London and the blitz Flashcards
Why was London a target?
-4 reasons
.east end- warehouse+factories, social areas like pubs and theatres
.Westminster- home of king,gov and prime minister
.city of london- financial center, important rail links
.surburbs- residents
How many people evacuated in the first two days of war?
1.5 million
How many Anderson Shelters provided?
1.5 million Anderson shelters were provided before the outbreak of war with 2.1 million distributed during WW2
How many Morrison Shelters were provided?
500,000 Morrison shelters were provided in 1941 and 100,000 more in 1943
How many gasmasks were provided at the outbreak of WW2?
38million
How many carried gasmaks?
In September 1939 around 75% of people carried a mask, this dropped to 43% by November 1939.
When were blackout restrictions reduced and lifted?
reduced in 1944
lifted in 1945
What were Anderson Shelters made of?
iron sheets, which were used to line and roof over a pit dug in the ground
-holds 6 people
What was a morrison shelter
-positives
-steel cage
-stopped buildings collapsing on people
If people earnt a certain wage how much did they have to pay for a shelter?
who earned more than £250 a year had to pay £7
What were the Luftwaffe aims
Soften London up before the planned invasion
Target civilians in homes
Destroy industry and communications to damage war effort.
When was the first German air raid on London
25th august 1940
How many people were injured and killed in the blitz?
54,000
blitz dates
7 Sept 1940 – 11 May 1941
How many Londoners lost their homes in the first few weeks?
250,000
How much did london’s population drop by?
44%
lol
hi
How many died in the Lull
1,808
after the blitz before V1 and V2
the Baby Blitz?
21 Jan- May 1944
3,700 people killed and injured - 948 a month compared to 58 in the Lull
Balham Tube Disaster?
14th October 1940
civilians and workers killed
66
Bank tube attack?
11th Jan 1941
56 killed most 18-39
Bethnal Green tube disaster?
3rd March 1943
-few east underground stations
- Anti-aircraft rockets went off near, people panicked + rushed downstairs
- 173 killed in crush
-Report censored until war ended
Shelters became ticketed to stop overcrowding 1500 entered
Mickey’s shelter?
-5000 sheltered nightly in a basement
. used donations from the rich to make a first aid station and canteen
South Hallsville?
.school used as a shelter in the east end
.11th sep 600 sheltering there
. 77 killed by parachute mine
. censored
. made the gov care more about homeless
V1?
flying bomb that could be heard and intercepted by Fighter planes.
v2?
supersonic rocket no pre warning
v1+v2 censorship
.government kept quite
.v1 little damage
.v2 was just gas explosions
When did Churchill announce threat?
10th nov 1944
Government’s popularity fell because they didn’t admit V2 threat and could not protect London
How many v1s were fired over 10 months?
9000
how many v1s hit london
2515
First v1 and v2
12th june 1944
v2= 8th sep 1944
last v1 and v2
27/29 march
how many evacuated july 1944
559,000
how many killed by v1+2
28,891
homes damaged in little blitz
1.3mill
Deptford v2 hit?
5 November
.a V2 hit a shop (Woolworths) in deptford -
killed 200 and injured 160.
Monarchy + gov
both stayed in london to gain morale
role of dance?
dance halls stayed open
popular
theatres?
closed initially but reopened
lunchtime performances popular
Crowds for football in london
16k
How much did audiences in cinemas increase by?
50%
Dig for victory?
People encouraged to dig up gardens to grow vegetables.
What were the war cabinet rooms?
Government’s underground bunker, finished August 27th 1939
How many tons of bombs dropped on london
503
