They remained for three days, until they were sent back by the Northern Ireland government. Authorities quickly implemented plans to protect Londoners from bombs and to house those left homeless by the attacks. Because basements, a logical destination in the event of an air raid, were a relative rarity in Britain, the A.R.P. By then 250 firemen from Clydeside had arrived. Over 100 German planes made contact with barrage balloon cables during the Blitz, and two-thirds of them crashed or made forced landings on British soil. 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]. Singer-songwriter Van Morrison was born here. His death (along with preceding ill-health) came at a bad time and arguably inadvertently caused a leadership vacuum. They are sleeping in the same sheugh (ditch), below the same tree or in the same barn. "They have never been published before, never seen the light of day.". The bombs continued to fall until 5am. The mass relocation, called Operation Pied Piper, was the largest internal migration in British history. [citation needed], Other writers, such as Tony Gray in The Lost Years state that the Germans did follow their radio guidance beams. 2023 BBC. Video, 00:01:41, The German bombing of Coventry. In clear weather, targets were easily identifiable. 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). Video, 00:02:54, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire. A short respite followed, until a widespread series of night raids on April 7 included some targets in the London area. Up Next. 29 - Belfast was once bigger than Dublin After the war, instructions from Joseph Goebbels were discovered ordering it not to be mentioned. Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. 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. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom . The Battle of Britain When the house was hit William, Harriette, Dorothy, 36-year-old Dot and 41-year-old Isa were all killed. While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. It remains a high death toll - a shocking number of people killed in just a few weeks. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. 19.99. 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. There is no slacking in our loyalty. WW2: How did an elephant beat the Belfast Blitz? - BBC Teach They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II began with Germanys invasion of Poland, the British government implemented a massive evacuation plan. 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." 6. Few children had been successfully evacuated. BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | The Belfast blitz is remembered 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). 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. The most heavily bombed area was that which lay between York Street and the Antrim Road, north of the city centre. 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. 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. Video, 00:00:36, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. 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. Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow.. Another attacked Bangor, killing five. 7. TOP 10: Facts About Belfast You Didn't Know - Ireland Before You Die Nine were registered on three separate occasions, and from the start of the Blitz until November 30 there were more than 350 alerts. There were Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s and Dornier Do 17s. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union. Beginning on Black Saturday, London was attacked on 57 straight nights. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. The shipyard was among the largest in the world, producing merchant vessels and military shipping. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. As well as photographs, the Luftwaffe gathered information on landmarks, potential targets and defences or lack thereof. Apart from those on London, this was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz. "We can still see the physical scars of the Blitz in Belfast, that is what is left. Ulster Historical Foundation. The attacks by both V1's and V2's only ended as the Allies advanced up through Western Europe . Many in Northern Ireland thought that Belfast was outside the range of the Luftwaffe. 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. It was solemn, tragic, dignified, but here it was grotesque, repulsive, horrible. It lies where the Lagan River flows into a part of the Irish Sea. Although there were some comparatively slight raids later in 1941, the most notable one on July 27, the May 1011 attack marked the conclusion of the Blitz. St George's Church in High Street was damaged by fire. Brooke noted in his diary "I gave him authority as it is obviously a question of expediency". All were exhausted. After the bombing began on September 7, local authorities urged displaced people to take shelter at South Hallsville School. Video, 00:02:12Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. O'Sullivan felt that the whole civil defence sector was utterly overwhelmed. Fewer than 4,000 women and children were evacuated. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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 raids hurt Britains war production, but they also killed many civilians and left many others homeless. Many "arrived in Fermanagh having nothing with them only night shirts". The British thus fought with the advantage of superior equipment and undivided aim against an enemy with inconsistent objectives. 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." 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. 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. 10 Facts About the Blitz and the Bombing of Germany 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. Fiber-optic cables are made from thin strings of glass and are generally about one-tenth the width of a . Morale did suffer amid the death and devastation, but there were few calls for surrender. By Jonathan Bardon. 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. These figures are based on newspaper reports of the time, personal recollections and other primary sources, such as:- The government was blamed by some for inadequate precautions. 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. 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. Over a period of nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed in the raids, which focused on major cities and industrial centres. Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. 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 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. 2. The "pothole blitz" is a common short-term initiative to combat storm weather damage. Belfast was Ireland's industrial home, famous for tobacco, rope-making, linen, and ship-building, which made it the powerhouse it was. In the New Lodge area people had taken refuge in a mill. Video, 00:01:38At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. "There are plans for one but there isn't one yet. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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. 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. The first (April 7 -8), a small attack, was most likely carried out to test the city's defenses. Children and World War Two - History Learning Site 9. Up to now, we have escaped an attack, said John MacDermott, the Minister for Security, Belfast, on March 24, 1941. Belfast has the world's largest dry dock. 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. As many as 5,000 people had packed into this network of underground tunnels, which was dangerously overcrowded, dirty, and dark. Video, 00:01:09The Spitfire turns 80, The German bombing of Coventry. He successfully busied himself with the task of making Northern Ireland a major supplier of food to Britain in her time of need.[5]. The Belfast Blitz - Inside the Deadly 1941 Luftwaffe Raids on Northern Once more, London was targeted and children were victims. The next took place on Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, when 200 Luftwaffe bombers attacked military and manufacturing targets in the city of Belfast. Over 150 people died in what became known as the 'Fire Blitz'. Hitlers intention had been to break the morale of the British people so they would pressure their government to surrender. 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. Lecturer of History, Queens University, Belfast, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belfast_Blitz&oldid=1136721396, During the war years, Belfast shipyards built or converted over 3,000 navy vessels, repaired more than 22,000 others and launched over half a million tons of merchant shipping over 140. Authorities had noted Queens Island in the cityas a vulnerable point as early as 1929. Here are 10 facts about both the German Blitzkrieg and the Allied bombing of Germany. The Belfast blitz is remembered. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. This amounted to nearly half of Britains total civilian deaths for the whole war. In many cases the daily life of the city was able to resume with delays of only hours. 15 Powerful Photos Of The WW2 Blitz | Imperial War Museums People are leaving from all parts of town and not only from the bombed areas. 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. Train after train and bus after bus were filled with those next in line. The "Hiram Plan" initiated by Dawson Bates, the Home Affairs Minister, had failed to materialise. Read about our approach to external linking. 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). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this site without expressand written permission from the author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. [26], Initial German radio broadcasts celebrated the raid. The seeming normality of life on the Home Front was shattered in 1944 when the first of the V1's landed. Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. German bombing of London during the Blitz, Discover how the Third Reich attacked Great Britain during World War II's Battle of Britain, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Watch President Roosevelt outline his Four Freedoms and learn how Britain defeated Germany's Luftwaffe. In just these few hours, 430 people were killed and 1,600 were badly injured. The first deliberate raid took place on the night of 7 April. 14 Breathtaking Facts about Belfast - Fact City 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. 10 Awesome Facts About Fibre - linkedin.com 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. Belfast Blitz: Remembering the ordinary people who lost their lives Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 7,000 feet (2,100m), dropped incendiaries, high explosive and parachute-mines. At 10:40pm the air raid sirens sounded. NI WW2 veterans honoured by France. The Belfast Blitz was a series of devastating Luftwaffe air raids that took place in Northern Ireland during the Second World War. Even the children of soldiers had not been evacuated, with calamitous results when the married quarters of Victoria Barracks received a direct hit. 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. So had Clydeside until recently. Belfast Blitz: Marking the lost lives 80 years on A force of 180 bombers dropped 750 bombs - including 203 tonnes of high explosives - and 29,000 incendiaries over a five-hour period. 8. The Premier Online Military History Magazine, Re-printed with permission fromWartimeNI.com. Blitz Fibre UK Blitz Fibre UK Published Mar 1, 2023 + Follow Fact 1- Small but Mighty . [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. 4. Richard Dawson Bates was the Home Affairs Minister. Video, 00:00:46, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds. Weighing 46,328 tonnes, Titanic was to be the largest manmade moveable object the world had ever seen. 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. The first attack was against the city's waterworks, which had been attacked in the previous raid. Outside of London, with some 900 dead, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the 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. 10 Facts about Belfast City | Fun Facts About Belfast | Europa Hotel High explosive bombs predominated in this raid. Most of the objectives laid out by the reconnaissance crews were of either military or industrial importance. 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. 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. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. 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. Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow." On the 60th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz, Luftwaffe Pilot Gerhardt Becker spoke to BBC Northern Ireland about his mission over Belfast in 1941. Heinkel He 111 and Dornier Do 17 planes fitted with Zeiss cameras captured high-quality aerial imagery. Video, 00:02:54Living through the London Blitz, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire. 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. Other targets included Sheffield, Manchester, Coventry, and Southampton. And even then, Westminster stated it was not ample provision; Stormont still worried about the costs to industry. "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.". In late August the Germans dropped some bombs, apparently by accident, on civilian areas in London. 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. Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; Half of the city's housing was damaged over the course of all the raids. Air-raid damage was widespread; hospitals, clubs, churches, museums, residential and shopping streets, hotels, public houses, theatres, schools, monuments, newspaper offices, embassies, and the London Zoo were bombed. Under the leadership of amon de Valera it had declared its neutrality during the Second World War. The South Hallsville School disaster prompted Londoners, especially residents of the East End, to find safer shelters, on their own if necessary. Published: September 7, 2020 at 12:00 pm. Compared to other cities, Belfast was virtually undefended. 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). Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. Oakland plans to unleash 'pothole blitz' to fix notorious street damage The Belfast Blitz: April-May 1941 - History Ireland 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. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. (Some authors count this as the second raid of four).
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