The Historic Environment Flashcards
what were the four main preparations for war?
Evacuation, gas masks, shelters, blackouts
Evacuation - what were the three types of area, and in what year was it done
in 1938, likely target areas, neutral areas, reception areas
Evacuation - when did evacuation happen
2 days before war was declared
Evacuation - How many children were evacuated
1.3 million on special trains, 600,000 on double decker busses
evacuation - why did so many evacuees return?
because during the phoney war, there was little threat of air raids
Evacuation - How many evacuees returned?
by January 1940, 300,000 had returned, by March 1940, only 300,000 remained in reception areas
gas masks - What year did the government issue gas masks to all adults?
1938, for children 1938 and 1939
gas masks - what happened to the use of gas masks
during the phoney war, less people carried their gas masks, by March 1940, as few as 5% of the population took theirs out
gas masks - During the height of the blitz, how many people carried their gas masks/
1/3 of people
shelters - What were the two main types of shelters?
Anderson , Morrison
shelters - what were Anderson shelters made from?
corrugated iron sheets with earth piled on top
shelters - how were Anderson shelters issued to the population, and what year.
in 1938. if you made more than £250 a year, paid £7. but were also given out free to many people
shelters - How many anderson shelters were put up?
1.5 million
shelters - What year was the morrison shelter introduced?
1941
shelters - What was a morrison shelter? What was its capacity?
large steel table, sides covered with wire netting, could hold up to 3 people
shelters - Why was a morrison shelter effective?
Stopped people from being crushed by collapsing buildings
shelters - why didnt the government want to dig deep shelters?
fear that once people were underground, they wouldn’t come back up.
shelters - what was a surface shelter?
shelter made of brick walls, sometimes protected by earth or sandbags, they had concrete roofs
shelters - what tips did the government give on how to shelter at home?
board up bottom of windows with old doors, create blast barriers using piles of dirt, cover windows in parcel tape to protect against shards of glass
Blackouts - when did the government explain to the public the need for a blackout?
July 1939, more than a month before the war started
blackouts - What was the point of a blackout?
They made it harder for german bombers to find cities during night raids
blackouts - how could you stop light from emerging from windows
use dye and chemicals to make paint for soaking bed sheets.
blackouts - what did volunteer ARP wardens do?
1) sounded air raid sirens to warn of a raid at manned observation posts
2) told fire services when fires broke out
3) led people to shelters
4) patrol and make sure the blackout was effective
When did the blitz begin?
7th September 1940
