London And The Second World War 1

Question 1

Events of September 1939-April 1940

Answer 1

Phoney war, not much fighting in western Europe, but war had been declared

Question 2

Events of Spring-Autumn 1940

Answer 2

Germany sweeps through Western Europe.
Battle of Britain was fought to prevent Germany from destroying British defences

Question 3

Events of Autumn-Winter 1940

Answer 3

German tactics change and they begin bombing cities: the start of the blitz

Question 4

Events of Spring-Summer 1941

Answer 4

A lull in the bombings ends on the 10th May 1941 with the largest raid of the blitz. By June, Germany had invaded the USSR and shifted it’s attention to the east

Question 5

Why was London a target?

Answer 5

-capital city: possible impact of destroying hovernement buildings
-important port: could disrupt import of food
-biggest population: killing civillians decreases morale
-geography: close to France, pilots could follow the Thames

Question 6

How did London prepare for war before 1939

Answer 6

The government shared the task of planning for war in London between the London county council and 28 boroughs. The Air Raid Precautions Act required local government to set up an air raid precautions system and gave them money to do it

Question 7

Evacuation

Answer 7

Aimed to reduce casualties. Began 1st September 1939 (before war was officially declared on the 3rd)
-children and as many mothers as possible were evacuated
-children over five were already organised into groups at school and were evacuated by school with teachers
-they were evacuated to rural areas

Question 8

Gas masks

Answer 8

Gas was expected to be used because of the first world war. Issuing masks was the borough’s responsibility. The government made the order to issue them on monday 26th September 1938.
-came in 3 adult sizes and other sizes for children

Question 9

People’s use of gas masks

Answer 9

When war broke out, people were expected to carry them at all times. £5 fee to replace them if lost.

London wasn’t bombed for the first few months of the war:
-4 Sep 1939: 70% were carrying a mask
-9 Nov 1939: 34% were carrying a mask
-31 Mar 1940: 1% were carrying a mask

Question 10

Air raid shelters

Answer 10

Before the war, the government didn’t want large shelters with many people deep underground. It’s policy was dispersal: small surface shelters, one per household where possible.
The government said there’d be fewer casualties this way and people would be more willing to leave these shelters to continue working

Question 11

Anderson Shelters

Answer 11

Were offered to those with gardens or communal shelters (normally above ground) for those who had flats.
Anderson shelters would be partially in a hole with dirt from the hole piled around it and on top of it. Would sometimes flood after rain, making them unpopular

Question 12

Morrison shelter

Answer 12

Introduced March 1941. Was a steel cage intended to replace a table downstairs

Question 13

Domestic surface shelters

Answer 13

Built from brick or concrete by better off families in their gardens

Question 14

Deep cellars/ basements

Answer 14

Some modern houses or blocks of flats (tenements) had deep cellars/basements which people used as shelters

Question 15

Public basements

Answer 15

Some large, modern buildings had a steel and concrete frame over a deep basement. Many felt safer in these than in surface shelters

Question 16

Trenches

Answer 16

Were dug by councils in parks with a roof over most of it. Many didn’t feel safe in these