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 Titanic was built in Belfast. 3. He successfully busied himself with the task of making Northern Ireland a major supplier of food to Britain in her time of need.[5]. Still, many in Northern Ireland believed no Luftwaffe attack would come. IWM C 5424 1. Six Heinkel He 111 bombers, from Kampfgruppe 26, flying at 7,000 feet (2,100m), dropped incendiaries, high explosive and parachute-mines. After the war, when the first girl from the home got married Billy gave her away, having lost his only daughter. ", US journalist Ben Robertson reported that at night Dublin was the only city without a blackout between New York and Moscow, and between Lisbon and Sweden and that German bombers often flew overhead to check their bearings using its lights, angering the British. The Blitz was devastating for the people of London and other cities. Video, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. After the passing of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, it became the seat of the government of Northern Ireland. The Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) In every instance, all stepped forward. [citation needed]. Both planes quickly proved their mettle against German bombers, and Germanys best fighter, the Bf 109, was of limited use as an escort due to its relatively short operating range. It was not the last time Belfast would suffer. 2023 BBC. There were few bomb shelters. Video, 00:01:09The Spitfire turns 80, The German bombing of Coventry. The nights of November 3 and 28 were the only occasions during this period in which Londons peace was unbroken by siren or bomb. Fortunately, the railway telegraphy link between Belfast and Dublin was still operational. 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. Sixty years after the Germans bombed Belfast in World War II BBC News Online looks back and remembers the anniversary of the blitz. "Liverpool, Clydebank and Portsmouth all have a memorial to their victims of the Blitz. When the bombing began, 76-year-old William and 72-year-old Harriette took refuge under the stairs along with Dorothy, Dot and Isa. On 24 March 1941, John MacDermott, Minister for Security, wrote to Prime Minister John Andrews, expressing his concerns that Belfast was so poorly protected: "Up to now we have escaped attack. [citation needed]. These figures are based on newspaper reports of the time, personal recollections and other primary sources, such as:- [9], War materials and food were sent by sea from Belfast to Great Britain, some under the protection of the neutral Irish tricolour. Hundreds of incendiary and many high-explosive bombs were dropped, doing little material damage but causing many casualties. 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. 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. 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.". . Around 20,000 people were employed on the site with 35,000 further along in the shipyard. 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. 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. This raid overall caused relatively little damage, but a lot was revealed about Belfast's inadequate defences. St George's Church in High Street was damaged by fire. Reviewed by: Geoffrey Roberts. Video, 00:00:51, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. Your donations help keep MHN afloat. The most heavily bombed cities outside London were Liverpool and Birmingham. The attack on Coventry was particularly destructive. In late August the Germans dropped some bombs, apparently by accident, on civilian areas in London. 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). Read about our approach to external linking. The danger faced in London was greatly increased when the V2 attacks started and the casualty figures mirrored those of the Blitz.. A Raid From Above Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. By 1940, Short and Harland could shelter its entire workforce and Harland and Wolff had provision to shelter 16,000 workers. Everything on wheels is being pressed into service. But the RAF had not responded. 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. 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. Death had to a certain extent been made decent. Omissions? At nightfall the Northern Counties Station was packed from platform gates to entrance gates and still refugees were coming along in a steady stream from the surrounding streets Open military lorries were finally put into service and even expectant mothers and mothers with young children were put into these in the rather heavy drizzle that lasted throughout the evening. This view was probably influenced by the decision of the IRA Army Council to support Germany. Belfast's Albert Clock tower is sinking - it leans by four feet. Read about our approach to external linking. On August 25 the British retaliated by launching a bombing raid on Berlin. 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. The raid so infuriated Hitler that he ordered the Luftwaffe to shift its attacks from RAF sites to London and other cities. 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. 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. Taoiseach amon de Valera formally protested to Berlin. Over 500 received care from the Irish Red Cross in Dublin. The youngest victim was just six-weeks-old. 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. Belfast confetti," said one archive news report. These private air-raid shelters were Anderson shelters, constructed of sheets of corrugated galvanised iron covered in earth. 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. That contrasts with the figure that is often given of more than 900 killed on Easter Tuesday alone. 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; Barton insisted that Belfast was "too far north" to use radio guidance. The bombs caused death and destruction across the city, affecting those of all religions and political backgrounds. Published: September 7, 2020 at 12:00 pm. Two of the crews received refreshments in Banbridge; others were entertained in the Ancient Order of Hibernians hall in Newry. Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. wardens, and members of the Home Guard drilling in the parks, life went on much as usual. 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. This part of Belfast was the only one required to provide air raid shelters for workers. ", 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]. Despite the military and industrial importance of the city, the Luftwaffe described the defences asweak, scanty, insufficient. The first day of the Blitz is remembered as Black Saturday. But Mr Freeburn's research casts doubt on this. It was solemn, tragic, dignified, but here it was grotesque, repulsive, horrible. The Belfast Blitz was a series of devastating Luftwaffe air raids that took place in Northern Ireland during the Second World War. 1. James Craig, Lord Craigavon, had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland since its inception in 1921 up until his death in 1940. During what was known as the "Belfast Blitz," 1,000 people were killed by bombs dropped by the Nazis in 1941 during the Second World War. German bombing of London during the Blitz, Discover how the Third Reich attacked Great Britain during World War II's Battle of Britain, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Watch President Roosevelt outline his Four Freedoms and learn how Britain defeated Germany's Luftwaffe. Dissatisfaction with public shelters also led to another notable development in the East EndMickeys Shelter. The government was blamed by some for inadequate precautions. Added to this was the repair and refitting of 22,000 more vessels. All were exhausted. Brides, Fleet St.; St. Lawrence Jewry; St. Magnus the Martyr; St. Mary-at-hill; St. Dunstan in the East; St. Clement [Eastcheap] and St. Jamess, Piccadilly). ", Mapping the lives lost in the Belfast Blitz. 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. On August 2, Luftwaffe commander Hermann Gring issued his Eagle Day directive, laying down a plan of attack in which a few massive blows from the air were to destroy British air power and so open the way for the invasion. On the 60th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz, Luftwaffe Pilot Gerhardt Becker spoke to BBC Northern Ireland about his mission over Belfast in 1941. Emma Duffin, a nurse at the Queen's University Hospital, (who previously served during the Great War), who kept a diary; Humanity knows no borders, no politics, no differences of religious belief. Under the leadership of Prime Minister John Miller Andrews, Northern Ireland remained unprepared. Belfast Blitz: Marking the lost lives 80 years on. Video, 00:00:26, Living through the London Blitz. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. 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Half of the city's housing was damaged over the course of all the raids. Train after train and bus after bus were filled with those next in line. sprang into action, and Londoners, while maintaining the work, business, and efficiency of their city, displayed remarkable fortitude. Ulster Historical Foundation. The town of Dromara saw its population increase from 500 to 2,500. He gave an interview saying: "the people of Belfast are Irish people too". In the first days of the Blitz, a tragic incident in the East End stoked public anger over the governments shelter policy. Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go. The working-class living close to industrial centres suffered more than anyone over the course of the four raids. Over a period of nine months, over 43,500 civilians were killed in the raids, which focused on major cities and industrial centres. The M.V. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Fiber-optic cables are made from thin strings of glass and are generally about one-tenth the width of a . Up to now, we have escaped an attack, said John MacDermott, the Minister for Security, Belfast, on March 24, 1941. What happened in 1941 changed the city forever. Heinkel He 111 and Dornier Do 17 planes fitted with Zeiss cameras captured high-quality aerial imagery. 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]. This option had been forbidden by city officials, who feared that once people began sleeping in Underground stations, they would be reluctant to return to the surface and resume daily life. Nine were registered on three separate occasions, and from the start of the Blitz until November 30 there were more than 350 alerts. Other Belfast factories manufactured gun mountings. Simpson shot down one of the Heinkels over Downpatrick. KS3 History (Environment and society) The Belfast Blitz learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers. People hung black curtains in their windows so that no lights showed outside their houses. The British thus fought with the advantage of superior equipment and undivided aim against an enemy with inconsistent objectives. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Roads out of town are still one stream of cars, with mattresses and bedding tied on top. Video, 00:01:41NI WW2 veterans honoured by France, The Spitfire turns 80. At 10:40 on the evening of Easter Tuesday 1941 air raid sirens sounded across Belfast, sending people across the city scrambling for safety - in one of the 200 public shelters in the city or the thousands of shelters or other "safe" spaces in private homes. The telegram was sent at 4:35am,[citation needed] asking the Irish Taoiseach, amon de Valera for assistance. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. When the war began, Belfast, like many other cities, adopted the wartime practices of rationing and blackouts. He spoke with Professor Flynn, (Theodore Thomson Flynn, an Australian based at the Mater Hospital and father of actor Errol Flynn), head of the casualty service for the city, who told him of "casualties due to shock, blast and secondary missiles, such as glass, stones, pieces of piping, etc." workers. [27] One widespread criticism was that the Germans located Belfast by heading for Dublin and following the railway lines north. In clear weather, targets were easily identifiable. Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. As more and more people began sleeping on the platforms, however, the government relented and provided bunk beds and bathrooms for the underground communities. As many were caught in the open by blast and secondary missiles, the enormous number of casualties can be readily accounted for. 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. [4], The Government of Northern Ireland lacked the will, energy and capacity to cope with a major crisis when it came. Beginning on Black Saturday, London was attacked on 57 straight nights. 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. Over 150 people died in what became known as the 'Fire Blitz'. On 28 April 1943, six members of the Government threatened to resign, forcing him from office. 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 BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The British government had anticipated air attacks on its population centres, and it had predicted catastrophic casualties. By then most of the major fires were under control and the firemen from Clydeside and other British cities were arriving. There is no slacking in our loyalty. 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 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. That evening over 150 bombers left their bases in northern France and the Netherlands and headed for Belfast. The most significant loss was a 4.5-acre (1.8ha) factory floor for manufacturing the fuselages of Short Stirling bombers. The South Hallsville School disaster prompted Londoners, especially residents of the East End, to find safer shelters, on their own if necessary. 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. [citation needed] However on 20 October 1941 the Garda Sochna captured a comprehensive IRA report on captured member Helena Kelly giving a detailed analysis of damage inflicted on Belfast and highlighting prime targets such as Shortt and Harland aircraft factory and RAF Sydenham, describing them as 'the remaining and most outstanding objects of military significance, as yet unblitzed' and suggesting they should be 'bombed by the Luftwaffe as thoroughly as other areas in recent raids'[28][29], After three days, sometime after 6pm, the fire crews from south of the border began taking up their hoses and ladders to head for home. And even then, Westminster stated it was not ample provision; Stormont still worried about the costs to industry. continuous trek to railway stations. Wherever Churchill is hiding his war material we will go Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow." Some had received food, others were famished. 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. But these people all had families and friends and they had to deal with their loss for the rest of their lives.". 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. Nevertheless, through sheer weight of numbers, the Germans were on the brink of victory in late August 1940. By the time the raid was over, at least 744 people had lost their lives, including some living in places such as Newtownards, Bangor and Londonderry. 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 next took place on Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, when 200 Luftwaffe bombers attacked military and manufacturing targets in the city of Belfast. parliament: "if the government realized 'that these fast bombers can come to Northern Ireland in two and three quarter hours'". Similar initiatives bearing the same name were ordered in the past decade by former mayors Libby . Gring had insisted that such an attack was an impossibility, because of the citys formidable air defense network. 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. Strand Public Elementary school, York Road railway station, the adjacent Midland Hotel on York Road, and Salisbury Avenue tram depot were all hit. [citation needed]. I felt outraged, I should have felt sympathy, grief, but instead feelings of revulsion and disgust assailed me. He was succeeded by J. M. Andrews, then 69 years old, who was no more capable of dealing with the situation than his predecessor. 9. 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. THE BELFAST BLITZ was a series of four air raids over Northern Ireland during the spring of 1941. Several accounts point out that Belfast, standing at the end of the long inlet of Belfast Lough, would be easily located. These balloons, the largest of which were some 60 feet (18 metres) long, were essentially an airspace denial tool. Since most casualties were caused by falling masonry rather than by blast, they provided effective shelter for those who had them. 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. In just these few hours, 430 people were killed and 1,600 were badly injured. "We can still see the physical scars of the Blitz in Belfast, that is what is left. More than 1,000 people were killed, and the damage was more widespread than on any previous occasion. In the mistaken belief that they might damage RAF fighters, the anti-aircraft batteries ceased firing. Neighbouring residential areas were also hit. 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.. The Belfast blitz devastated a city that up until 1941 had remained unscathed during World War Two. 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. "These people are often seen as a statistic but they were human beings, people who lived and grew up in - or moved to - Belfast and died in Belfast," Mr Freeburn, the museum's collections officer, says. Instead of pressing his advantage, however, Hitler abruptly changed his strategy. Video, 00:01:23Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, One-minute World News. The devastation was so great that the Germans coined a new verb, to coventrate, to describe it. The offensive came to be called the Blitz after the German word blitzkrieg ("lightning war"). The first attack was against the city's waterworks, which had been attacked in the previous raid. The Battle of Britain Tragically 35 were crushed to death when the mill wall collapsed. Anna and Billy returned to England and continued running the children's home. After the bombing began on September 7, local authorities urged displaced people to take shelter at South Hallsville School. [18], Over 900 people died, 1,500 people were injured, 400 of them seriously. Belfast is as worthy a target as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol or Glasgow.. Just eight days earlier, eight planes destroyed the aircraft fuselage factory and damaged the docks, with 15 people ultimately killed as a result of that raid. But the raid of 15-16 April - the Easter Tuesday Raid - was on another scale. 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. 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."

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