Read about our approach to external linking. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. [citation needed]. 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. 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. Corrections? 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. Those who sought refuge at the school were told that they would quickly be relocated to a safer area, but the evacuation was delayed. 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. With Britains powerful Royal Navy controlling the surface approaches in the Channel and the North Sea, it fell to the Luftwaffe to establish dominance of the skies above the battle zone. But the authorities were afraid that bombs might not be the. [12], There was little preparation for the conflict with Germany. The first was on the night of 7-8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. 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. Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. As of October 2020, the population of Belfast is about 350,000 people. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. London seemed ablaze from the docks to Westminster, much damage was done, and casualties were high. The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. Video, 00:02:12, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. These figures are based on newspaper reports of the time, personal recollections and other primary sources, such as:- 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. 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. 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, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. He was succeeded by J. M. Andrews, then 69 years old, who was no more capable of dealing with the situation than his predecessor. Where they are going, what they will find to eat when they get there, nobody knows. 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. Video, 00:02:54Living through the London Blitz, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire. St George's Church in High Street was damaged by fire. Some had received food, others were famished. Authorities quickly implemented plans to protect Londoners from bombs and to house those left homeless by the attacks. Video, 00:01:37, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. He was asked, in the N.I. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [27] One widespread criticism was that the Germans located Belfast by heading for Dublin and following the railway lines north. From September 1940 until May 1941, Britain was subjected to sustained enemy bombing campaign, now known as the Blitz. The government announced that 77 people had died, but for years local residents insisted the toll was much higher. 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. 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. As well as photographs, the Luftwaffe gathered information on landmarks, potential targets and defences or lack thereof. The most heavily bombed cities outside London were Liverpool and Birmingham. Three vessels nearing completion at Harland and Wolff's were hit as was its power station. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. 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. For 57 nightsuntil November 2more than 1 million bombs were dropped on the capital city. Another attacked Bangor, killing five. These shelters were vital as these factories had many employees working late at night and early in the morning when Luftwaffe attacks were likely. along with England, Scotland, and Wales. 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. It is situated at on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. 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. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn.. Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. and Major Sen O'Sullivan, who produced a detailed report for the Dublin government. 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". Since most casualties were caused by falling masonry rather than by blast, they provided effective shelter for those who had them. In spite of blackouts, ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the visible effects of mass evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. Read about our approach to external linking. The Blitz of Belfast 1941 - History Learning Site The telegram was sent at 4:35am,[citation needed] asking the Irish Taoiseach, amon de Valera for assistance. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. The Blitz began at around 4 pm on September 7, 1940, when German bomber planes first appeared over London. 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. Incendiary bombs predominated in this raid. By British mainland blitz standards, casualties were light. When the bombing began, 76-year-old William and 72-year-old Harriette took refuge under the stairs along with Dorothy, Dot and Isa. The first deliberate raid took place on the night of 7 April. The Titanic was built in Belfast. Ulster Historical Foundation. department distributed more than two million Anderson shelters (named after Sir John Anderson, head of the A.R.P.) Many of the surface shelters built by local authorities were flimsy and provided little protection from bombs, falling debris, and fire. The Royal Air Force announced that Squadron Leader J.W.C. Still, many in Northern Ireland believed no Luftwaffe attack would come. 255 corpses were laid out in St George's Market. More than 1,000 people were killed, and the damage was more widespread than on any previous occasion. 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. 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. Belfast has the world's largest dry dock. The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. "But there is no such equivalent in Belfast. Around 1am, Luftwaffe bombers flew over the city, concentrating their attack on the Harbour Estate and Queen's Island. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 7,000 feet (2,100m), dropped incendiaries, high explosive and parachute-mines. 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). Learn how your comment data is processed. The Belfast Blitz: April-May 1941 - History Ireland 2. "These people are often seen as a statistic but they were human beings, people who lived and grew up in - or moved to - Belfast and died in Belfast," Mr Freeburn, the museum's collections officer, says. devised the Morrison shelter (named for Home Secretary Herbert Stanley Morrison) as an alternative to the Anderson shelter. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. 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. "A lot of the people I spoke to were relatives who ended up donating images and handwritten letters from before and after the Blitz. The bombs caused death and destruction across the city, affecting those of all religions and political backgrounds. 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." There were Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s and Dornier Do 17s. 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. ", Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. 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). Belfast, the city with the highest population density in the UK at the time, also had the lowest proportion of public air-raid shelters. 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. Belfast - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help By 1941, production of the Short Stirling Bomber and the Short Sunderland Flying Boat was underway. 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. About 1,000 people were killed during the Belfast Blitz of 1941, with Harland and Wolff among the buildings that were hit by the Luftwaffe. Video, 00:01:38, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. 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. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow Video, 00:00:36, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. 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. The attacks were authorized by Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. 8. Anna and Billy returned to England and continued running the children's home. 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. 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. Other targets included Sheffield, Manchester, Coventry, and Southampton. There are other diarists and narratives. Video, 00:01:38At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. 4. The firm had produced Handley Page Hereford bombers since 1936. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. John Wood Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in Belfast in 1887. 7. The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. The raids on London primarily targeted the Docklands area of the East End. 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. BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | The Belfast blitz is remembered Heavy jacks were unavailable. A victory for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain would indeed have exposed Great Britain to invasion and occupation. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. It was not the first time the alarm had sounded to signify the presence of Luftwaffe bombers over the city. Nevertheless, through sheer weight of numbers, the Germans were on the brink of victory in late August 1940. For more than six months, German planes had flown reconnaissance flights over Belfast. (Great War casualties) had died in hospital beds, their eyes had been reverently closed, their hands crossed to their breasts. Belfast is located on the island of Ireland. The "pothole blitz" is a common short-term initiative to combat storm weather damage. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. 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. Fiber-optic cables are made from thin strings of glass and are generally about one-tenth the width of a . Only four were known still to be alive. 50,000 houses, more than half the houses in the city, were damaged. However that attack was not an error. 3. The initial human cost of the Blitz was lower than the government had expected, but the level of destruction exceeded the governments dire predictions. [citation needed]. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. Anna and Billy were buried up their necks in sewage but were rescued and survived. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. There were still 80,000 more in Belfast. [4], The Government of Northern Ireland lacked the will, energy and capacity to cope with a major crisis when it came. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. The most heavily bombed area was that which lay between York Street and the Antrim Road, north of the city centre. The database Mr Freeburn has compiled is, he believes, the most accurate list of those killed and includes 222 children aged 16 or under. The British government had anticipated air attacks on its population centres, and it had predicted catastrophic casualties. On 24 March 1941, John MacDermott, Minister for Security, wrote to Prime Minister John Andrews, expressing his concerns that Belfast was so poorly protected: "Up to now we have escaped attack. The nights of November 3 and 28 were the only occasions during this period in which Londons peace was unbroken by siren or bomb. But the raid of 15-16 April - the Easter Tuesday Raid - was on another scale. However, the Docklands was also a densely populated and impoverished area where thousands of working-class Londoners lived in run-down housing.

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