His reply was: "We here today are in a state of war and we are prepared with the rest of the United Kingdom and Empire to face all the responsibilities that imposes on the Ulster people. The Titanic was built in Belfast. In clear weather, targets were easily identifiable. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. Some 900 people died as a result of the bombing and 1,500 were injured. Video, 00:01:37, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. On Nov. 30, 1940, a lone Luftwaffe plane flew across the Ards Peninsula unobserved and reported back to Berlin. [citation needed]. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union. Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. Another defensive measure employed by the British was barrage balloonslarge oval-shaped unmanned balloons with stabilizing tail finsinstalled in and around major target areas. The past doesnt change, its just over.. 150 corpses remained in the Falls Road baths for three days before they were buried in a mass grave, with 123 still unidentified. Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. 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. Harland and Wolff: The troubled history of Belfast's shipyard Read about our approach to external linking. 6. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. No attendant nurse had soothed the last moments of these victims; no gentle reverent hand had closed their eyes or crossed their hands. As more and more people began sleeping on the platforms, however, the government relented and provided bunk beds and bathrooms for the underground communities. Once more, London was targeted and children were victims. Incendiary bombs predominated in this raid. For two hours on the first day, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters blasted London. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. At nightfall the Northern Counties Station was packed from platform gates to entrance gates and still refugees were coming along in a steady stream from the surrounding streets Open military lorries were finally put into service and even expectant mothers and mothers with young children were put into these in the rather heavy drizzle that lasted throughout the evening. This type of shelteressentially a low steel cage large enough to contain two adults and two small childrenwas designed to be set up indoors and could serve as a refuge if the building began to collapse. What happened in 1941 changed the city forever. Another attacked Bangor, killing five. From papers recovered after the war, we know of a Luftwaffe reconnaissance flight over Belfast on 30 November 1940. Nearby were the citys main power station, gasworks, telephone house and the Sirocco Engineering works. Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Hitler abruptly changed his strategy. By the. [citation needed]. 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. Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. Wave after wave of bombers dropped their incendiaries, high explosives and land-mines. Those who sought refuge at the school were told that they would quickly be relocated to a safer area, but the evacuation was delayed. Blitz, The - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help As many were caught in the open by blast and secondary missiles, the enormous number of casualties can be readily accounted for. By British mainland blitz standards, casualties were light. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. Heinkel He 111 and Dornier Do 17 planes fitted with Zeiss cameras captured high-quality aerial imagery. 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. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. Thank you. And even then, Westminster stated it was not ample provision; Stormont still worried about the costs to industry. 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. 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]. 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. Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. The initial human cost of the Blitz was lower than the government had expected, but the level of destruction exceeded the governments dire predictions. After his optician business was destroyed by a bomb, Mickey Davies led an effort to organize the Spitalfield Shelter. 10 Facts about Belfast City | Fun Facts About Belfast | Europa Hotel On the 60th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz, Luftwaffe Pilot Gerhardt Becker spoke to BBC Northern Ireland about his mission over Belfast in 1941. The creeping TikTok bans. An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. 10 fascinating facts about Belfast that you probably didn't know What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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. The higher the German planes had to fly to avoid the balloons, the less accurate they were when dropping their bombs. Hundreds of incendiary and many high-explosive bombs were dropped, doing little material damage but causing many casualties. Three vessels nearing completion at Harland and Wolff's were hit as was its power station. The Blitz Around Britain - World War 2 | Imperial War Museums As the UK was preparing for the conflict, the factories and shipyards of Belfast were gearing up. Video, 00:02:12Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. The Royal Air Force announced that Squadron Leader J.W.C. Belfast is located on the island of Ireland. Protection of the city fell to seven anti-aircraft batteries of 16 heavy guns and six light guns. More than 1,000 people were killed, and the damage was more widespread than on any previous occasion. It lies where the Lagan River flows into a part of the Irish Sea. The Belfast blitz is remembered. People hung black curtains in their windows so that no lights showed outside their houses. 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 government announced that 77 people had died, but for years local residents insisted the toll was much higher. Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland . These shelters, made of corrugated steel, were designed to be dug into a garden and then covered with dirt. The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. 2. The shipyard was among the largest in the world, producing merchant vessels and military shipping. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. 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. Many "arrived in Fermanagh having nothing with them only night shirts". Read about our approach to external linking. In early 1941 the Germans launched another wave of attacks, this time focusing on ports. 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. to households. Blitz Fibre UK Blitz Fibre UK Published Mar 1, 2023 + Follow Fact 1- Small but Mighty . O'Sullivan reported: "There were many terrible mutilations among both living and dead heads crushed, ghastly abdominal and face wounds, penetration by beams, mangled and crushed limbs etc.". The most heavily bombed area was that which lay between York Street and the Antrim Road, north of the city centre. 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. Authorities had noted Queens Island in the cityas a vulnerable point as early as 1929. Video, 00:02:54Living through the London Blitz, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire. 50,000 houses, more than half the houses in the city, were damaged. 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. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this site without expressand written permission from the author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. "A lot of the people I spoke to were relatives who ended up donating images and handwritten letters from before and after the Blitz. Video, 00:01:23Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, One-minute World News. In the mistaken belief that they might damage RAF fighters, the anti-aircraft batteries ceased firing. 10 Facts About the Blitz and the Bombing of Germany [1][2], The third raid on Belfast took place over the evening and morning of 45 May 1941; 150 were killed. 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. 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. It is believed that the wartime government covered up the death toll because of concern over the effect it would have had on public morale. One, Tom Coleman, attended to receive recognition for his colleagues' solidarity at such a critical time. 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. When incendiaries were dropped, the city burned as water pressure was too low for effective firefighting. 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 became a city by royal charter in 1888. The famous places damaged include the palace of Westminster and Westminster hall, the County hall, the Public Record office, the Law Courts, the Temple and the Inner Temple library; Somerset house, Burlington house, the tower of London, Greenwich observatory, Hogarths house; the Carlton, Reform, American, Savage, Arts and Orleans clubs; the Royal College of Surgeons, University college and its library, Stationers hall, the Y.M.C.A. Corrections? The Blitz was devastating for the people of London and other cities. John Wood Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in Belfast in 1887. 10 Awesome Facts About Fibre - linkedin.com 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.. 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. ", Dawson Bates, the Home Affairs Minister, apparently refused to reply to army correspondence and when the Ministry of Home Affairs was informed by imperial defence experts in 1939 that Belfast was regarded as "a very definite German objective", little was done outside providing shelters in the Harbour area.[14]. At 10:40 on the evening of Easter Tuesday 1941 air raid sirens sounded across Belfast, sending people across the city scrambling for safety - in one of the 200 public shelters in the city or the thousands of shelters or other "safe" spaces in private homes. Several accounts point out that Belfast, standing at the end of the long inlet of Belfast Lough, would be easily located. 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. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. As well as photographs, the Luftwaffe gathered information on landmarks, potential targets and defences or lack thereof. 15 Powerful Photos Of The WW2 Blitz | Imperial War Museums 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 first (April 7 -8), a small attack, was most likely carried out to test the city's defenses. The "Hiram Plan" initiated by Dawson Bates, the Home Affairs Minister, had failed to materialise. The government was blamed by some for inadequate precautions. But the authorities were afraid that bombs might not be the. Barton wrote: "the Catholic population was much more strongly opposed to conscription, was inclined to sympathise with Germany", "there were suspicions that the Germans were assisted in identifying targets, held by the Unionist population." Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow." [17] A stray bomber attacked Derry, killing 15. NI WW2 veterans honoured by France. . Belfast was the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, the world' most famous ship which, when it was constructed in the early 1900s, was longer than the height of the world's tallest building at 882 feet and six inches in length. [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. The Luftwaffe crews returned to their base in Northern France and reported that Belfast's defences were, "inferior in quality, scanty and insufficient". "We can still see the physical scars of the Blitz in Belfast, that is what is left. 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. 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. Anna and Billy returned to England and continued running the children's home. 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. The wartime output of the yard included aircraft carriers HMS Formidable and HMS Unicorn, cruisers such as HMS Belfast and more than 130 other vessels used by the Royal Navy. Death had to a certain extent been made decent. 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. [citation needed], Other writers, such as Tony Gray in The Lost Years state that the Germans did follow their radio guidance beams. 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. So had Clydeside until recently. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. 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." London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights from 7 September 1940 [25] He followed up with his "they are our people" speech, made in Castlebar, County Mayo, on Sunday 20 April 1941 (Quoted in the Dundalk Democrat dated Saturday 26 April 1941): In the past, and probably in the present, too, a number of them did not see eye to eye with us politically, but they are our people we are one and the same people and their sorrows in the present instance are also our sorrows; and I want to say to them that any help we can give to them in the present time we will give to them whole-heartedly, believing that were the circumstances reversed they would also give us their help whole-heartedly Frank Aiken, the Irish Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures was in Boston, Massachusetts at the time. Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. The A.R.P. After a brief lull, the Luftwaffe returned in force on February 17. Video, 00:01:09The Spitfire turns 80, The German bombing of Coventry. Here are 10 facts about both the German Blitzkrieg and the Allied bombing of Germany. Video, 00:01:41, The German bombing of Coventry. Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; 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. The mass relocation, called Operation Pied Piper, was the largest internal migration in British history. [18], Over 900 people died, 1,500 people were injured, 400 of them seriously. Islington parish church, the rebuilt Our Lady of Victories (Kensington), the French church by Leicester square, St. Annes, Soho (famous for its music), All Souls, Langham place, and Christ Church in Westminster Bridge road (whose towerfortunately savedcommemorates President Lincolns abolition of slavery), were among a large number of others. Belfast, the city with the highest population density in the UK at the time, also had the lowest proportion of public air-raid shelters. About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000. [19], 220,000 people fled from the city. "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 Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) Guided by Davies, the people of the shelter created an ad hoc government and established a set of rules. Brooke noted in his diary "I gave him authority as it is obviously a question of expediency". 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. 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. 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.