3. It remains a high death toll - a shocking number of people killed in just a few weeks. As of October 2020, the population of Belfast is about 350,000 people. German bombing of London during the Blitz, Discover how the Third Reich attacked Great Britain during World War II's Battle of Britain, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Watch President Roosevelt outline his Four Freedoms and learn how Britain defeated Germany's Luftwaffe. St. Giles, Cripplegate, and St. Mary Wolnooth, also in the city, were damaged, while the Dutch church in Austin Friars, dating from the 14th century and covering a larger area than any church in the city of London, St. Pauls alone excepted, was totally destroyed. When Germany bombed Belfast as part of the Blitz during World War Two, the massive air raids left more than a thousand people dead. The bombs caused death and destruction across the city, affecting those of all religions and political backgrounds. Video, 00:01:15The Belfast blitz, Up Next. continuous trek to railway stations. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. One of every six Londoners was made homeless at some point during the Blitz, and at least 1.1 million houses and flats were damaged or destroyed. 150 corpses remained in the Falls Road baths for three days before they were buried in a mass grave, with 123 still unidentified. Video, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. O'Sullivan reported: "There were many terrible mutilations among both living and dead heads crushed, ghastly abdominal and face wounds, penetration by beams, mangled and crushed limbs etc.". There were few bomb shelters. Another large-scale attack followed on March 19, when hundreds of houses and shops, many churches, six hospitals, and other public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. Authorities quickly implemented plans to protect Londoners from bombs and to house those left homeless by the attacks. Later, guided by the raging fires caused by the first attack, a second group of planes began another assault that lasted until 4:30 the following morning. Fortunately, the railway telegraphy link between Belfast and Dublin was still operational. The "Hiram Plan" initiated by Dawson Bates, the Home Affairs Minister, had failed to materialise. Humanity knows no borders, no politics, no differences of religious belief. Gring had insisted that such an attack was an impossibility, because of the citys formidable air defense network. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. The attack on Coventry was particularly destructive. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this site without expressand written permission from the author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. 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. More than 1,000 people were killed, and the damage was more widespread than on any previous occasion. Major Sen O'Sullivan reported on the intensity of the bombing in some areas, such as the Antrim Road, where bombs "fell within fifteen to twenty yards of one another." They are sleeping in the same sheugh (ditch), below the same tree or in the same barn. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. Under the leadership of Prime Minister John Miller Andrews, Northern Ireland remained unprepared. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow However that attack was not an error. Prior to the "Belfast Blitz" there were only 200 public shelters in the city, although around 4,000 households had built their own private shelters. An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. The first attack was against the city's waterworks, which had been attacked in the previous raid. By 1941, production of the Short Stirling Bomber and the Short Sunderland Flying Boat was underway. One, Tom Coleman, attended to receive recognition for his colleagues' solidarity at such a critical time. Churches destroyed or wrecked included Macrory Memorial Presbyterian in Duncairn Gardens; Duncairn Methodist, Castleton Presbyterian on York Road; St Silas's on the Oldpark Road; St James's on the Antrim Road; Newington Presbyterian on Limestone Road; Crumlin Road Presbyterian; Holy Trinity on Clifton Street and Clifton Street Presbyterian; York Street Presbyterian and York Street Non-Subscribing Presbyterian; Newtownards Road Methodist and Rosemary Street Presbyterian (the last of which was not rebuilt). The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg (lightning war). Fiber-optic cables are made from thin strings of glass and are generally about one-tenth the width of a . The wartime output of the yard included aircraft carriers HMS Formidable and HMS Unicorn, cruisers such as HMS Belfast and more than 130 other vessels used by the Royal Navy. The RAFs Spitfire was a superlative fighter, and it was not always easy for the Germans to distinguish it from the slightly less maneuverable but much more numerous Hurricanes. The creeping TikTok bans. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. Nine were registered on three separate occasions, and from the start of the Blitz until November 30 there were more than 350 alerts. Belfast | History, Population, Map, Landmarks, & Facts Video, 00:01:41, The German bombing of Coventry. By then most of the major fires were under control and the firemen from Clydeside and other British cities were arriving. Over a period of nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed in the raids, which focused on major cities and industrial centres. Simpson shot down one of the Heinkels over Downpatrick. Given Belfast's geographic position, it was considered to be at the fringe of the operational range of German bombers and hence there was no provision for night-fighter aerial cover. There are other diarists and narratives. The Battle of Britain It has been reported that on Easter Tuesday, Belfast suffered the highest loss of life of any city in the UK in a single raid. Incendiary bombs predominated in this raid. The Blitz began at about 4:00 in the afternoon on September 7, 1940, when German planes appeared over London. The Belfast Blitz was a series of devastating Luftwaffe air raids that took place in Northern Ireland during the Second World War. When war broke out in 1939 the city did not expect to be attacked by German bombers: it was geographically remote and deemed a relatively . It was the worst wartime raid outside of London in the UK. parliament: "if the government realized 'that these fast bombers can come to Northern Ireland in two and three quarter hours'". He described some distressing consequences, such as how "in one case the leg and arm of a child had to be amputated before it could be extricated. [27] One widespread criticism was that the Germans located Belfast by heading for Dublin and following the railway lines north. Anna and Billy were buried up their necks in sewage but were rescued and survived. No searchlights were set up in the city at the time, and these only arrived on 10 April. Belfast was largely unprepared for an attack of such a scale as 200 German bombers shelled the city on 15 April 1941. Still, many in Northern Ireland believed no Luftwaffe attack would come. Horrendous Belfast losses during World War Two bombing blitz The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. 29 interesting facts about Belfast you never knew - BeeLoved City 50,000 houses, more than half the houses in the city, were damaged. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 7,000 feet (2,100m), dropped incendiaries, high explosive and parachute-mines. Belfast confetti," said one archive news report. 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. Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland . John Wood Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in Belfast in 1887. Three vessels nearing completion at Harland and Wolff's were hit as was its power station. At 10:40 on the evening of Easter Tuesday 1941 air raid sirens sounded across Belfast, sending people across the city scrambling for safety - in one of the 200 public shelters in the city or the thousands of shelters or other "safe" spaces in private homes. Video, 00:01:09The Spitfire turns 80, The German bombing of Coventry. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow Before the war broke out, civilians had been issued with gas masks and Anderson shelters, which people were encouraged to build at the. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go. The Belfast blitz is remembered. Blitz, The - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help Wave after wave of bombers dropped their incendiaries, high explosives and land-mines. There were still 80,000 more in Belfast. There is no slacking in our loyalty. Reviewed by: Geoffrey Roberts. In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War, an invitation was received by the Dublin Fire Brigade for any survivors of that time to attend a function at Hillsborough Castle and meet Prince Charles. Taoiseach amon de Valera formally protested to Berlin. 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. On July 16, 1940, Hitler issued a directive ordering the preparation and, if necessary, execution of Operation Sea Lion, the amphibious invasion of Great Britain. [26], Initial German radio broadcasts celebrated the raid. Belfast Blitz: Marking the lost lives 80 years on. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. There were Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s and Dornier Do 17s. While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. Prayers were said and hymns sung by the mainly Protestant women and children during the bombing. "A lot of the people I spoke to were relatives who ended up donating images and handwritten letters from before and after the Blitz. [citation needed], Other writers, such as Tony Gray in The Lost Years state that the Germans did follow their radio guidance beams. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. This part of Belfast was the only one required to provide air raid shelters for workers. Another defensive measure employed by the British was barrage balloonslarge oval-shaped unmanned balloons with stabilizing tail finsinstalled in and around major target areas. The district of Belfast has an area of 44 square miles (115 square km). ", Dawson Bates, the Home Affairs Minister, apparently refused to reply to army correspondence and when the Ministry of Home Affairs was informed by imperial defence experts in 1939 that Belfast was regarded as "a very definite German objective", little was done outside providing shelters in the Harbour area.[14]. About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000 people homeless. [9], War materials and food were sent by sea from Belfast to Great Britain, some under the protection of the neutral Irish tricolour. "We can still see the physical scars of the Blitz in Belfast, that is what is left. 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. That evening over 150 bombers left their bases in northern France and the Netherlands and headed for Belfast. The 2017 film Zoo depicts an air raid during the Belfast Blitz. On September 10, 1940, the school was flattened by a German bomb, and people huddled in the basement were killed or trapped in the rubble. Has it taken bursting bombs to remind the people of this little country that they have common tradition, a common genius and a common home? Belfast Blitz: Remembering the ordinary people who lost their lives By mid-September 1940 the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. In early 1941 the Germans launched another wave of attacks, this time focusing on ports. Death should be dignified, peaceful; Hitler had made even death grotesque. 1. A force of 180 bombers dropped 750 bombs - including 203 tonnes of high explosives - and 29,000 incendiaries over a five-hour period. In the first days of the Blitz, a tragic incident in the East End stoked public anger over the governments shelter policy. The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; Two of the crews received refreshments in Banbridge; others were entertained in the Ancient Order of Hibernians hall in Newry. Many of those who died as a result of enemy action lived in tightly packed, poorly constructed, terraced housing. (Some authors count this as the second raid of four). The 'Blitz' - from the German term Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') - was the sustained campaign of aerial bombing attacks on British towns and cities carried out by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) from September 1940 until May 1941. Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. Video, 00:01:23Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, One-minute World News. Video, 00:01:37Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. The national government also provided funds to local municipalities to construct public air-raid shelters. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. The attacks were authorized by Germanys chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. Fighter Commands efforts were greatly aided by the lack of any consistent plan of action on the part of the Germans. William Joyce (known as "Lord Haw-Haw") announced in radio broadcasts from Hamburg that there will be "Easter eggs for Belfast". The Blitz: When Was It, Why Did It Begin And How Did It End In many cases the daily life of the city was able to resume with delays of only hours. That contrasts with the figure that is often given of more than 900 killed on Easter Tuesday alone. ", Dawson Bates informed the Cabinet of rack-renting of barns, and over thirty people per house in some areas.[24]. The British, on the other hand, were supremely well prepared for the kind of battle in which they now found themselves. Omissions? The first was on the night of 7-8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. 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. Sometimes they were trying establish a blockade by destroying shipping and port facilities, sometimes they were directly attacking Fighter Command ground installations, sometimes they were targeting aircraft factories, and sometimes they were attempting to engage Fighter Command in the skies. Find out how it began, what the Germans hoped to achieve and how it severe it was, plus we visit nine places affected by the attacks. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. These figures are based on newspaper reports of the time, personal recollections and other primary sources, such as:- This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/the-Blitz, National Museums Liverpool - Merseyside Maritime Museum - The Blitz, The History Learning Site - The Blitz and World War Two. The British thus fought with the advantage of superior equipment and undivided aim against an enemy with inconsistent objectives. Oakland plans to unleash 'pothole blitz' to fix notorious street damage 2023 BBC. 10 Facts About the Blitz and the Bombing of Germany . 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 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". Just eight days earlier, eight planes destroyed the aircraft fuselage factory and damaged the docks, with 15 people ultimately killed as a result of that raid. Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. High explosives were dropped. Half of the city's housing was damaged over the course of all the raids. 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." 9. 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