My Granddad was killed in the May blitz in Liverpool .... so I was interested to read this ..... The view of Britain as a nation that pulled together under the Blitz is a compelling one. But is it based on reality - or are the memories of those who were there a better source of information? BBC - History - The Blitz: Sorting the Myth from the Reality
This is an interesting article but it is a shame the author doesn't quote his sources. There were certainly cases in London and other cities where the authorities either failed or were overwhelmed by the scale of the destruction, and the Mass Observation Archive has plenty of information on the morale of people during this time (and is often quoted in research). I have interviewed quite a few people who experienced the blitz in London, Plymouth and Southampton. I was suprised how few people actually used the tubes - they were seen as a last resort by many, due to the conditions. Quite a few people used the cupboard under the stairs, the cellar or in a couple of cases had an emergency room which was reinforced with timbers with a blast wall built outside to protect the window. Regarding Morrison shelters, I interviewed a lady whose house collapsed on top of their Morrisson shelter - everyone survived and the photos she owned showed only a small amount of damage to the shelter (with a lot of rubble on top of it!). Another lady told me she was trapped in her shelter for 24 hours because the catch got stuck and she couldn't open the side to get out! Have you seen this site - Finest Hour - archiving memories of the Liverpool Blitz - lots of stuff about the Liverpool blitz.
Thank you for the site mathsmal ! ... yes I think most people ended up under the stairs ... at least they did in my family !! we had Anderson shelters as coal sheds when we were growing up !! I can't imagine they would had been very good protection ! Annie
Calder is one questioned the perceived/received view of everyone pulling together etc http://ww2chat.com/forums/battle-britain-blitz/1303-blitz-myth-reality.html
I know in my own family ... they all pulled together !! One family would get bombed out and they'd go live with somebody else .. then another until there were 5 families all living together ! when Granddad was killed ( direct hit on the school behind them ! ) my Grandma and all the kids went to live with my Mum and Dad ... everybody ( including neighbours ) pooled food money clothes etc !! ......... but of course they weren't in the position to do anything else !! :noidea: Just my opinion of course but it looks like Calder was !!
