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RicksFilmRestoration Leidschendam, Nederland |
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| What London really was like during WW-II in
color! [A.I. Enhanced & Colorized] |
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| This video involves the period between 1939 and 1945 Please note that this comments section is only open to comments that focus on London during WW-II. If you want to make comments related to race, skin colour, obesitas or make comparisons between London and WW-II then you have not understood the objective of this film, i.e. to understand history. |
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| INTRODUCTION ============= In this film I will take you back in time to London during WWII to show you what London was really like back then. I am of an age of not having been part of WW-II, but I do remember many facts that my parents told me as a child in the late 1950s. This documentary is largely based on these memories. My father was in the Dutch Navy, stationed in London from 1943 onwards after having been torpedoed twice as shown in my films about the Hr.Ms. Johan Maurits van Nassau and the Hr.Ms.Isaac Sweers. At the beginning of the war my mother was still a teenager. Later during the war she worked as an office girl at Debenhams and Freebody's, a large famous warehouse. She lived in London through the entire war until she maried my father in 1945 and came to Holland at the end of that year. The reason for making this documentary is not only to share my parents memories with you but in particular also because I have noticed that the current young generation has hardly any idea what really went on in London during the war. After having read thousands of comments under my videos about old London, my conclusion is that most of us have now become totally out of touch with history. About 90% of the viewers are only able to see history through today's eyes and make comparisons and (often totally misplaced) judgements. It can be concluded that this is the comments Top-3: 1. When London was still white 2. Everybody in this film is now dead, and 3. Not a fat, obese person in sight. This top-3 will be addressed in much more detail in this documentary. Hopefully this video will provide a better understanding of having to live for 5 years under the constant terror inflicted by the German enemy: DIG FOR VICTORY =============== In view of the food shortages, the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign was set up by the British Ministry of Agriculture. Men and women across the country were encouraged to grow their own food in times of harsh rationing. Open spaces everywhere were transformed into allotments, from domestic gardens to public parks. Surprisingly even the lawns outside the Tower of London were turned into vegetable patches. The actively promoted scheme was to ensure that people had enough to eat, and to keep morale high. BARRAGE BALLOONS =================== Barrage balloons are an interesting topic. These gas filled huge balloons were tethered via strong steel cables and intended to hinder enemy aircraft flying low over London and thus make it far more difficult for the Germans to perform accurate bombings. These balloons were raised via steel cables to an altitude of 1500 meters. In total about 1400 ballons were deployed of which about 500 over London. EVACUATION OF CHILDREN ======================== As soon as Germany invaded Poland, the British government decided to start evacuating children and mothers with infants to rural locations that were considered to be safe. This evacutation happened in waves, the first being on 1 September 1939. Two days later the British declared war on German. Over the course of three days 1.5 million evacuees were sent to the country side. In principle the evacuation was on a voluntary basis, but the fear of bombing, the closure of many urban schools and the organised transportation of school groups helped persuade families to send their children away to live with strangers. Harrowing scenes could be observed as parents said goodbye to their children on station platforms all over London and in other cities.Zie: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the- evacuated-children-of-the-second-world-war THE PHONEY WAR ================ After the initial war scare and many measure to further prepare the country for war, like the evacuation of the children, the erection of barrage balloon, the issue of gasmasks to the population and drafting of young men for military service and elderly men for the Home Guard, a relatively calm period started during which it seemed not much was happening on the war front, at least in Britain. Most of the war activities were happening in Poland and some in France. The period soon was dubbed the "Phoney War" and lasted nearly 8 months, from the beginning of September 1938 until the invasion by Germany of Belgium and The Netherlands on the 10th of May 1940. Due to the Phoney War many parents decided to bring their children back to London. By January 1940 nearly half of them had returned, despite severe warnings by the government not to do so. THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN ===================== Not long after the capitulation of the low countries, Hitler set his sight on England and started assults by air as the first phase of his attempt to invade Britain. On the 18th of June Churchill was the first to suggest that the "Battle of Britain" was about to commence. Britain officially recognises the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which somewhat overlaps the subsequent Blitz period. It goes too far to explain the Battle of Britain in detail in this video. It can be summarized as the period during which the RAF and Navy Air force fought heavily for air superiority over Britain. This involved the deployment of Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes, Lancaster bombers, Many small airfields like Biggin Hill, RAF Hendon, Coastal defence with early Radar equipment called Asdic. The whole RAF operation was controlled from a secret, deep underground near Uxbridge. Frequently daily dogfights could be witness from the ground involving RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft, like the Messerschmidt and other types. By end of October Germany had in effect lost air supremacy and thus lost the Battle of Britain. Hitler decided to resort to other tactics, especially involving the consistent bombing of London. It should be noted that, according to some sources, London nearly was on its knees towards the end of this air Battle. Vital infrastructure had been largely destroyed and the police, fire and other rescue services were on their last legs. Some claim that London would not have been able to cope for more than one or two weeks longer. DAILY LIFE AND THE BLITZ ====================== During the whole war period the shops remaining open, despite shortages and bombed- out display windows. After the bombings, some of the shops were 'more open than usual' as can be seen here. Entertainment in London’s theaters continued during the war. Here we see a young Bill Oddey, known from his role of Compo in Last Of The Summer Wine perform. Metal fences and railings were removed from London’s parks in order to be melted down to produce military objects. The war had a profound effect on nearly every aspect of daily life. During day time life went on almost as if there was nothing going on, but as soon as dusk fell the Londoners started to prepare for the nightly German bombings. Around 8 'o clock the airraid sirens would whail their sinister sound to warn for imminent attacks. It was the time to prepare for the night. I remember my mother telling me that there were three options to get through the night. The first was to go to the nearest air raid shelter, the second was to spend the night on the platforms of the underground and the third was simply to take ones chances and stay at home. My mother, her sisters and grandmother usually chose the latter. The shelters and underground were deemed too cramped and smelly. Night after night she listened in bed to the sounds of falling bombs all around her, some in the distance by also frequently nearby. The only way to get through it was to take on an attitude of resignation to the situation and think "If it's my time to die, so be it". For 8 months London was pounded night after night by German bombs in a campaign that the Germans called the "Blitz Krieg", simply dubbed the "Blitz" by the London news papers. In no way did Germany follow the rules of the Geneva Convention by only targeting military objects. In stead the Blitz was a deliberate campaign to undermine British morale and force Britain into submission by bombing as many civilian targets as possible. The Blitz lasted from 7 September 1940 till 11 May 1941 (8 months, 5 days). On the first day, Black Saturday, 430 people died and 1600 were injured. In the beginning of the Blitz the Germans also conducted daytime air raids but the Luftwaffe gradually decreased such operations in favour of night attacks to evade attacks by the RAF. The Blitz became a night time-only bombing campaign after October 1940. WOMEN DURING WW/II =================== Women played an important role during Wartime. Not only did they look after the children while the men were in active service in the Army, RAF, Royal Navy or Home Guard, but they also worked in munitions factories, as female Air Raid Wardens and in particular on the farm lands. The latter worked for the Women's Land Army (WLA), established in 1917 to substute the men who were drafted for war duties, thus causing a shortage in the farms labour force. These women were often referred to as "Land girls". They picked crops and did all the jobs that the men had done before the war. Frequently land girls worked side by side with POW's, Prisoners of War. One of my aunts was a land girl and she told me that she flirted some time with a handsome Italian POW. FOOD RATIONING =============== One of the most commonly made comments under my videos about old London is the number-2 in my Top-3: "not a fat person to be seen", or similar words to that effect. Quite clearly the subject of obesity is at the front of the mind of many viewers as the result of witnessing hords of overweight people in our modern society. What seems to be forgotten is that, unlike today, war time was most certainly not a period of milk and honey. Food was not available in abundance by in stead neaded to be rationed. Apart from a very small percentage of wealthy people, the overall majority of Brits barely had enough to eat to stay reasonably healthy. A coupon system was established which gave people permission to buy food in exchange for money and coupons. Especially meat was rationed. There was also a lot of black market trade. My father once managed to get hold of some horse meat and treated my mother and grandmother to it. What he didn't realize was that eating horse meat was "not done" in a country like England with hordes of horse lovers. Fortunately he only told them afterwards that it was horse meat, so they did get a good meal, followed by quite some anciety. Eggs were also difficult to obtain and often replaced by dried egg powder. MOBILISATION ============ All men between 18 and 41 were called up for active duty. Those under 51 were included for military service. Men under 60 were also obliged to do some form of national service. One of these services was the Home Guard, colloquially called `Dad´s Army`. Were were recruted for auxiliary units of the armed services. THE ROLE OF THE LONDON UNDERGROUND ====================================== As already mentioned, the London Underground, colloqually called the Tube, served as a vast network of air raid shelters. Many Londoners would decend every night via the escalators to spend the night in related safety from the bombings on platforms and even the rails. Obviously the 600 Volts high power voltage was turned off before bedding on the rails. Not all lines were halted during the night. In the evening special food trains would halt at many stations to deliver hot drinks and bread buns. Many underground stations in London lie deep under ground, only accessible via two or even three long escalators. However, some lines like the Circle line, that were constructed with the cut-and-cover method, are only just under street level. Some stations thus did not escape the bombings. On 11 January 1941 at Bank station German bomb bounced down the stairs into the underground ticket hall and exploded killing approximately 100 people. The atmosphere in the underground in the evenings and during the night was something very special and remembered by all Londoners who lived through the war. Sadly nearly all are now deceased and many memories have died with them. Not only making up a provisional bed on the platform and sleeping close to hundreds of other Londoners was an experience in itself, but also the entertainment that frequently took place in the evenings, like community singing, performing artists and musicians and remarkable decorations at Christmas time. Even Chrismas carols were sung. Trains would often still run in the evening and foot passengers would have to make their way over a narrow about 2 feet wide strip of the platform between the train and the sleeping sheltering people. Unused tube tunnels also served as underground munitions and other war gear factories. The Plessey defence electronics company built a secret factory in newly constructed Underground tunnels at the eastern end of the Central line. By March 1942 the 2.5 mile long factory was fully complete with flat floors, electrical switch rooms and air- conditioning installed. The wartime factory had 2,000 staff, mostly women, working in shifts 24 hours a day. For me personally, the London Underground played a very important role, because it was here where my parents met each other. My father travelled each day from his small flat at Bangor Hotel near Bayswater to the Dutch Navy's headquarters who were stationed at the top floors of the C&A warehouse at Marble Arch. My mother went to her work from Notting Hill gate to Bond Street, so between Bayswater and Marble Arch was where they saw each other almost daily on the Central Line, and that's how it started. Since childhood I have had an enormous fascination for the London Underground. I will never forget the sights, sounds and smells in the Underground during my childhood like the ear-deathening screetches of the trains brakes at Noting Hill gate Central Line station, the distinct smell alike scorched wood near the wooden escalators, the beautiful lamps aimed towards the tunnel ceilings, the clicking sounds of the contactors of the DC motors as the trains accellerated and the crowds of office people, still with umbrella and bowler hat, on the platforms. Now over 50 years later that feeling still has not subsided. THE GASMASK PERIOD ==================== As already mentioned earlier, gas masks were issued to the population at the beginning of the war in September 1939. In total 38 million masks were distributed. The government was extremely scared that the Germans would use poisonous gas against the British population, including musterd gas which was already used during WW-I on the battle fields. Neville Chamberlain went on the radio to explain the measures by the government and said: "How horrible, fantastic, incredible, it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing". This was another clear indication of his naïevity, along side his triomphant return from a visit to Berlin with a worthless letter signed by Hitler that he would never attack Britain. Clearly he was not fit for the job and thus was succeeded by Winston Churchil. People were encouraged to wear the masks for at least 15 minutes a day in order to get used to them. Imagine how difficult it was to get kids wear this after rubber and disinfectant smelling and almost suffocating head gear. The gas mask had to be carried at all times outdoors. They were normally kept in square cardboard boxes with a strap round the neck. Some say Gas Masks in the Second World War killed more people than they saved... Viewers of my WWII film about London during 1943 commented that nobody was carrying such masks. The reason is quite simple: by 1943 the gasmask scare was over. It then had become clear that Germany's ability to drop chemical weapons on Britain had declined and that other weapons against Britain were in the making like in particular the V1. THE BLACK OUT ============== As of 1 September 1939 the Air Ministry imposed a black out for the entire country. The aim was to make it as difficult as possible for enemy aircraft to navigate and find bombing targets. The blackout required that all windows and doors had to be covered at night with suitable material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent the escape of any glimmer of light that might aid enemy aircraft. The measure created a lot of problems for factories, shops and homes. It also meant that all street lighting was switched of and traffic lights dimmed. Pedestrians needed to find their way in the dark using a not too bright torch. Homes were obliged to have buckets of water and sand ready to be able to immediately extinguish fires. Civilian Air Raid Precautions, so called ARP wardens made sure that the blackout was enforced and thus would ensure that no buildings allowed the slightest peek or glow of light. Severe penalties were applicable if the blackout rules were violated. My mother recalled an ARP warden tapping on the window and shouting "You're showing a light gov!", just because a curtain had not been completely drawn shut. As a result of the blackout not only night time crime, like in particular burglaries, dramatically increased but also caused a steep increase of traffic accidents including many fatalities. In London alone the number of fatalities averaged at a staggering 40 pedestrians per night until the speed limit was further reduced. Plenty of Londoners frequently got lost on their way home from work. The Blackout lasted until the last day of the war in 1945 with the Big Ben for the first time being lit in almost 6 years. A somewhat contradicting matter to the blackout was the use of many extremely bright searchlights that were continuously lighting the sky in search of enemy aircraft. Nearby aircraft defence guns were deployed to try to bring down such aircraft using the cross light of multiple searchlights. INCENDURY BOMBS AND FIRES =========================== At the Beginning of the Battle of Britain Germany aimed its bombings on the Docklands which implied that also the densely populated and empoverished East end of London was hit. The Germans gradually extended the bombed areas including other cities. Two types of bombs were used: high explosive and incendury bombs. The first type caused the most personal fatalities and the second type the most damage to buildings and infrastructure. These Incendury bombs were filled with fosfor and thus sand was the best material to try to extinghuish them, not water. One of my uncles frantically worked to put out a fire caused by an incendury bomb that had fallen in my grandmothers back yard on top of the roof of Notting Hill Gate railway station behind Jameson street. Uptil the 1970s the scorched wood of the station roof could still be seen from the platform of the Metropolitan line. Buckingham Palace was also bombed twice. It is said that King George VI with, Queen Elizabeth, in view of sharing the war burden, was very pleased that Buckingham Palace got bombed too. In the night of the 10th to 11th of May 1940 the Germans conducted their worst airraid ever with 500 planes dropping 700 tons of bombs on London. A full Moon helpen them to identify their targets. My mother recalled seeing fires all around from her bedroom window. It was one the scariest nights ever and the damage and human loss of life was devastating. In that night alone 1500 people were killed and 11.000 homes destroyed. These images give some impression, but the real anguish is only something that can be experienced by those who lived through that 8 month ordeal. Praise should be given to the thousands of firemen, policemen and ambulancemen who worked to the bone to extinguish fires and try to save lives. THE AMERICANS OCCUPY LONDON ============================== In the beginning of WW-II the Americans decided to remain neutral, but that changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbour on 7th of December 1941. The Americans occupied London later on during the war. The first GI’s landed on Britain's shores in 1942 and brought with them candy, Coca-Cola, cigarettes, chewing gum and nylon stockings which made them very popular with the girls. Not only did they bring goods but also spent money, resulting in the British economy to go on the up. Women fell for American culture and many of them decided to marry a Yank with the intention to move to the US after the war. By the way, the same thing happened in my country The Netherlands as well, but in our case it involved more Canadeans than Americans THE KEY PLAYERS ================ King George VI and his wife played an important role during the war by in particular doing their utmost best to keep morale as high as possible. Frequently they visited bombed areas and spoke to the affected residents. Buckingham palace also did not escape the bombings as can be seen here. Young princess Elizabeth played a useful role as a mechanic in the army. However, probably the most important force behind keeping spirits high was Winston Churchill. Frequently he held strong, inspirational speeches on the radio. Most historians agree that he was the right strong man to lead the country through this extremely difficult period. [Bomber Harris, etc.] V-I, V-II (and V-III) ATTACKS ====================== After the Blitz a period of less intensive bombing followed which lasted for about 2 years. Adolf Hitler was occupied with other priorities in particular concentrating on the Eastern front with Russia. However, his quest to invade England had not subsided. Arial reconnaissance flights by the RAF over Germany soon made clear that Hitler was planning a new onslaught, this time with the use of, for the time, extremely modern weapons. In May 1942 the Peenemunde facilities were discovered by a lone Spitfire. On 13 June 1944, the first V-1 "Vergeltungswaffe" struck London next to the railway bridge on Grove Road, Mile End. Most Londoners were terrified of the V1, nick named the "Doodle bug" or "Buzz bomb". It's engine had a particular sound, and the most scariest moment was when the rocket engine would cut off resulting in the V1 making a dive and cause a 1000 kg payload to explode when hitting the ground. In the famous "The Glen Miller story" film there is a scene where his band is playing in a London park while a V1 comes over. The audience tries to duck and cover to best ability, but the band keeps on playing. This was a fictitious event but the strange thing is that this actually happened to my parents while watch a band playing in Hyde Park. The V1's were vigorously shelled with anti aircraft guns in attempts to make them explode in mid air above rural land before reaching London. RAF pilots tried to tip them over by giving them a nudge with their wings. After Peenemunde was heavily bombed by the allies, the Germans moved their rocket program further inland to Nordhausen. Prisoners from the nearby concentration camp Dora Mittelbau were compelled to work there on the V2, Germany´s first ballistic rocket missile developed by Werner von Braun. Its factory was dug out in a mountain with tunnels extending for miles into the mountain. Many V2's were fired on London from the Dutch and Belgian coast from mobile rocket launchers. Contrary to the V1, there was not much that could be done to stop the V2 as it travelled at supersonic speed and thus would hit its target totally unannounced. In total ... Londoners were killed as a result of the V1 and V2 raids. My father was once slammed against a wall as a result of a V1 exploding near the Dutch Navy’s Head Quarters at Marble Arch. The damage was severe SOCIAL CLIMATE ============== If ever there was a place and time wherein people were drawn much closer to each other it was WW-II in London. The need to fight a common enemy and the fact that all classes of society suffered the same effects of was a strong binding factor. Food rationing affected 99% of the population, houses were bombed indescriminately, including stately manors and even Buckingham Palace. Death and severe injuries came to all walks of life. The war compelled people to support each other and stick together as one nation and one society. Unlike in today's over-protected, money and status driven society with deeply embedded anti-social and selfish behaviour, there was the urgent need to simply stay alive and to help each other in every possible way to survive the war. It drew the best out of people including comradery, friendship, decency, support, love and respect for each other. The fact that people became relyant on each other also encoraged strong cooperation in a military, political, social and economic sense. Many inventions were done to assist the war effort like the development of radar, code breaking at Bletchley Park and much more. This brings us to comment number-1 in my Top-3, summarized as "When Britain was still white". In itself a seemingly harmless statement as it simply states the obvious and actual demographic facts, because less than 2% of the British population were from African or Asian origin during WW-II. However, sadly this comment also frequenty captures numerous negative aspects of race-related issues, often including hatred and discrimination as well as statements like "diversity is our strength". The latter point makes one wonder what diversity in a racial context would have added to the way Britain handled the war effort. Bringing the Americans into the war certainly was a form of diversity which lead to a 1 + 1 = 3 situation. But that had hardly anything to do with what is implied in afore mentioned comments. Fact is that due to the resilience, coherence, cooperation and perseverence of the united British people the war was eventually won. Strong leadership that brought all these factors together was key to this success. THE END OF THE WAR =================== Wiki states that "By the war's end, just under 30,000 Londoners had been killed by the bombing, and over 50,000 seriously injured, tens of thousands of buildings were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless." On the 8th of May 1945 the war was officially over. Hitler had committed suicide on 30 April 1945 and Berlin had been captured by the allied forces and the Russian Red Army.Huge crowds flocked to Buckingham Palace to see King George VI and his wife, the later Queen Mother, appear on the balcony. Apparently my mother and father were among these crowds along with my Grandmother. For years I have been looking closely at films of the crowds near the palace gates where my parents said that they had been standing, but so far elas. That day went into history as VE day, Victory in Europe day, involving huge street parties in London and other cities. EPILOG ====== To end this documentary I would like to conclude that there is plenty to be discussed and reminissed as regards World War II in London. With most topics I have only scratched the surface. The Internet is filled with historic websites. We hope this video is an inspiration for you to dig deeper into what actually happened in London during WW-II in order to get a much better understanding of what life was really like back then. Hopefully it will also make you think twice before joining the band wagon of viewers who make the earlier mentioned (boring, cliché) Top/3 comments. Please don't make the common mistake of looking at history through today's eyes and projecting modern norms, values and social behavior on to the past, because that will most certainly lead to totally misplaced and utterly wrong conclusions. Sadly all our grand parents and most parents who witnessed the war at first hand are no longer among us. A great source of information has now died with them. About 95% of the thousands of comments under my videos don't address the actual events of WW-II but seem to get stuck in the mud of viewers consistently referring to what our world has become anno 2022. Please, please refrain from doing that and in stead try to gather as much information about this lost world as you can in order to appreciate the past, understand what ordeals the British and German populations went through and to learn from them in order to avoid making the same dreadful mistakes again and again. If the war in Ukraine and the similarities with WWII )and even WW-I) do not prove my point, then I don't know what will. Thanks for watching! |
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RicksFilmRestoration Leidschendam The Netherlands. E-mail: ricksfilmrestoration@gmail.com We only communicate by E-mail. |
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