10 facts about the belfast blitzUncategorized

From a purely military perspective, the Blitz was entirely counterproductive to the main purpose of Germanys air offensiveto dominate the skies in advance of an invasion of England. 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. The M.V. 2. [21] Mass graves for the unclaimed bodies were dug in the Milltown and Belfast City Cemeteries. 55,000 British civilian casualties were sustained through German bombing before the end of 1940 This included 23,000 deaths. 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. High explosives were dropped. I felt outraged, I should have felt sympathy, grief, but instead feelings of revulsion and disgust assailed me. Nevertheless, for all the hardship it caused, the campaign proved to be a strategic mistake by the Germans. By the middle of December it had reached nearly 1,700,000 (adjusted for inflation, this was the equivalent of roughly 100 million in 2020). The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg ("lightning war"). Indeed, on the night of the first raid, no Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft took to the air to intercept German planes. 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. The next took. It is perhaps true that many saved their lives running but I am afraid a much greater number lost them or became casualties."[20]. Van Morrison is from the east part of the city. "But there is no such equivalent in Belfast. This part of Belfast was the only one required to provide air raid shelters for workers. Video, 00:00:46Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds. Prayers were said and hymns sung by the mainly Protestant women and children during the bombing. The first day of the Blitz is remembered as Black Saturday. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn.. Belfast is located on the island of Ireland. While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East EndMickeys Shelter. Outside of London, with some 900 dead, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the Blitz. Barton insisted that Belfast was "too far north" to use radio guidance. The government was blamed by some for inadequate precautions. 11 churches, two hospitals and two schools were destroyed. Eduard Hempel, the German Minister to Ireland, visited the Irish Ministry for External Affairs to offer sympathy and attempt an explanation. By British mainland blitz standards, casualties were light. Author Lawrence H. Dawson detailed the damage to Londons historic buildings for the 1941 Britannica Book of the Year: The following curtailed list identifies some of the better known places in inner London that have been damaged by enemy action. More than 1,000 people were killed, and the damage was more widespread than on any previous occasion. A short respite followed, until a widespread series of night raids on April 7 included some targets in the London area. Fortunately, the railway telegraphy link between Belfast and Dublin was still operational. It was not the last time Belfast would suffer. On occasion, forces consisting of as many as 300 to 400 aircraft would cross the coast by day and split into small groups, and a few planes would succeed in penetrating Londons outer defenses. Poor visibility on the night meant that the accuracy of the bombers was hampered and the explosives were dropped on densely populated areas of Belfast. The attacks were authorized by Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, after the British carried out a nighttime air raid on Berlin. The area included the Harland and Wolff Ltd. Shipyard, the Short and Harland Ltd. Aircraft Factory, and the airfield at RAF Sydenham. 29 interesting facts about Belfast you never knew - BeeLoved City From their photographs, they identified suitable targets: There had been a number of small bombings, probably by planes that missed their targets over the River Clyde in Glasgow or the cities of the northwest of England. Between Black Saturday and December 2, there was no 24-hour period without at least one alertas the alarms came to be calledand generally far more. parliament: "if the government realized 'that these fast bombers can come to Northern Ireland in two and three quarter hours'". Your donations help keep MHN afloat. 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. After his optician business was destroyed by a bomb, Mickey Davies led an effort to organize the Spitalfield Shelter. 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. The raid so infuriated Hitler that he ordered the Luftwaffe to shift its attacks from RAF sites to London and other cities. Authorities quickly implemented plans to protect Londoners from bombs and to house those left homeless by the attacks. London seemed ablaze from the docks to Westminster, much damage was done, and casualties were high. KS3 History (Environment and society) The Belfast Blitz learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers. It was not the first time the alarm had sounded to signify the presence of Luftwaffe bombers over the city. 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. 10 Facts about Belfast City. The Belfast Blitz: April-May 1941 - History Ireland After the war, when the first girl from the home got married Billy gave her away, having lost his only daughter. Sixty years after the Germans bombed Belfast in World War II BBC News Online looks back and remembers the anniversary of the blitz. Because basements, a logical destination in the event of an air raid, were a relative rarity in Britain, the A.R.P. Some are a total loss; others are already under repair with little outward sign of the damage sustained: Besides Buckingham palace, the chapel of which was wrecked, and Guildhall (the six-centuries old centre of London civic ceremonies and of great architectural beauty), which was destroyed by fire, Kensington palace (the London home of the earl of Athlone, governor general of Canada, and the birthplace of Queen Mary and Queen Victoria), the banqueting hall of Eltham palace (dating from King Johns time and long a royal residence), Lambeth palace (the archbishop of Canterbury), and Holland house (famous for its 17th century domestic architecture, its political associations, and its art treasures), suffered, the latter severely. The A.R.P. Compared to other cities, Belfast was virtually undefended. Belfast suffered a series of bombing raids in the spring of 1941, which became known as the 'Blitz of Belfast'. The creeping TikTok bans. 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. Fighter Commands efforts were greatly aided by the lack of any consistent plan of action on the part of the Germans. and Major Sen O'Sullivan, who produced a detailed report for the Dublin government. High explosive bombs predominated in this raid. 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. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. The House of Commons, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum were severely damaged, and The Temple was almost completely destroyed. In another building, the York Street Mill, one of its massive sidewalls collapsed on to Sussex and Vere Streets, killing all those who remained in their homes. The Luftwaffe had lost more than 600 aircraft, and, although the RAF had lost fewer than half that many, the battle was claiming British fighters and experienced pilots at too great a rate. About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000. BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | The Belfast blitz is remembered No significant cut was made in necessary social services, and public and private premises, except when irreparably damaged, were repaired as speedily as possible. These shelters, made of corrugated steel, were designed to be dug into a garden and then covered with dirt. In many cases the daily life of the city was able to resume with delays of only hours. However they were not in a position to communicate with the Germans, and information recovered from Germany after the war showed that the planning of the blitz was based entirely on German aerial reconnaissance. Many in Northern Ireland thought that Belfast was outside the range of the Luftwaffe. Video, 00:01:37Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. 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.". Three vessels nearing completion at Harland and Wolff's were hit as was its power station. 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. Video, 00:03:09, Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. It targeted the docks. There [is] ground for thinking that the enemy could not easily reach Belfast in force except during a period of moonlight. Over a period of nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed in the raids, which focused on major cities and industrial centres. Yesterday for once the people of Ireland were united under the shadow of a national blow. Many of the surface shelters built by local authorities were flimsy and provided little protection from bombs, falling debris, and fire. This amounted to nearly half of Britains total civilian deaths for the whole war. By then 250 firemen from Clydeside had arrived. He was asked, in the N.I. ISBN 9781909556324. There were few bomb shelters. Major O'Sullivan reported that "In the heavily 'blitzed' areas people ran panic-stricken into the streets and made for the open country. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. It is situated at on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. [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]. In each station volunteers were asked for, as it was beyond their normal duties. Published: September 7, 2020 at 12:00 pm. The attacks by both V1's and V2's only ended as the Allies advanced up through Western Europe . 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. wardens, and members of the Home Guard drilling in the parks, life went on much as usual. At the core of this book is a compelling account of the Luftwaffe's blitz on Belfast in April-May 1941. 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. His reply was: "We here today are in a state of war and we are prepared with the rest of the United Kingdom and Empire to face all the responsibilities that imposes on the Ulster people. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union. The first deliberate raid took place on the night of 7 April. At the time of the first attack in April 1941, there were no operational searchlights, too few anti-aircraft batteries and scarcely enough public air raid shelters for a quarter of the population. With Britains powerful Royal Navy controlling the surface approaches in the Channel and the North Sea, it fell to the Luftwaffe to establish dominance of the skies above the battle zone. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow Wave after wave of bombers dropped their incendiaries, high explosives and land-mines. The government announced that 77 people had died, but for years local residents insisted the toll was much higher. However Belfast was not mentioned again by the Nazis. The Blitz was devastating for the people of London and other cities. The 2017 film Zoo depicts an air raid during the Belfast Blitz. The night raids on London continued into 1941, and January 1011 saw exceptionally heavy attacks; the Mansion House (residence of the lord mayor of London) and the Bank of England narrowly avoided destruction when a bomb fell directly between them, creating a gigantic crater. The British government had anticipated air attacks on its population centres, and it had predicted catastrophic casualties. 2023 BBC. This raid overall caused relatively little damage, but a lot was revealed about Belfast's inadequate defences. [17] A stray bomber attacked Derry, killing 15. 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). At the beginning of the Blitz, British ack ack gunners struggled to inflict meaningful damage on German bombers, but later developments in radar guidance greatly improved the effectiveness of both antiaircraft artillery and searchlights. Up Next. There was unease with the complacent attitude of the government, which led to resignations: Craigavon died on 24 November 1940. For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. Belfast is famous for being the birthplace of the Titanic. Thank you. [1][2], The third raid on Belfast took place over the evening and morning of 45 May 1941; 150 were killed. William Joyce (known as "Lord Haw-Haw") announced in radio broadcasts from Hamburg that there will be "Easter eggs for Belfast". 7. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. Video, 00:00:51Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. Roads out of town are still one stream of cars, with mattresses and bedding tied on top. ", 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]. The first was on the night of 7-8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. Belfast confetti," said one archive news report. headquarters, Toynbee hall and St. Dunstans; the American, Spanish, Japanese and Peruvian embassies and the buildings of the Times newspaper, the Associated Press of America, and the National City bank of New York; the centre court at Wimbledon, Wembley stadium, the Ring (Blackfriars); Drury Lane, the Queens and the Saville theatres; Rotten row, Lambeth walk, the Burlington arcade and Madame Tussauds. 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. 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. People hung black curtains in their windows so that no lights showed outside their houses. Another defensive measure employed by the British was barrage balloonslarge oval-shaped unmanned balloons with stabilizing tail finsinstalled in and around major target areas. Around 20,000 people were employed on the site with 35,000 further along in the shipyard. Hundreds of incendiary and many high-explosive bombs were dropped, doing little material damage but causing many casualties. Nearby residential areas in east Belfast were also hit when "203 metric tonnes of high explosive bombs, 80 land mines attached to parachutes, and 800 firebomb canisters containing 96,000 incendiary bombs"[16] were dropped. [9], War materials and food were sent by sea from Belfast to Great Britain, some under the protection of the neutral Irish tricolour. 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. John Wood Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in Belfast in 1887. 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. After the war, instructions from Joseph Goebbels were discovered ordering it not to be mentioned. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. 24 - The tyres Dunlop were invented in Belfast in 1887 25 - The two H&W cranes are named Samson and Goliath 26 - The Albert Clock is Ireland's leaning tower 27 - The mobile defibrillator was invented in Belfast 28 - Belfast's ice hockey team, the Giants, is one of the best in Europe. IWM C 5424 1. As the UK was preparing for the conflict, the factories and shipyards of Belfast were gearing up. Humanity knows no borders, no politics, no differences of religious belief. Death had to a certain extent been made decent. 19.99. The Belfast blitz is remembered. 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. Sir Basil Brooke, the Minister of Agriculture, was the only active minister. Burke Street which ran between Annadale and Dawson streets in the New Lodge area, was completely wiped off the map with all its 20 houses flattened and all of the occupants killed.[16]. Read about our approach to external linking. 1. The Luftwaffe crews returned to their base in Northern France and reported that Belfast's defences were, "inferior in quality, scanty and insufficient". In spite of blackouts, ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the visible effects of mass evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. It was solemn, tragic, dignified, but here it was grotesque, repulsive, horrible. In the New Lodge area people had taken refuge in a mill. Although there were some comparatively slight raids later in 1941, the most notable one on July 27, the May 1011 attack marked the conclusion of the Blitz. After the passing of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, it became the seat of the government of Northern Ireland. The World's Most-Famous Ship, The Titanic, was constructed here. By mid-September 1940 the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. The bombs caused death and destruction across the city, affecting those of all religions and political backgrounds. But the raid of 15-16 April - the Easter Tuesday Raid - was on another scale. Lecturer of History, Queens University, Belfast, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belfast_Blitz&oldid=1136721396, During the war years, Belfast shipyards built or converted over 3,000 navy vessels, repaired more than 22,000 others and launched over half a million tons of merchant shipping over 140. 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