 1940. Belfast, Irish Bal Feirste, city, district, and capital of Northern Ireland, on the River Lagan, at its entrance to Belfast Lough (inlet of the sea). The bombs caused death and destruction across the city, affecting those of all religions and political backgrounds. For 57 nightsuntil November 2more than 1 million bombs were dropped on the capital city. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II began with Germanys invasion of Poland, the British government implemented a massive evacuation plan. The South Hallsville School disaster prompted Londoners, especially residents of the East End, to find safer shelters, on their own if necessary. Some had received food, others were famished. At the core of this book is a compelling account of the Luftwaffe's blitz on Belfast in April-May 1941. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. [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]. 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. We were in exceptional good humour knowing that we were going for a new target, one of Englands last hiding places, said one pilot of the raid. Over 20 hospitals were hit, among them the London (many times), St. Thomass, St. Bartholomews, and the childrens hospital in Great Ormond st., as well as Chelsea hospital, the home for the aged and invalid soldiers, built by Wren. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. They remained for three days, until they were sent back by the Northern Ireland government. Government ministers in Northern Ireland began to realise the Luftwaffe may launch an attack, but it was too little, too late. 24 - The tyres Dunlop were invented in Belfast in 1887 25 - The two H&W cranes are named Samson and Goliath 26 - The Albert Clock is Ireland's leaning tower 27 - The mobile defibrillator was invented in Belfast 28 - Belfast's ice hockey team, the Giants, is one of the best in Europe. The A.R.P. Blitz Fibre UK Blitz Fibre UK Published Mar 1, 2023 + Follow Fact 1- Small but Mighty . the Blitz, (September 7, 1940May 11, 1941), intense bombing campaign undertaken by Nazi Germany against the United Kingdom during World War II. and Major Sen O'Sullivan, who produced a detailed report for the Dublin government. The city covers a total area of 132.5 square kilometers (51 square miles). Under the leadership of Prime Minister John Miller Andrews, Northern Ireland remained unprepared. C.S Lewis was born in Belfast, and the nearby countryside helped inspire The Chronicles of Narnia. By then 250 firemen from Clydeside had arrived. Another attacked Bangor, killing five. However Belfast was not mentioned again by the Nazis. Also, on Queens Island, stood the Short and Harland Ltd. Aircraft Factory. During the whole period, although the citys operation was disrupted in ways that were sometimes serious, no essential service was more than temporarily impaired. 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. Where they are going, what they will find to eat when they get there, nobody knows. At 10:40pm the air raid sirens sounded. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg ("lightning war"). A Raid From Above 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. 3. Despite the military and industrial importance of the city, the Luftwaffe described the defences asweak, scanty, insufficient. After the bombing began on September 7, local authorities urged displaced people to take shelter at South Hallsville School. While the balloons themselves were an obvious deterrent, they were anchored to the ground by steel tethers that were strong enough to damage or destroy any aircraft that flew into them. Death had to a certain extent been made decent. It was the worst wartime raid outside of London in the UK. Read about our approach to external linking. ", Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. Hundreds of incendiary and many high-explosive bombs were dropped, doing little material damage but causing many casualties. Video, 00:02:54, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire. One, Tom Coleman, attended to receive recognition for his colleagues' solidarity at such a critical time. Under the leadership of amon de Valera it had declared its neutrality during the Second World War. Fewer than 4,000 women and children were evacuated. In the subsequent years, this lack of preparation has often dominated the discussion about the Belfast Blitz, but a new project led by Alan Freeburn from the Northern Ireland War Memorial aims to shift the focus back to the ordinary men, women and children who lost their lives. He was asked, in the N.I. The government announced that 77 people had died, but for years local residents insisted the toll was much higher. 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. The Luftwaffe had lost more than 600 aircraft, and, although the RAF had lost fewer than half that many, the battle was claiming British fighters and experienced pilots at too great a rate. Apart from those on London, this was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz. 1. There are other diarists and narratives. 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 attacks were authorized by Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. [12], There was little preparation for the conflict with Germany. 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. Simpson shot down one of the Heinkels over Downpatrick. As many were caught in the open by blast and secondary missiles, the enormous number of casualties can be readily accounted for. Raids between February and May pounded Plymouth, Portsmouth, Bristol, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Hull in England; Swansea in Wales; Belfast in Northern Ireland; and Clydeside in Scotland. 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. 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. 4. Indeed, on the night of the first raid, no Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft took to the air to intercept German planes. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. 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. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. 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. (Some authors count this as the second raid of four). About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000. When the Blitz began, the government enforced a blackout in an attempt to make targeting more difficult for German night bombers. The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. Looking back on the Belfast Blitz, Oberleutnant Becker signed off with the following words: A war is the worst thing that can happen to Mankind. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". Because basements, a logical destination in the event of an air raid, were a relative rarity in Britain, the A.R.P. Interesting facts about Belfast. The area included the Harland and Wolff Ltd. Shipyard, the Short and Harland Ltd. Aircraft Factory, and the airfield at RAF Sydenham. "Through cross-referencing a number of different sources I have been able to get the most accurate number of people who died in the Blitz," he says. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn.. The night raids on London continued into 1941, and January 1011 saw exceptionally heavy attacks; the Mansion House (residence of the lord mayor of London) and the Bank of England narrowly avoided destruction when a bomb fell directly between them, creating a gigantic crater. Liverpool, for example, protected by 100 guns. Although casualties were heavy, at no time did they approach the estimates that had been made before the war, and only a fraction of the available hospital and ambulance capacity was ever utilized. From a purely military perspective, the Blitz was entirely counterproductive to the main purpose of Germanys air offensiveto dominate the skies in advance of an invasion of England. Sixty years after the Germans bombed Belfast in World War II BBC News Online looks back and remembers the anniversary of the blitz. 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. John Clarke MacDermott, the Minister of Public Security, after the first bombing, initiated the "Hiram Plan" to evacuate the city and to return Belfast to 'normality' as quickly as possible. 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. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. Prior to the "Belfast Blitz" there were only 200 public shelters in the city, although around 4,000 households had built their own private shelters. 10,000 "officially" crossed the border. When Germany bombed Belfast as part of the Blitz during World War Two, the massive air raids left more than a thousand people dead. For two hours on the first day, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters blasted London. The sense of relative calm was abruptly shattered in the first week of September 1940, when the war came to London in earnest. [6] It was MacDermott who sent a telegram to de Valera seeking assistance. Read about our approach to external linking. As many as 5,000 people had packed into this network of underground tunnels, which was dangerously overcrowded, dirty, and dark. 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. Compared to other cities, Belfast was virtually undefended. [27] One widespread criticism was that the Germans located Belfast by heading for Dublin and following the railway lines north. The initial human cost of the Blitz was lower than the government had expected, but the level of destruction exceeded the governments dire predictions. Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; In the first days of the Blitz, a tragic incident in the East End stoked public anger over the governments shelter policy. Nearby were the citys main power station, gasworks, telephone house and the Sirocco Engineering works. 9. The attack on Coventry was particularly destructive. Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. Video, 00:01:09The Spitfire turns 80, The German bombing of Coventry. . About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000 people homeless. 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. Tragically 35 were crushed to death when the mill wall collapsed. ", Dawson Bates informed the Cabinet of rack-renting of barns, and over thirty people per house in some areas.[24]. continuous trek to railway stations. Video, 00:00:51Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. He believed that this was being done already but it was inevitable that a certain number of civilian lives should be lost in the course of heavy bombing from the air". But the raid of 15-16 April - the Easter Tuesday Raid - was on another scale. His report concluded with: "a second Belfast would be too horrible to contemplate". 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. London seemed ablaze from the docks to Westminster, much damage was done, and casualties were high. After his optician business was destroyed by a bomb, Mickey Davies led an effort to organize the Spitalfield Shelter. Government apathy, a lack of leadership and a belief the Luftwaffe could not reach Belfast lead to the city lagging behind in terms of basic defences. The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. The seeming normality of life on the Home Front was shattered in 1944 when the first of the V1's landed. [citation needed] However on 20 October 1941 the Garda Sochna captured a comprehensive IRA report on captured member Helena Kelly giving a detailed analysis of damage inflicted on Belfast and highlighting prime targets such as Shortt and Harland aircraft factory and RAF Sydenham, describing them as 'the remaining and most outstanding objects of military significance, as yet unblitzed' and suggesting they should be 'bombed by the Luftwaffe as thoroughly as other areas in recent raids'[28][29], After three days, sometime after 6pm, the fire crews from south of the border began taking up their hoses and ladders to head for home. 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. Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Weighing 46,328 tonnes, Titanic was to be the largest manmade moveable object the world had ever seen. He stated that "he would once more tell his government how he felt about the matter and he would ask them to confine the operations to military objectives as far as it was humanly possible. Air power alone had failed to knock the United Kingdom out of the war. Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. Later, guided by the raging fires caused by the first attack, a second group of planes began another assault that lasted until 4:30 the following morning. An air raid shelter on Hallidays Road received a direct hit, killing all those in it. Hitlers intention had been to break the morale of the British people so they would pressure their government to surrender. Accounts differ as to when flares were dropped to light up the city. The British thus fought with the advantage of superior equipment and undivided aim against an enemy with inconsistent objectives. In the mistaken belief that they might damage RAF fighters, the anti-aircraft batteries ceased firing. Burke Street which ran between Annadale and Dawson streets in the New Lodge area, was completely wiped off the map with all its 20 houses flattened and all of the occupants killed.[16]. 10 Facts about Belfast City. Anna and Billy were buried up their necks in sewage but were rescued and survived. Humanity knows no borders, no politics, no differences of religious belief. The Battle of Britain Updates? 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. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. 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. O'Sullivan felt that the whole civil defence sector was utterly overwhelmed. The 'Blitz' - from the German term Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') - was the sustained campaign of aerial bombing attacks on British towns and cities carried out by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) from September 1940 until May 1941. Still, many in Northern Ireland believed no Luftwaffe attack would come. Video, 00:00:46Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds. Those who sought refuge at the school were told that they would quickly be relocated to a safer area, but the evacuation was delayed. The Titanic was built in Belfast. Prayers were said and hymns sung by the mainly Protestant women and children during the bombing. department distributed more than two million Anderson shelters (named after Sir John Anderson, head of the A.R.P.) He was replaced by 54-year-old Sir Basil Brooke on 1 May. 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. The Belfast blitz is remembered. 2. Wave after wave of bombers dropped their incendiaries, high explosives and land-mines. There was no smokescreen ability, however there were some barrage balloons positioned strategically for protection. 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. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. devised the Morrison shelter (named for Home Secretary Herbert Stanley Morrison) as an alternative to the Anderson shelter. There was no opposition. Mr Freeburn set out to find out more about those who died, their personal stories and the tales of those left behind. to households. A short respite followed, until a widespread series of night raids on April 7 included some targets in the London area. By the time the raid was over, at least 744 people had lost their lives, including some living in places such as Newtownards, Bangor and Londonderry. On the ground, there were only 22 anti-aircraft guns positioned around the city, six light and 16 heavy, and on the first night only seven of these were manned and operational. There were Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s and Dornier Do 17s. But the RAF had not responded. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Historical Topics Series 2, The Belfast Blitz, 2007, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 20:18. 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. 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? The success of Mickeys Shelter was another factor that urged the government to improve existing deep shelters and to create new ones. 29 - Belfast was once bigger than Dublin The first was on the night of 7-8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. These figures are based on newspaper reports of the time, personal recollections and other primary sources, such as:- wardens, and members of the Home Guard drilling in the parks, life went on much as usual. People are leaving from all parts of town and not only from the bombed areas. Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow.. The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. Around 20,000 people were employed on the site with 35,000 further along in the shipyard. There were still 80,000 more in Belfast. By Jonathan Bardon. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. 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. In the eight months of attacks, some 43,000 civilians were killed. It was not the last time Belfast would suffer. Video, 00:00:26The German bombing of Coventry, Living through the London Blitz. 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. 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. St. Giles, Cripplegate, and St. Mary Wolnooth, also in the city, were damaged, while the Dutch church in Austin Friars, dating from the 14th century and covering a larger area than any church in the city of London, St. Pauls alone excepted, was totally destroyed. There was unease with the complacent attitude of the government, which led to resignations: Craigavon died on 24 November 1940.
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