[citation needed]. Yesterday for once the people of Ireland were united under the shadow of a national blow. The couple, who ran a children's home, stayed with Anna's parents, William and Harriette Denby, and her sisters, Dot and Isa, at Evelyn Gardens, off the Cavehill Road, in the north of the city. 13 died, including a soldier killed when an anti-aircraft gun, at the Balmoral show-grounds, misfired. And then naturally as I was over the target, I did pick up flak but I have no sense of exactly how weak or how strong it was, because every bit of flak you get is dangerous.. department distributed more than two million Anderson shelters (named after Sir John Anderson, head of the A.R.P.) The database Mr Freeburn has compiled is, he believes, the most accurate list of those killed and includes 222 children aged 16 or under. As of October 2020, the population of Belfast is about 350,000 people. 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 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. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. TOP 10: Facts About Belfast You Didn't Know - Ireland Before You Die 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. As well as photographs, the Luftwaffe gathered information on landmarks, potential targets and defences or lack thereof. Over 100 German planes made contact with barrage balloon cables during the Blitz, and two-thirds of them crashed or made forced landings on British soil. The government announced that 77 people had died, but for years local residents insisted the toll was much higher. [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]. J.P. Walshe, assistant secretary, recorded that Hempel was "clearly distressed by the news of the severe raid on Belfast and especially of the number of civilian casualties." After the war, when the first girl from the home got married Billy gave her away, having lost his only daughter. [13] However at the time Lord Craigavon, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921, said: "Ulster is ready when we get the word and always will be." An air raid shelter on Hallidays Road received a direct hit, killing all those in it. to households. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II began with Germanys invasion of Poland, the British government implemented a massive evacuation plan. 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. 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. 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}. 1. 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. Belfast has the world's largest dry dock. 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. Belfast, Irish Bal Feirste, city, district, and capital of Northern Ireland, on the River Lagan, at its entrance to Belfast Lough (inlet of the sea). 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. 150 corpses remained in the Falls Road baths for three days before they were buried in a mass grave, with 123 still unidentified. 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. And even then, Westminster stated it was not ample provision; Stormont still worried about the costs to industry. Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow.. Again the Irish emergency services crossed the border, this time without waiting for an invitation. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Richard Dawson Bates was the Home Affairs Minister. The bombs continued to fall until 5am. During the whole period, although the citys operation was disrupted in ways that were sometimes serious, no essential service was more than temporarily impaired. Initially it was thought that the Germans had mistaken this reservoir for the harbour and shipyards, where many ships, including HMS Ark Royal were being repaired. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom . [citation needed], There was a second massive air raid on Belfast on Sunday 45 May 1941, three weeks after that of Easter Tuesday. 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. Belfast is famous for being the birthplace of the Titanic. "We can still see the physical scars of the Blitz in Belfast, that is what is left. 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. Horrendous Belfast losses during World War Two bombing blitz The South Hallsville School disaster prompted Londoners, especially residents of the East End, to find safer shelters, on their own if necessary. 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. 29 - Belfast was once bigger than Dublin THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. Many of the surface shelters built by local authorities were flimsy and provided little protection from bombs, falling debris, and fire. 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. [citation needed], Other writers, such as Tony Gray in The Lost Years state that the Germans did follow their radio guidance beams. Rescue workers search through the rubble of Eglington Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after a German Luftwaffe air raid, 7 May 1941, Anna (left) and her husband Billy (back right) survived while Harriette, Dorothy and Billy were killed along with Dot and Isa, Dot and Isa, with Dorothy when she was a toddler, Royal Welch Fusiliers assist in clearing bomb damage in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 7 May 1941, Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. Those who sought refuge at the school were told that they would quickly be relocated to a safer area, but the evacuation was delayed. Video, 00:00:36, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. Video, 00:01:37, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. Most of the objectives laid out by the reconnaissance crews were of either military or industrial importance. People hung black curtains in their windows so that no lights showed outside their houses. After his optician business was destroyed by a bomb, Mickey Davies led an effort to organize the Spitalfield Shelter. Video, 00:01:09The Spitfire turns 80, The German bombing of Coventry. But the authorities were afraid that bombs might not be the. 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. 19.99. The first was on the night of 7-8 April 1941, a small attack which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences. Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. The Belfast Blitz - Inside the Deadly 1941 Luftwaffe Raids on Northern Belfast Blitz: Facts In total there were four attacks on the County Antrim city. 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. Fiber-optic cables are made from thin strings of glass and are generally about one-tenth the width of a . Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. About 1,000 people were killed during the Belfast Blitz of 1941, with Harland and Wolff among the buildings that were hit by the Luftwaffe. 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. When the Blitz began, the government enforced a blackout in an attempt to make targeting more difficult for German night bombers. When incendiaries were dropped, the city burned as water pressure was too low for effective firefighting. 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? With tangled hair, staring eyes, clutching hands, contorted limbs, their grey-green faces covered with dust, they lay, bundled into the coffins, half-shrouded in rugs or blankets, or an occasional sheet, still wearing their dirty, torn twisted garments. Another claim was that the Catholic population in general and the IRA in particular guided the bombers. along with England, Scotland, and Wales. About 1,000 people were killed and bombs hit half of the houses in the city, leaving 100,000 people homeless. Video, 00:01:23Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, One-minute World News. Video, 00:00:51Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. Around 1am, Luftwaffe bombers flew over the city, concentrating their attack on the Harbour Estate and Queen's Island. 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. [6] It was MacDermott who sent a telegram to de Valera seeking assistance. Train after train and bus after bus were filled with those next in line. As many were caught in the open by blast and secondary missiles, the enormous number of casualties can be readily accounted for. Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Historical Topics Series 2, The Belfast Blitz, 2007, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 20:18. A Raid From Above 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 use of the Tube system as a shelter saved thousands of lives, and images of Londoners huddled in Underground stations would become an indelible image of British life during World War II. Corrections? 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". The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. The winter of 193940 was severe, but the summer was pleasant, and in their leisure hours Londoners thronged the parks or worked in their gardens. The Germans, however, saw Belfast as a legitimate target due to the shipyards in the city that were contributing to Britain's war efforts. Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. Simpson shot down one of the Heinkels over Downpatrick. It was not the first time the alarm had sounded to signify the presence of Luftwaffe bombers over the city. 11 churches, two hospitals and two schools were destroyed. The raids hurt Britains war production, but they also killed many civilians and left many others homeless. By 1941, production of the Short Stirling Bomber and the Short Sunderland Flying Boat was underway. The district of Belfast has an area of 44 square miles (115 square km). Apart from those on London, this was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz. What happened in 1941 changed the city forever. Nearby were the citys main power station, gasworks, telephone house and the Sirocco Engineering works. After the passing of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, it became the seat of the government of Northern Ireland. 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. For two hours on the first day, 348 German bombers and 617 fighters blasted London. No attendant nurse had soothed the last moments of these victims; no gentle reverent hand had closed their eyes or crossed their hands. In Newtownards, Bangor, Larne, Carrickfergus, Lisburn and Antrim many thousands of Belfast citizens took refuge either with friends or strangers. workers. Belfast Blitz: Remembering the ordinary people who lost their lives While Anderson shelters offered good protection from bomb fragments and debris, they were cold and damp and generally ill-suited for prolonged occupancy. A short respite followed, until a widespread series of night raids on April 7 included some targets in the London area. Read about our approach to external linking. An earlier flight on Oct. 18 allowed the crew to plot several targets in the city. He was replaced by 54-year-old Sir Basil Brooke on 1 May. After a brief lull, the Luftwaffe returned in force on February 17. The bombing of British cities - Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow John Clarke MacDermott, the Minister of Public Security, after the first bombing, initiated the "Hiram Plan" to evacuate the city and to return Belfast to 'normality' as quickly as possible. The most significant loss was a 4.5-acre (1.8ha) factory floor for manufacturing the fuselages of Short Stirling bombers. The bombs caused death and destruction across the city, affecting those of all religions and political backgrounds. The fall of France in June, 1940, enabled the Luftwaffe to establish airfields across the north of the country, leaving Ulster within reach of bombers. These shelters, made of corrugated steel, were designed to be dug into a garden and then covered with dirt. 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. 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. In every instance, all stepped forward. But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". Davies also set up medical stations and persuaded off-duty medical personnel to treat the sick and wounded. The success of Mickeys Shelter was another factor that urged the government to improve existing deep shelters and to create new ones. But the raid of 15-16 April - the Easter Tuesday Raid - was on another scale. The 2017 film Zoo depicts an air raid during the Belfast Blitz. In the first days of the Blitz, a tragic incident in the East End stoked public anger over the governments shelter policy. 255 corpses were laid out in St George's Market. Revised estimates made decades later indicated that close to 600 men, women, and children had been killed in the bombing. 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. 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. Their Chain Home early warning radar, the most advanced system in the world, gave Fighter Command adequate notice of where and when to direct their forces, and the Luftwaffe never made a concerted effort to neutralize it. Since most casualties were caused by falling masonry rather than by blast, they provided effective shelter for those who had them. The Germans expanded the Blitz to other cities in November 1940. They all say the same thing, that the government is no good. parliament: "if the government realized 'that these fast bombers can come to Northern Ireland in two and three quarter hours'". BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | The Belfast blitz is remembered In The Blitz: Belfast in the War Years, Brian Barton wrote: "Government Ministers felt with justification, that the Germans were able to use the unblacked out lights in the south to guide them to their targets in the North." In spite of blackouts, ubiquitous shelters and sandbags, the visible effects of mass evacuation, the presence of A.R.P. Under the leadership of amon de Valera it had declared its neutrality during the Second World War. Similar initiatives bearing the same name were ordered in the past decade by former mayors Libby . The phrase Business as usual, written in chalk on boarded-up shop windows, exemplified the British determination to keep calm and carry on as best they could. The House of Commons, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum were severely damaged, and The Temple was almost completely destroyed. Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow." There were few bomb shelters. 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]. There was unease with the complacent attitude of the government, which led to resignations: Craigavon died on 24 November 1940. Oakland plans to unleash 'pothole blitz' to fix notorious street damage (Great War casualties) had died in hospital beds, their eyes had been reverently closed, their hands crossed to their breasts. The Belfast Blitz: April-May 1941 - History Ireland Video, 00:02:12, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. Accounts differ as to when flares were dropped to light up the city. The firm had produced Handley Page Hereford bombers since 1936. Over 150 people died in what became known as the 'Fire Blitz'. Up Next. 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. 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. The Blitz of Belfast 1941 - History Learning Site 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. On August 25 the British retaliated by launching a bombing raid on Berlin. Roads out of town are still one stream of cars, with mattresses and bedding tied on top. But the Luftwaffe was ready. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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. 1. The A.R.P. The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. Thank you. It was solemn, tragic, dignified, but here it was grotesque, repulsive, horrible. Maps and documents uncovered at Gatow Airfield near Berlin in 1945 showed the level of detail involved. Video, 00:01:37Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. Men from the South worked with men from the North in the universal cause of the relief of suffering. There were Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s and Dornier Do 17s. The Luftwaffe never attacked the city after May 1941, but it would be many years before life returned to normal for many in the city. Omissions? The Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Indeed, on the night of the first raid, no Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft took to the air to intercept German planes. By 4 am the entire city seemed to be in flames. The "pothole blitz" is a common short-term initiative to combat storm weather damage. Even the children of soldiers had not been evacuated, with calamitous results when the married quarters of Victoria Barracks received a direct hit. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. This part of Belfast was the only one required to provide air raid shelters for workers. Video, 00:02:12Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. Death should be dignified, peaceful; Hitler had made even death grotesque. After the first week of September, although night bombing on a large scale continued, the large mass attacks by day, which had proved so costly to the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, were replaced by smaller parties coming over in successive waves. 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. 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.
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