Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The bombs continued to fall until 5am. This type of shelteressentially a low steel cage large enough to contain two adults and two small childrenwas designed to be set up indoors and could serve as a refuge if the building began to collapse. Brooke noted in his diary "I gave him authority as it is obviously a question of expediency". For two hours, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters targeted the city, dropping high-explosive bombs as well as incendiary devices. Those who sought refuge at the school were told that they would quickly be relocated to a safer area, but the evacuation was delayed. Morale did suffer amid the death and devastation, but there were few calls for surrender. He was asked, in the N.I. A Luftwaffe terror bombing attack on the Spanish city of Guernica (April 26, 1937) during the Spanish Civil War had killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed much of the town. Just before Easter 1941, Anna and Billy Burdett and their 12-year-old daughter, Dorothy, returned to Belfast from England to visit Anna's family. On 28 April 1943, six members of the Government threatened to resign, forcing him from office. But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". Clydeside got its blitz during the period of the last moon. 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. While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. Major O'Sullivan reported that "In the heavily 'blitzed' areas people ran panic-stricken into the streets and made for the open country. Learn how your comment data is processed. When Germany bombed Belfast as part of the Blitz during World War Two, the massive air raids left more than a thousand people dead. When the Blitz began, the government enforced a blackout in an attempt to make targeting more difficult for German night bombers. When the bombing began, 76-year-old William and 72-year-old Harriette took refuge under the stairs along with Dorothy, Dot and Isa. In total over 1,300 houses were demolished, some 5,000 badly damaged, nearly 30,000 slightly damaged while 20,000 required "first aid repairs".[3]. Barton insisted that Belfast was "too far north" to use radio guidance. 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. 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. The most significant loss was a 4.5-acre (1.8ha) factory floor for manufacturing the fuselages of Short Stirling bombers. The sense of relative calm was abruptly shattered in the first week of September 1940, when the war came to London in earnest. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. 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. Interesting facts about Belfast | Just Fun Facts 15 Powerful Photos Of The WW2 Blitz | Imperial War Museums About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000 people homeless. 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. 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. 29 interesting facts about Belfast you never knew - BeeLoved City 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. Barton wrote: "the Catholic population was much more strongly opposed to conscription, was inclined to sympathise with Germany", "there were suspicions that the Germans were assisted in identifying targets, held by the Unionist population." [citation needed]. 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. NI WW2 veterans honoured by France. 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. 8. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 7,000 feet (2,100m), dropped incendiaries, high explosive and parachute-mines. Jimmy Doherty, an air raid warden (who later served in London during the V1 and V2 blitz), who wrote a book on the Belfast blitz; Several theatres and many cinemas were open, and there were even a few sporting events. 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". Belfast Blitz - Wikipedia Death should be dignified, peaceful; Hitler had made even death grotesque. Targets identified included: the Short and Harland Ltd. Aircraft Factory; the Belfast power station and waterworks; Other maps uncovered following the Second World War also showed the parliament and city hall, Belfast gasworks, a rope factory and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. A Raid From Above The government was blamed by some for inadequate precautions. Guided by Davies, the people of the shelter created an ad hoc government and established a set of rules. His death (along with preceding ill-health) came at a bad time and arguably inadvertently caused a leadership vacuum. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. "They have never been published before, never seen the light of day.". Few children had been successfully evacuated. When incendiaries were dropped, the city burned as water pressure was too low for effective firefighting. 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.". THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. The Germans, however, saw Belfast as a legitimate target due to the shipyards in the city that were contributing to Britain's war efforts. Air power alone had failed to knock the United Kingdom out of the war. 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. Streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated signs were kept off. They are sleeping in the same sheugh (ditch), below the same tree or in the same barn. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. The M.V. Belfast was bombed by the Nazis in World War II. Anna and Billy were buried up their necks in sewage but were rescued and survived. Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. When the war began, Belfast, like many other cities, adopted the wartime practices of rationing and blackouts. That evening over 150 bombers left their bases in northern France and the Netherlands and headed for Belfast. 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. devised the Morrison shelter (named for Home Secretary Herbert Stanley Morrison) as an alternative to the Anderson shelter. Oakland plans to unleash 'pothole blitz' to fix notorious street damage Wave after wave of bombers dropped their incendiaries, high explosives and land-mines. Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow.. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. As the UK was preparing for the conflict, the factories and shipyards of Belfast were gearing up. 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. I felt outraged, I should have felt sympathy, grief, but instead feelings of revulsion and disgust assailed me. After a brief lull, the Luftwaffe returned in force on February 17. Video, 00:01:23Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, One-minute World News. The seeming normality of life on the Home Front was shattered in 1944 when the first of the V1's landed. [12], There was little preparation for the conflict with Germany. One, Tom Coleman, attended to receive recognition for his colleagues' solidarity at such a critical time. wardens, and members of the Home Guard drilling in the parks, life went on much as usual. Incendiary bombs predominated in this raid. The first (April 7 -8), a small attack, was most likely carried out to test the city's defenses. In the mistaken belief that they might damage RAF fighters, the anti-aircraft batteries ceased firing. In every instance, all stepped forward. Tommy Henderson, an Independent Unionist MP in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, summed up the feeling when he invited the Minister of Home Affairs to Hannahstown and the Falls Road, saying "The Catholics and the Protestants are going up there mixed and they are talking to one another. People hung black curtains in their windows so that no lights showed outside their houses. 6. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg (lightning war). Still, many in Northern Ireland believed no Luftwaffe attack would come. "[22], In his opinion, the greatest want was the lack of hospital facilities. 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. It was not the first time the alarm had sounded to signify the presence of Luftwaffe bombers over the city. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. For two hours on the first day, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters blasted London. Singer-songwriter Van Morrison was born here. Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East EndMickeys Shelter. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The British thus fought with the advantage of superior equipment and undivided aim against an enemy with inconsistent objectives. Belfast - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help 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. The database Mr Freeburn has compiled is, he believes, the most accurate list of those killed and includes 222 children aged 16 or under. Fortunately, the railway telegraphy link between Belfast and Dublin was still operational. 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. Video, 00:02:12, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. That night almost 300 people, many from the Protestant Shankill area, took refuge in the Clonard Monastery in the Catholic Falls Road. 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. The creeping TikTok bans. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. Heavy jacks were unavailable. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II began with Germanys invasion of Poland, the British government implemented a massive evacuation plan. While some of the poorer and more crowded suburban areas suffered severely, the mansions of Mayfair, the luxury flats of Kensington, and Buckingham Palace itselfwhich was bombed four separate timesfared little better. A modern bomb census has attempted to pinpoint the location of every bomb dropped on London during the Blitz, and the visualization of that data makes clear how thoroughly the Luftwaffe saturated the city. On May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the Blitz as he shifted his forces eastward against the Soviet Union. The Blitz of Belfast 1941 - History Learning Site By mid-September 1940 the RAF had won the Battle of Britain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely. 255 corpses were laid out in St George's Market. The famous Harland and Wolff cranes are called Samson and Goliath. 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. The Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) But the Luftwaffe was ready. William Joyce "Lord Haw-Haw" announced that "The Fhrer will give you time to bury your dead before the next attack Tuesday was only a sample." 10 Awesome Facts About Fibre - linkedin.com 10,000 "officially" crossed the border. Where they are going, what they will find to eat when they get there, nobody knows. High explosives were dropped. During the whole period, although the citys operation was disrupted in ways that were sometimes serious, no essential service was more than temporarily impaired. Fiber-optic cables are made from thin strings of glass and are generally about one-tenth the width of a . Video, 00:01:38, At least 17 dead in Jakarta fuel storage depot fire, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine. Very early in the German bombing campaign, it became clear that the preparationshowever extensive they seemed to have beenwere inadequate. 13 Facts You Didn't Know About Belfast Around 20,000 people were employed on the site with 35,000 further along in the shipyard. Under the leadership of Prime Minister John Miller Andrews, Northern Ireland remained unprepared. The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. The most heavily bombed cities outside London were Liverpool and Birmingham. The district of Belfast has an area of 44 square miles (115 square km). Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Hitler abruptly changed his strategy. As of October 2020, the population of Belfast is about 350,000 people. The period of the next moon from say the 7th to the 16th of April may well bring our turn.. The World's Most-Famous Ship, The Titanic, was constructed here. Many of those who died as a result of enemy action lived in tightly packed, poorly constructed, terraced housing. While the balloons themselves were an obvious deterrent, they were anchored to the ground by steel tethers that were strong enough to damage or destroy any aircraft that flew into them. Mr Freeburn set out to find out more about those who died, their personal stories and the tales of those left behind. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. The Belfast blitz. 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. 4. Published: September 7, 2020 at 12:00 pm. Belfast was the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, the world' most famous ship which, when it was constructed in the early 1900s, was longer than the height of the world's tallest building at 882 feet and six inches in length. 19.99. Heinkel He 111 and Dornier Do 17 planes fitted with Zeiss cameras captured high-quality aerial imagery. Over the course of three days, some 1.5 million civiliansthe overwhelming majority of them childrenwere transported from urban centres to rural areas that were believed to be safe. Interesting facts about Belfast. 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. There was no opposition. In a survey of shelter use, it was found that, although the public shelters were fully occupied every night, just 9 percent of Londoners made use of them. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. Video, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. Munster, for example, operated by the Belfast Steamship Company, plied between Belfast and Liverpool under the tricolour, until she hit a mine and was sunk outside Liverpool. Nine were registered on three separate occasions, and from the start of the Blitz until November 30 there were more than 350 alerts. O'Sullivan felt that the whole civil defence sector was utterly overwhelmed. The fourth and final Belfast raid took place on the following night, 56 May. By the. 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 past doesnt change, its just over.. Indeed, on the night of the first raid, no Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft took to the air to intercept German planes. 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. Video, 00:00:51Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. 55,000 British civilian casualties were sustained through German bombing before the end of 1940 This included 23,000 deaths. 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. along with England, Scotland, and Wales. The refugees looked dazed and horror stricken and many had neglected to bring more than a few belongings Any and every means of exit from the city was availed of and the final destination appeared to be a matter of indifference.