London And WW2 Flashcards
1
Q
4 reasons why London was a target?
A
As the capital, centre of government and destroying it would slow war effort
Major industrial centre so destruction of factories would damage war effort
Population of 8.6 million in 1939 meant civilians deaths easiest here
Thames lit up on moonlit nights so could be used as a navigation system for bombers
2
Q
Why were Londoners originally issued gas masks?
A
War seemed likely in mid 1930s and Munich Crisis (1938) got so close to war that they were needed
3
Q
When did war have to be seriously prepared for?
A
From October 1938
4
Q
How had technology made bombing more deadly?
A
Powerful engines allowed bombers to go further and faster, delivering bombs more effectively. Power of bombs also increased
5
Q
By 1938, how much predicted bombs were to be dropped on London?
A
3500 tonnes of bombs (10x WW1)
6
Q
Who shared the task of planning for war in London?
A
London City Council (LCC) and the 28 boroughs
7
Q
What did air raid precautions act require?
A
Local governments (LCC and boroughs) to set up an air raid precaution system (ARP) and were given some cash to do so
8
Q
What were the LCC responsible for?
A
Fire, ambulance and heavy rescue service
9
Q
What was each borough responsible for?
A
First aid and setting up ARP wardens for 1 in 500 people.
10
Q
In January 1939 there was pressure to recruit the Civil Defence. What was the Civil Defence?
A
ARP wardens, auxiliary teams, WRVS
11
Q
Did all boroughs prepare at the same speed?
A
No
12
Q
How was evacuation initially planned?
A
To take all children and many mothers out of London to reduce casualties and help those left behind to focus on war work
13
Q
Why did evacuation have to be immediate?
A
Bombing was expected imminently and transport links would be bombed
14
Q
How were children over 5 evacuated?
A
In large groups called schools
15
Q
What did the National Service Brochure ask?
A
For families to register to take in children for 52.2p a week for first child and 42.5p for extras.
16
Q
Why was the process of evacuation complicated?
A
Required changing timetables and the WRVS to supply thousands of volunteers to organise evacuation days.
17
Q
When was first evacuation day?
A
1st September 1939 as war looked likely in August
18
Q
Who was responsible for issuing gas masks?
A
Boroughs
19
Q
How were gas masks precautions ready by Wednesday 28th September?
A
167,000 gas masks ready and 19 fitting stations opened
20
Q
How strict was policy of gas masks?
A
Had to carry one at all times during war and £5 to replace a lost one
21
Q
What secret system did the government set up?
A
A way to report morale in war, including how many people carried gas masks
22
Q
How many civilians carried gas masks from 4th Sept 1939?
A
70%, shows they were scared
23
Q
Why did only 1% carry gas maks by 31st March 1940?
A
Phony war
24
Q
What was the governments policy for air raid shelters?
A
Dispersal - small surface shelters, one per household where possible
25
Why did the government use a policy of dispersal?
Claimed it produced less casualties and would cause people to need to leave their shelters as it was important to keep working and keep wartime production high
26
What air raid shelters were households offered if they had a garden?
Anderson shelters built from steel and earth
27
What air raid shelters were households offered for people in flats?
Space in communal shelters
28
When were Morrison shelters introduced and what were they?
March 1941 - steel cage intended to replace a table downstairs as shelter
29
What did Charles Newbury write in November 1945?
Total cost of all shelters combined was £446,428
30
What was the Blitz and how many people did it kill?
Convential heavy bombing, killed 28,556 people
31
What was the Blitz initially intended to do?
Soften up London before German invasion
32
How did Hitler change the bombing campaign after he postponed his invasion on 19th Sept 1940?
Continued it but with new targets: cause a high death rate and deatroy national treasures to reduce civilian morale.
33
What were the main bombing targets in London to damage the way effort?
Industry and communications
34
Why was Britian partly to blame for the Blitz?
It was somewhat in retaliation to British night bombing on Germany
35
What was the first day of the Blitz called?
Black Saturday (7th September 1940)
36
How many were killed on first night of Blitz?
400
37
What did the first days of the Blitz focus on?
East End of London as most railways and docks were here
38
When did bombing spread to all of London?
When Hitler cancelled his planned invasion
39
What are the different types of sources historians used to study the Blitz attacks?
Memories of those alive (testimonies), diaries, official records like the war cabinet minutes, newspapers, radio news transcripts.
40
Where is the damage done by bombings plotted?
On the LCC Bomb Damage maps
41
What myth did the media mention about morale in the Blitz?
The 'Blitz spirit' - working united
42
How was it clear that the 'Blitz spirit' wasn't really true, especially at the start of the Blitz?
Particularly working class East Enders blamed the government, some people were also protected more than others so it was viewed as unfair
43
How many East Londoners became homeless on the first night of the Blitz?
16,000
44
What were used as temporary rest centres for homeless people and where did many go specifically?
Schools were used, especially over 1000 went to South Halsville school
45
Describe the South Halsville disaster?
Buses failed to turn up om 9th Sept 1940 to evacuate but came the next day during an air raid. It was too dangerous to evacuate so the buses were sent away. Part of the school was hit by a bomb that night
46
What was the impact of the South Halsville disaster?
Many East Enders left London for countryside before official evacuation.
Some blamed Civil Defence systems for it
Government decided to ban mention of it in press as it was bad for morale
47
Why were many people not happy with the policy of dispersal?
Not enough space for East Enders in these shelters and not safe enough.
48
What began to be used as mass shelters?
London Underground and basements, against policy of dispersal
49
How did 'Mickey's shelter' come about?
Mickey Davis was an optician who formed a committee to run the shelter in Spitalfields after his shop was destroyed
50
What did Mickey's committee organise?
Organised cleaning and beds, persuaded GP to provide free healthcare, persuaded MandS to build a canteen for the shelter, using the profit from this canteen to provide milk for the children.
51
What were incendiary bombs?
Used in first wave of Blitz and started fires to be used as signals for targets for later bombs. These fires got out of control and caused fire service to work through the later bombing, causing most deaths.
52
What were high explosive bombs?
Dropped at later waves and some bombs had delayed-action fuses to explode late
53
What were mines?
Dropped with a parachute to be silent and exploded when touching metal.
54
Why were people advised to keep a water bucket with them?
As incendiary fires had to be put out quick
55
What was risk of going out and putting out incendiary fires?
Meant having to exit shelter
56
How did residential areas combat incendiaries?
Formed fire-watching teams. Business premises were vulnerable
57
What was the worst raid and how many people died?
The 'second fire of London' - 163 died
58
How much of the damage done to London during the war did the Civil Defence estimated fires did?
90%
59
What shifts did the fire service work during the Blitz?
48 hours on and 24 hours off
60
How was it clear that fire-watching wasn't working?
Herbet Morrison, the Home Secretary, demanded volunteers for fire-watching in every street and business yet this still wasn't enough
61
How did firewatchers improve in April 1941?
People conscripted to be firewatchers, even contientious objectors
62
What made government start to worry about civilian morale?
Class conflict in the first weeks, possibly due to the differences in East and West London in terms of working class and rich people
63
Why did many Underground stations have white lines?
Shelters had to stay behind these lines until trains stopped running
64
What did the white lines on the Underground outline?
Different experiences between rich and poor
65
What happened on the 15th September protest?
A group marched from East End to a 5-star hotel, when the air raid sirens went off they demanded to use the luxury underground shelter
66
Why did no English newspapers print the 15th Sept protest?
Due to censorship
67
How did class tensions relax?
Government helped working-class districts
Bombing started equally spreading from East End
68
Why were conditions in communal shelters poor?
People couldn't wash and they smelt as the sewers weren't often connected to the shelters
69
Why were big communal shelters liked?
For their safety
70
Why was packing into Underground stations a problem?
Dispersal meant large numbers wouldn't die at once but this changed it all
71
How many people died at Balham, Bounds Green and Sloane Square?
Balham: 66
Bounds Green: 19
Sloane Square: 37
72
Why was the news censored?
So Germans didn't find out the devestating effects
To keep morale high
73
Why wasn't censorship always good?
Rumours spread that were worse than the truth, lowering morale further than was possible with the truth
74
What were reasons propaganda was used?
. To keep up morale
. To encourage people to act in a way the government wants
. To stress the importance of the 'war efforts'
. To warn of danger of spies
. To win support from other countries, especially USA.
75
What did a Mass Observation report to show the potency of propaganda?
It noted 48 propaganda posters within a short walk of its office, including: how to behave in an air raid shelter and register for the Civil Defence
76
What is an example of more subtle propaganda?
The film The Next Kin shown which showed dangers of talking about war-sensitive matters
77
How was propaganda chosen scientifically?
Based on research techniques which showed what people were concerned about
78
What was the only moving picture form of news in WW2?
In cinemas
79
How much did cinema attendance go up during the war?
By 60%
80
Why did newsreels only convey positive propaganda?
Due to censorship
81
What was a main propaganda message during the Blitz?
'Carrying on as normal'
82
What did Unions report that workers appreciated?
Flexibility around when they started work as getting to work was hard
83
Why was it important that people still went to work during the Blitz?
Showed London wasn't beaten but during daylight raids government felt too much work times was lost in shelters
84
Why were spotters introduced?
To spend time on factory roofs and sound alarms when planes are near
85
What unit did the Ministry of Information set up?
Home Intelligence reports to produce reports on morale. These reports were used to target propaganda.
86
Why were Home Intelligence reports valuable?
We get an insight into what people were thinking at the time
87
How many houses in London were destroyed in the first Blitz?
5%
88
How much of the population of inner London fell between 1939 and October 1941?
44%
89
What was 'The Lull'?
A pattern of air raids from May 1941-January 1944 that followed allied raids on German cities
90
How much did Londoners use shelters during 'The Lull'?
Many only went to shelters the night before they heard of a raid on Germany, but a minority slept all the time.
91
How were most raid precautions ready by the Lull?
New deep shelters were built, with improved facilities such as better toilets
Many large shelters now had activities such as film shows
The Morrison shelter was available from March 1941
92
How many people were killed or seriously injured during the Lull?
1808
93
What was the 'Baby Blitz'?
Last attack on London by Germans
94
How many people were killed or injured in the Baby Blitz?
3793
95
Why was the 'Baby Blitz' named so?
Allied forces were now much stronger than German air forces so only a few German planes got to London
96
What was one of the few Underground Stations in the East End?
Bethnal Green Station
97
What happened the night before the Bethnal Green disaster?
There had been a heavy allied raid on Germany so around 1500 people got to the shelter before the siren went off.
98
What was the date of the Bethnal Green disaster?
3rd March 1943
99
Describe the Bethnal green disaster?
New anti-aircraft rockets were set off, which panicked people as they thought it was a bomb. 173 people died in a crush down the stairs to the station, by far the worst crush in the war.
100
Although the Bethnal Green Disaster was censored on the news, what did it lead to?
Ticketing systems for shelters
101
Why wasn't ticketing for shelters that helpful?
More people came last minute, increasing chances of crushes like this
102
What does it show that there was no publicity on the sound of the new anti-aircraft rockets?
That the government cares more about censorship to protect morale than safety
103
What happened in spring 1944?
Britain was waiting for invasion of France which was supposedly the start of the end of WW2
104
Why didn't Home Intelligence reports show increased morale during the invasion of France?
On the night of 12/13th June, a new V1 (flying bomb) attacked London
105
How did the V1 attacks work?
Pilotless flying planes with over 9000 fired in the 10 month campaign
106
Why was it hard for Londoners to accept the severe damage and casualties the early weeks of V1 attacks caused?
It seemed winning the war was so close
107
Why were V1 attacks so dangerous?
They were the first day-time bombings in London since 1940 autumn
Usually didn't trigger air raid sirens as the attacks were constant and the planes flew low
108
Which routes did V1 attacks repeatedly hit?
Deptford and Croydon
109
Why did V1 attack have such a big impact?
As they happened all day, this led to high casualties
110
What caused most deaths and injuries in V1 attacks?
Flying glass from explosions
111
How long was it till government informed public about V1 attacks?
Until 16th June 1944
112
How many people were killed in first 2 weeks of V1 attacks and how many houses damaged in first 2 weeks?
Deaths: 1600
Houses damaged: 200,000
113
What were V2 attacks?
The first ballistic missile that was so fast it couldn't be seen coming and the sound could be heard 10 miles away
114
When did first V2's hit London?
8th September 1944
115
Why did government plan a possible mass evacuation of London in Summer 1944?
Government knew Germans had been developing a rocket since the start of the war
116
Why did the V2 rockets become known as flying gas mains?
Newspapers reported that the large explosions were gas main explosions
117
When did Churchill finally announce London was under V2 attack?
10th November 1944
118
What was the first V2 attack to be widely reported?
Deptford V2 disaster. 160 killed at Woolworth's, the largest shop in New Cross
119
How was civilian morale seen to be affected in Summer 1944?
Absenteeism among factory workers was higher than any time during the first Blitz.
120
How many people evacuated from London in July 1944?
559,000 people
121
How many people slept underground per night in July 1944?
81,240
122
How many houses were destroyed in the V1 and V2 attacks?
Over 30,000
123
Why did government popularity fall after V attacks?
Due to the delay in admitting to V2 attacks
124
How did newspapers mostly deal with V1 attacks?
Ignored them through censorship
125
What did a Beckenham Journal newspaper release to finally speak out on V1 attacks?
Revealed that the centre of Beckenham had suffered heavy damage
126
Why don't people notice censorship as much in national newspapers?
As they don't live near the damage
127
Why was censorship not possible in local papers?
People realised the papers missed a major story as they were there
128
Why were local newspapers often a better source about life in V attacks?
Gave more detail over a single area and how it affect life alongside the broad events of war
129
How did the Monarchy increase morale during the Blitz?
Royal family stayed in London and visited bombed communities
130
Why did the government stay in London during the Blitz?
It would be bad for morale to 'abandon' Londoners and it was most likely too late for them to leave anyway
131
What were The Cabinet War Rooms?
Underground Government offices with meeting rooms, offices, bedrooms and the Map room
132
Why was the Map room useful?
Used all the data from the army and elsewhere to keep an updated map of WW2
133
How did leisure activities change during the Blitz?
Initially closed at the threat of heavy bombing but as there wasn't an instant bombing campaign, they were reopened as the government knew how important leisure activities were for morale
134
Describe dancing during the Blitz?
Very popular and large dancehalls stayed open
135
When were theatres and concerts allowed to reopen but why didn't many open?
In sept 1939 but there were sometimes nervous audiences
136
Who were lunchtime concerts for?
London workers and very popular
137
What did programmes include in theatres and concerts?
Instructions on what to do in an air raid
138
When did professional football restart?
September 1939
139
How much were professional football crowds limited in London?
To 8000
140
Why weren't there many people playing professional football?
Many joined services
141
How did museums and galleries preserve their collections?
British Museum stored precious treasures in an unused Underground tunnel in Aldwych.
142
How was it clear that buildings were harder to protect during the Blitz?
The medieval Guildhall was destroyed
143
What became a symbol of London's resistance to the Blitz?
The survival of St Paul's Cathedral
144
How did St Paul's cathedral survive?
The St Paul's watch waited to deal with damaged caused by incendiaries
145
How much did audiences in cinemas increase over war years?
By 50%
146
What did the government realise about cinemas in war?
Was a powerful force for propaganda and national unity
147
What was the Dig for Victory campaign?
Set up by the government to encourage growing own food rather than relying on food being shipped to Britain
148
How did the Dig for Victory campaign show how important the drive to grow more food was?
Even the moat of the Tower of London was turned into vegetable patches.
