[citation needed]. 50,000 houses, more than half the houses in the city, were damaged. Published: September 7, 2020 at 12:00 pm. And even then, Westminster stated it was not ample provision; Stormont still worried about the costs to industry. I was definitely one of the first over the target and as I flew in there was no great defence because there were not a great many aircraft over the target at that point, recalled Becker. All were exhausted. In Bristol, the bombed-out ruins of St Peter's Church were left standing with added memorial plaques to the civilians who were killed. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. Compared to other cities, Belfast was virtually undefended. Mr Freeburn set out to find out more about those who died, their personal stories and the tales of those left behind. By the end of the attacks, between 900 and 1,000 people were dead and thousands more were injured, homeless and displaced. What happened in 1941 changed the city forever. The 2017 film Zoo depicts an air raid during the Belfast Blitz. 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. Major O'Sullivan reported that "In the heavily 'blitzed' areas people ran panic-stricken into the streets and made for the open country. Protection of the city fell to seven anti-aircraft batteries of 16 heavy guns and six light guns. At the start of World War Two, Belfast had considered itself safe from an aerial attack, as the city's leaders believed that Belfast was simply too far away for Luftwaffe bombers to reach - assuming that they would have to fly from Nazi Germany. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn.. On Nov. 30, 1940, a lone Luftwaffe plane flew across the Ards Peninsula unobserved and reported back to Berlin. He was asked, in the N.I. By mid-September 1940 the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. Government apathy, a lack of leadership and a belief the Luftwaffe could not reach Belfast lead to the city lagging behind in terms of basic defences. The city covers a total area of 132.5 square kilometers (51 square miles). The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. His report concluded with: "a second Belfast would be too horrible to contemplate". Belfast was ill-prepared for the blitz. Around 1am, Luftwaffe bombers flew over the city, concentrating their attack on the Harbour Estate and Queen's Island. Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. From September 1940 until May 1941, Britain was subjected to sustained enemy bombing campaign, now known as the Blitz. "There will always be people who will slip through the net but I am able to say at least 987 were killed across all raids.". While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. When the Blitz began, the government enforced a blackout in an attempt to make targeting more difficult for German night bombers. After the passing of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, it became the seat of the government of Northern Ireland. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn." During the whole period, although the citys operation was disrupted in ways that were sometimes serious, no essential service was more than temporarily impaired. After a brief lull, the Luftwaffe returned in force on February 17. "It says a lot about how these people are forgotten that there is no Blitz memorial in Belfast," Mr Freeburn says. This raid overall caused relatively little damage, but a lot was revealed about Belfast's inadequate defences. [25] He followed up with his "they are our people" speech, made in Castlebar, County Mayo, on Sunday 20 April 1941 (Quoted in the Dundalk Democrat dated Saturday 26 April 1941): In the past, and probably in the present, too, a number of them did not see eye to eye with us politically, but they are our people we are one and the same people and their sorrows in the present instance are also our sorrows; and I want to say to them that any help we can give to them in the present time we will give to them whole-heartedly, believing that were the circumstances reversed they would also give us their help whole-heartedly Frank Aiken, the Irish Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures was in Boston, Massachusetts at the time. In the east of the city, Westbourne and Newcastle Streets on the Newtownards Road, Thorndyke Street off the Albertbridge Road and Ravenscroft Avenue were destroyed or damaged. There was no opposition. There wasn't enough room for Anna or Billy, so they sheltered elsewhere, a twist of fate that would save their lives. 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). It is believed that the wartime government covered up the death toll because of concern over the effect it would have had on public morale. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He gave an interview saying: "the people of Belfast are Irish people too". By Jonathan Bardon. Corrections? Read about our approach to external linking. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this site without expressand written permission from the author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Elsewhere in the skies over Britain, Nazi official Rudolph Hess chose that same evening to parachute into Scotland on a quixotic and wholly unauthorized peace mission. 55,000 houses were damaged leaving 100,000 temporarily homeless. Another claim was that the Catholic population in general and the IRA in particular guided the bombers. O'Sullivan felt that the whole civil defence sector was utterly overwhelmed. Belfast made a considerable contribution towards the Allied war effort, producing many naval ships, aircraft and munitions; therefore, the city was deemed a suitable bombing target by the Luftwaffe. Video, 00:02:54Living through the London Blitz, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire. The A.R.P. 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. The Belfast blitz is remembered. So had Clydeside until recently. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. In the eight months of attacks, some 43,000 civilians were killed. Blitz Fibre UK Blitz Fibre UK Published Mar 1, 2023 + Follow Fact 1- Small but Mighty . He believed that key targets identified across the city were hit. [12], There was little preparation for the conflict with Germany. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. An air raid shelter on Hallidays Road received a direct hit, killing all those in it. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. (Great War casualties) had died in hospital beds, their eyes had been reverently closed, their hands crossed to their breasts. This amounted to nearly half of Britains total civilian deaths for the whole war. C.S Lewis was born in Belfast, and the nearby countryside helped inspire The Chronicles of Narnia. Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East EndMickeys Shelter. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. Nurse Emma Duffin, who had served in World War I, contrasted death in that conflict with what she saw:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. Omissions? The Luftwaffe crews returned to their base in Northern France and reported that Belfast's defences were, "inferior in quality, scanty and insufficient". Beginning on Black Saturday, London was attacked on 57 straight nights. By 6am, within two hours of the request for assistance, 71 firemen with 13 fire tenders from Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin, and Dn Laoghaire were on their way to cross the Irish border to assist their Belfast colleagues. Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go. Men from the South worked with men from the North in the universal cause of the relief of suffering. Several accounts point out that Belfast, standing at the end of the long inlet of Belfast Lough, would be easily located. British Spies and Irish Rebels by Paul McMahon, Report by the Garda Sochna 23 October 1941 IMA G2/1722, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Irish Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures, "Eamon de Valera and Hitler: An Analysis of International Reaction to the Visit to the German Minister, May 1945", "Extracts from an article, "The Belfast Blitz, 1941", "Historical Topics Series 2 The Belfast Blitz", "Your Place and Mine The Belfast Blitz", "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Biographies", "Belfast Blitz: The night death and destruction rained down on city", "Multitext - the Blitz - Belfast during the second World War", http://www.niwarmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/The_Belfast_Blitz.pdf, http://www.proni.gov.uk/historical_topics_series_-_02_-_the_belfast_blitz.pdf, Extracts from an article on The Belfast Blitz, 1941. The seeming normality of life on the Home Front was shattered in 1944 when the first of the V1's landed. Video, 00:00:51Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. 6. Interesting facts about Belfast. 3. Added to this was the repair and refitting of 22,000 more vessels. No significant cut was made in necessary social services, and public and private premises, except when irreparably damaged, were repaired as speedily as possible. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. When the bombing began, 76-year-old William and 72-year-old Harriette took refuge under the stairs along with Dorothy, Dot and Isa. Belfast is located on the island of Ireland. The Titanic was built in Belfast. More than 500 German planes dropped more than 700 tons of bombs across the city, killing nearly 1,500 people and destroying 11,000 homes. Between April 7 and May 6 of that year, Luftwaffe bombers unleashed death and destruction on the cities of Belfast, Bangor, Derry/Londonderry and Newtownards. Over 20 hospitals were hit, among them the London (many times), St. Thomass, St. Bartholomews, and the childrens hospital in Great Ormond st., as well as Chelsea hospital, the home for the aged and invalid soldiers, built by Wren. On the ground, there were only 22 anti-aircraft guns positioned around the city, six light and 16 heavy, and on the first night only seven of these were manned and operational. Many of those who died as a result of enemy action lived in tightly packed, poorly constructed, terraced housing. Government ministers in Northern Ireland began to realise the Luftwaffe may launch an attack, but it was too little, too late. In the subsequent years, this lack of preparation has often dominated the discussion about the Belfast Blitz, but a new project led by Alan Freeburn from the Northern Ireland War Memorial aims to shift the focus back to the ordinary men, women and children who lost their lives. On November 14, 1940, a German force of more than 500 bombers destroyed much of the old city centre and killed more than 550 people. Some 27 percent of Londoners utilized private shelters, such as Anderson shelters, while the remaining 64 percent spent their evenings on duty with some branch of the civil defense or remained in their own homes. When incendiaries were dropped, the city burned as water pressure was too low for effective firefighting. 255 corpses were laid out in St George's Market. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union. to households. The nights of November 3 and 28 were the only occasions during this period in which Londons peace was unbroken by siren or bomb. The fourth and final Belfast raid took place on the following night, 56 May. The World's Most-Famous Ship, The Titanic, was constructed here. Accounts differ as to when flares were dropped to light up the city. 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. Many people who were dug out of the rubble alive had taken shelter underneath their stairs and were fortunate that their homes had not received a direct hit or caught fire. Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Hitler abruptly changed his strategy. Of the churches, besides St. Pauls cathedral, where at one time were five unexploded bombs in the immediate vicinity and the roof of which was pierced by another that exploded and shattered the high altar to fragments, those damaged were Westminster abbey, St. Margarets Westminster, Southwark cathedral; fifteen Wren churches (including St. The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. [citation needed], Other writers, such as Tony Gray in The Lost Years state that the Germans did follow their radio guidance beams. Islington parish church, the rebuilt Our Lady of Victories (Kensington), the French church by Leicester square, St. Annes, Soho (famous for its music), All Souls, Langham place, and Christ Church in Westminster Bridge road (whose towerfortunately savedcommemorates President Lincolns abolition of slavery), were among a large number of others. The most heavily bombed area was that which lay between York Street and the Antrim Road, north of the city centre. Humanity knows no borders, no politics, no differences of religious belief. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. In the course of four Luftwaffe attacks on the nights of 7-8 April, 15-16 April, 4-5 May and 5-6 May 1941, lasting ten hours in total, 1,100 people died, over 56,000 houses in the city were damaged (53 per cent of its entire housing stock), roughly 100,000 made temporarily homeless and 20 million damage was caused to property at wartime values. 1. No attendant nurse had soothed the last moments of these victims; no gentle reverent hand had closed their eyes or crossed their hands. sprang into action, and Londoners, while maintaining the work, business, and efficiency of their city, displayed remarkable fortitude. Days later a group of East Enders occupied the shelter at the upscale Savoy Hotel, and many others began to take refuge in the citys underground railway, or Tube, stations. 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. Under the leadership of Prime Minister John Miller Andrews, Northern Ireland remained unprepared. The Germans established that Belfast was defended by only seven anti-aircraft batteries, which made it the most poorly defended city in the United Kingdom. Video, 00:00:46Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds. The famous places damaged include the palace of Westminster and Westminster hall, the County hall, the Public Record office, the Law Courts, the Temple and the Inner Temple library; Somerset house, Burlington house, the tower of London, Greenwich observatory, Hogarths house; the Carlton, Reform, American, Savage, Arts and Orleans clubs; the Royal College of Surgeons, University college and its library, Stationers hall, the Y.M.C.A. The past doesnt change, its just over.. Taoiseach amon de Valera formally protested to Berlin. On 4-5 May, another raid, made up of 204 bombers, killed another 203 people and the following night 22 more died. For 57 nightsuntil November 2more than 1 million bombs were dropped on the capital city. Gring had insisted that such an attack was an impossibility, because of the citys formidable air defense network. At 4:15am John MacDermott, the Minister of Public Security, managed to contact Basil Brooke (then Agriculture Minister), seeking permission to seek help from the Irish government. KS3 History (Environment and society) The Belfast Blitz learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers. London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights from 7 September 1940 Contributions poured in from every part of the world in such profusion that on October 28 its scope was extended to cover the whole of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. [9], War materials and food were sent by sea from Belfast to Great Britain, some under the protection of the neutral Irish tricolour. Londoners enjoyed three weeks of uneasy peace until May 1011, the night of a full moon, when the Luftwaffe launched the most intense raid of the Blitz. Outside of London, with some 900 dead, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the Blitz. A Luftwaffe pilot gave this description "We were in exceptional good humour knowing that we were going for a new target, one of England's last hiding places. 10 Facts about Belfast City. As well as photographs, the Luftwaffe gathered information on landmarks, potential targets and defences or lack thereof. 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. Fortunately, the railway telegraphy link between Belfast and Dublin was still operational. The most significant loss was a 4.5-acre (1.8ha) factory floor for manufacturing the fuselages of Short Stirling bombers. The first attack was against the city's waterworks, which had been attacked in the previous raid. devised the Morrison shelter (named for Home Secretary Herbert Stanley Morrison) as an alternative to the Anderson shelter. Air power alone had failed to knock the United Kingdom out of the war. Streets heavily bombed in the city centre included High Street, Ann Street, Callender Street, Chichester Street, Castle Street, Tomb Street, Bridge Street (effectively obliterated), Rosemary Street, Waring Street, North Street, Victoria Street, Donegall Street, York Street, Gloucester Street, and East Bridge Street. High explosive bombs predominated in this raid. Read about our approach to external linking. Read about our approach to external linking. Video, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. Those who sought refuge at the school were told that they would quickly be relocated to a safer area, but the evacuation was delayed. 7. They are sleeping in the same sheugh (ditch), below the same tree or in the same barn. [citation needed], On Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, spectators watching a football match at Windsor Park noticed a lone Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 aircraft circling overhead.[15]. It became a city by royal charter in 1888. There were few bomb shelters. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Most of the objectives laid out by the reconnaissance crews were of either military or industrial importance. . The district of Belfast has an area of 44 square miles (115 square km). It targeted the docks. This hub of industry and trade represented a legitimate military target for the Germans, and some 25,000 bombs were dropped on the Port of London alone. However Belfast was not mentioned again by the Nazis. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II began with Germanys invasion of Poland, the British government implemented a massive evacuation plan. 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. On August 25 the British retaliated by launching a bombing raid on Berlin. Public buildings destroyed or badly damaged included Belfast City Hall's Banqueting Hall, the Ulster Hospital for Women and Children and Ballymacarrett library, (the last two being located on Templemore Avenue). The Blitz began at about 4:00 in the afternoon on September 7, 1940, when German planes appeared over London. By the. William Joyce (known as "Lord Haw-Haw") announced in radio broadcasts from Hamburg that there will be "Easter eggs for Belfast". Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), The Belfast Blitz Inside the Deadly 1941 Luftwaffe Raids on Northern Ireland, Dutch Weapons and American Independence How the United Provinces Made a Fortune Supplying Muskets in the Revolutionary War , USS Devilfish The Curious Case of the Only U.S. Navy Submarine to be Attacked by a Kamikaze, The Chinchas War Inside the Little-Known Conflict Between Peru and Spain Over Animal Turds, The Battle for Nassau Inside the First Overseas Mission for Americas Marines, Mustang vs. Corsair Inside the U.S. Navys 1944 Match-Up Between the Two Fighters, Stickin It To Em The Last of the Great Bayonet Charges, Bloody First Contact When Vikings Clashed with Native North Americans, Battlefield Stalingrad Four Maps That Tell the Story of World War Twos Pivotal Struggle. 19.99. [citation needed], There was a second massive air raid on Belfast on Sunday 45 May 1941, three weeks after that of Easter Tuesday. [26], Initial German radio broadcasts celebrated the raid. Another defensive measure employed by the British was barrage balloonslarge oval-shaped unmanned balloons with stabilizing tail finsinstalled in and around major target areas. Looking back on the Belfast Blitz, Oberleutnant Becker signed off with the following words: A war is the worst thing that can happen to Mankind. Fiber-optic cables are made from thin strings of glass and are generally about one-tenth the width of a . These shelters were vital as these factories had many employees working late at night and early in the morning when Luftwaffe attacks were likely. Yesterday for once the people of Ireland were united under the shadow of a national blow. There were still 80,000 more in Belfast. [1][2], The third raid on Belfast took place over the evening and morning of 45 May 1941; 150 were killed. Air-raid damage was widespread; hospitals, clubs, churches, museums, residential and shopping streets, hotels, public houses, theatres, schools, monuments, newspaper offices, embassies, and the London Zoo were bombed. The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Belfast Blitz: Marking the lost lives 80 years on A force of 180 bombers dropped 750 bombs - including 203 tonnes of high explosives - and 29,000 incendiaries over a five-hour period. You can see the difference in those letters - post-Blitz is very much a grieving tone.
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