The numbers of death and destruction were horrific. In 1940, an average of 250 tonnes of bombs were dropped almost every night. 2 million houses were destroyed , 60 , 000 civilians killed, 87,000 injured , 1000 fires over three days , One in 6 left homeless , and more women and children were killed than soldiers. They seemed to have no way of stopping these attacks , as the gas and water systems were destroyed , transport ruined and 73 buses fell apart.St Paul’s cathedral still stood strong , but this didn’t compensate for the damage already.
The effects varied as the upper class had more privileges in refuge from the attacks. They could move to country houses, or sleep in expensive basement clubs, where the poor had to be crammed into underground vaults. They had inadequate provisions, and some began to live residentially in their shelters for lack of sleep from the continuous running into the shelters. The effects were increasingly worse to those who had less money; therefore more destruction to those who couldn’t always to provide for themselves and their family.
Daily routine changed as 2 million Anderson shelters were put into homes, and trenches from 1938 were used for refuge from the raids. A minimal amount of people slept in tube stations, as some people took up the popular way of avoiding the bombs, “trekking.” These changes made it hard for the people, as from travelling to the Anderson shelters constantly, they all experienced lack of sleep. The “blackout,” had an immediate effect, and was very successful in preventing bombs. Air raid wardens were put to ensure people were doing their job, giving the people a feel of citizenship.
The British people showed cheerfulness and courage working together, known as the “Blitz spirit.” This proved that the morale remained high, influenced by propaganda from the government. Some writers believe this was a myth, only fake information enforced to try and make the opposition think they were failing in their task. They get this idea from some of the published reports about the organized gangs, and the high amount of looting cases that occurred in 1940,however most negative reports were censored.
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