2. Horrendous Belfast losses during World War Two bombing blitz In a survey of shelter use, it was found that, although the public shelters were fully occupied every night, just 9 percent of Londoners made use of them. The British, on the other hand, were supremely well prepared for the kind of battle in which they now found themselves. At the start of World War Two, Belfast had considered itself safe from an aerial attack, as the city's leaders believed that Belfast was simply too far away for Luftwaffe bombers to reach - assuming that they would have to fly from Nazi Germany. The winter of 193940 was severe, but the summer was pleasant, and in their leisure hours Londoners thronged the parks or worked in their gardens. 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. 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. However Belfast was not mentioned again by the Nazis. Most of the objectives laid out by the reconnaissance crews were of either military or industrial importance. It lies where the Lagan River flows into a part of the Irish Sea. 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. Belfast was largely unprepared for an attack of such a scale as 200 German bombers shelled the city on 15 April 1941. Fortunately, the railway telegraphy link between Belfast and Dublin was still operational. Apart from those on London, this was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz. You can see the difference in those letters - post-Blitz is very much a grieving tone. KS3 History (Environment and society) The Belfast Blitz learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers. [citation needed]. 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. 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. Authorities quickly implemented plans to protect Londoners from bombs and to house those left homeless by the attacks. 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. Some 900 people died as a result of the bombing and 1,500 were injured. It was the worst wartime raid outside of London in the UK. The Belfast Blitz: the city in the war years - History Ireland "There are plans for one but there isn't one yet. Nevertheless, for all the hardship it caused, the campaign proved to be a strategic mistake by the Germans. There wasn't enough room for Anna or Billy, so they sheltered elsewhere, a twist of fate that would save their lives. The raids hurt Britains war production, but they also killed many civilians and left many others homeless. 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. 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. Around 1am, Luftwaffe bombers flew over the city, concentrating their attack on the Harbour Estate and Queen's Island. 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. Another claim was that the Catholic population in general and the IRA in particular guided the bombers. After a brief lull, the Luftwaffe returned in force on February 17. Hundreds of incendiary and many high-explosive bombs were dropped, doing little material damage but causing many casualties. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. 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. Belfast Blitz: Remembering the ordinary people who lost their lives But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". 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. 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 M.V. By then most of the major fires were under control and the firemen from Clydeside and other British cities were arriving. 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 Belfast Blitzconsisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfastin Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. 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. The past doesnt change, its just over.. Video, 00:00:26The German bombing of Coventry, Living through the London Blitz. Moya Woodside[23] noted in her diary: "Evacuation is taking on panic proportions. Here are 10 facts about both the German Blitzkrieg and the Allied bombing of Germany. NI WW2 veterans honoured by France. Accounts differ as to when flares were dropped to light up the city. Read about our approach to external linking. 14 Breathtaking Facts about Belfast - Fact City Belfast suffered a series of bombing raids in the spring of 1941, which became known as the 'Blitz of Belfast'. Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. No searchlights were set up in the city at the time, and these only arrived on 10 April. The initial human cost of the Blitz was lower than the government had expected, but the level of destruction exceeded the governments dire predictions. He spoke with Professor Flynn, (Theodore Thomson Flynn, an Australian based at the Mater Hospital and father of actor Errol Flynn), head of the casualty service for the city, who told him of "casualties due to shock, blast and secondary missiles, such as glass, stones, pieces of piping, etc." Belfast was Ireland's industrial home, famous for tobacco, rope-making, linen, and ship-building, which made it the powerhouse it was. The attack on Coventry was particularly destructive. C.S Lewis was born in Belfast, and the nearby countryside helped inspire The Chronicles of Narnia. With the surrender of France in June 1940, Germanys sole remaining enemy lay across the English Channel. Learn how your comment data is processed. Revised estimates made decades later indicated that close to 600 men, women, and children had been killed in the bombing. On Nov. 30, 1940, a lone Luftwaffe plane flew across the Ards Peninsula unobserved and reported back to Berlin. Belfast is located on the island of Ireland. 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. Sometimes they were trying establish a blockade by destroying shipping and port facilities, sometimes they were directly attacking Fighter Command ground installations, sometimes they were targeting aircraft factories, and sometimes they were attempting to engage Fighter Command in the skies. Belfast Blitz - Wikipedia 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. Read about our approach to external linking. The crypt under the sanctuary and the cellar under the working sacristy had been fitted out and opened to the public as an air-raid shelter. It is situated at on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. 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. Many of those who died as a result of enemy action lived in tightly packed, poorly constructed, terraced housing. 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. Over 150 people died in what became known as the 'Fire Blitz'. Because basements, a logical destination in the event of an air raid, were a relative rarity in Britain, the A.R.P. When the war began, Belfast, like many other cities, adopted the wartime practices of rationing and blackouts. Brides, Fleet St.; St. Lawrence Jewry; St. Magnus the Martyr; St. Mary-at-hill; St. Dunstan in the East; St. Clement [Eastcheap] and St. Jamess, Piccadilly). Major O'Sullivan reported that "In the heavily 'blitzed' areas people ran panic-stricken into the streets and made for the open country. In just these few hours, 430 people were killed and 1,600 were badly injured. The first was on the night of 78 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. Van Morrison is from the east part of the city. [citation needed], There was a second massive air raid on Belfast on Sunday 45 May 1941, three weeks after that of Easter Tuesday. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg (lightning war). However that attack was not an error. 1. (Great War casualties) had died in hospital beds, their eyes had been reverently closed, their hands crossed to their breasts. William Joyce "Lord Haw-Haw" announced that "The Fhrer will give you time to bury your dead before the next attack Tuesday was only a sample." The creeping TikTok bans. Weighing 46,328 tonnes, Titanic was to be the largest manmade moveable object the world had ever seen. Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. The Belfast blitz is remembered. TOP 10: Facts About Belfast You Didn't Know - Ireland Before You Die This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Targets identified included: the Short and Harland Ltd. Aircraft Factory; the Belfast power station and waterworks; Other maps uncovered following the Second World War also showed the parliament and city hall, Belfast gasworks, a rope factory and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. A Luftwaffe terror bombing attack on the Spanish city of Guernica (April 26, 1937) during the Spanish Civil War had killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed much of the town. London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights from 7 September 1940 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. to households. After the war, when the first girl from the home got married Billy gave her away, having lost his only daughter. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. London seemed ablaze from the docks to Westminster, much damage was done, and casualties were high. Video, 00:03:09, Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Incendiary bombs predominated in this raid. By 1941, production of the Short Stirling Bomber and the Short Sunderland Flying Boat was underway. The raids on London primarily targeted the Docklands area of the East End. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 7,000 feet (2,100m), dropped incendiaries, high explosive and parachute-mines. 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." Very early in the German bombing campaign, it became clear that the preparationshowever extensive they seemed to have beenwere inadequate. ", Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. Belfast is famous for being the birthplace of the Titanic. Video, 00:01:38At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. Few children had been successfully evacuated. devised the Morrison shelter (named for Home Secretary Herbert Stanley Morrison) as an alternative to the Anderson shelter. Video, 00:00:46Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds. 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. The Belfast Blitz: April-May 1941 - History Ireland On 4-5 May, another raid, made up of 204 bombers, killed another 203 people and the following night 22 more died. The area included the Harland and Wolff Ltd. Shipyard, the Short and Harland Ltd. Aircraft Factory, and the airfield at RAF Sydenham. From papers recovered after the war, we know of a Luftwaffe reconnaissance flight over Belfast on 30 November 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 will always be people who will slip through the net but I am able to say at least 987 were killed across all raids.". [citation needed], Other writers, such as Tony Gray in The Lost Years state that the Germans did follow their radio guidance beams. Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. Liverpool, for example, protected by 100 guns. The Blitz was devastating for the people of London and other cities. This view was probably influenced by the decision of the IRA Army Council to support Germany. 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? 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. After the bombing began on September 7, local authorities urged displaced people to take shelter at South Hallsville School. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. St George's Church in High Street was damaged by fire. The next took. Barton insisted that Belfast was "too far north" to use radio guidance. 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. 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. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. 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. Omissions? These figures are based on newspaper reports of the time, personal recollections and other primary sources, such as:- 10 Awesome Facts About Fibre - linkedin.com 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. [17] A stray bomber attacked Derry, killing 15. Video, 00:00:46, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds. 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. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. A charitable relief fund for the people of London was opened September 10. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow In spite of blackouts, ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the visible effects of mass evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. The mass relocation, called Operation Pied Piper, was the largest internal migration in British history. Your donations help keep MHN afloat. The database Mr Freeburn has compiled is, he believes, the most accurate list of those killed and includes 222 children aged 16 or under. Nine were registered on three separate occasions, and from the start of the Blitz until November 30 there were more than 350 alerts. 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. Government ministers in Northern Ireland began to realise the Luftwaffe may launch an attack, but it was too little, too late. NI WW2 veterans honoured by France. 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]. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? As of October 2020, the population of Belfast is about 350,000 people. "It says a lot about how these people are forgotten that there is no Blitz memorial in Belfast," Mr Freeburn says. Nevertheless, through sheer weight of numbers, the Germans were on the brink of victory in late August 1940. [6] It was MacDermott who sent a telegram to de Valera seeking assistance. It was not the last time Belfast would suffer. (Some authors count this as the second raid of four). But the RAF had not responded. 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. Singer-songwriter Van Morrison was born here. By the middle of December it had reached nearly 1,700,000 (adjusted for inflation, this was the equivalent of roughly 100 million in 2020). IWM C 5424 1. and Major Sen O'Sullivan, who produced a detailed report for the Dublin government. Anna and Billy returned to England and continued running the children's home. The World's Most-Famous Ship, The Titanic, was constructed here. Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. On April 16 an attack even fiercer and more indiscriminate than those of the previous autumn started at 9:00 pm and continued until 5:00 the following morning; 500 aircraft were believed to have flown over in continuous waves, raining an estimated 450 tons of bombs across the city. Some 27 percent of Londoners utilized private shelters, such as Anderson shelters, while the remaining 64 percent spent their evenings on duty with some branch of the civil defense or remained in their own homes. Beginning on Black Saturday, London was attacked on 57 straight nights. "We can still see the physical scars of the Blitz in Belfast, that is what is left. 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. So had Clydeside until recently. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg ("lightning war"). The first day of the Blitz is remembered as Black Saturday. 2023 BBC. 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. 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. 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. Morale did suffer amid the death and devastation, but there were few calls for surrender. In clear weather, targets were easily identifiable. Despite the attacks, Belfast continued to contribute to the war effort, and within less than a year the city witnessed the arrival of thousands of American troops. Only four were known still to be alive. 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. In early 1941 the Germans launched another wave of attacks, this time focusing on ports. The devastation was so great that the Germans coined a new verb, to coventrate, to describe it. Belfast was bombed by the Nazis in World War II. The mortuary services had emergency plans to deal with only 200 bodies. 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. The attacks were authorized by Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. Since 1:45am all telephones had been cut. Richard Dawson Bates was the Home Affairs Minister. By the. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. High explosive bombs predominated in this raid. Video, 00:01:38, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. Blitz Fibre UK Blitz Fibre UK Published Mar 1, 2023 + Follow Fact 1- Small but Mighty . Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East EndMickeys Shelter. 15 Powerful Photos Of The WW2 Blitz | Imperial War Museums At 4:15am John MacDermott, the Minister of Public Security, managed to contact Basil Brooke (then Agriculture Minister), seeking permission to seek help from the Irish government. These shelters were vital as these factories had many employees working late at night and early in the morning when Luftwaffe attacks were likely. Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. 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. 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. 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. 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. Video, 00:02:12Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. 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. Belfast Blitz: The Luftwaffe attacks Northern Ireland - WartimeNI A short respite followed, until a widespread series of night raids on April 7 included some targets in the London area. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. [4], The Government of Northern Ireland lacked the will, energy and capacity to cope with a major crisis when it came. The British thus fought with the advantage of superior equipment and undivided aim against an enemy with inconsistent objectives. He believed that key targets identified across the city were hit. Belfast was not properly prepared for the attacks, with too few shelters and not enough anti-aircraft guns. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn.. Since most casualties were caused by falling masonry rather than by blast, they provided effective shelter for those who had them. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 19.99. Many bodies and body parts could not be identified. [13] However at the time Lord Craigavon, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921, said: "Ulster is ready when we get the word and always will be." In another building, the York Street Mill, one of its massive sidewalls collapsed on to Sussex and Vere Streets, killing all those who remained in their homes. As many were caught in the open by blast and secondary missiles, the enormous number of casualties can be readily accounted for. 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; "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. 2023 BBC.
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