The citizens that were left homeless went to friends, family or shelters, and children wandered the streets without food and families. The death toll was increasing daily, people lived in constant fear for their families, and some who worked the night shift returned home to find their whole street demolished. At night, there were two million Anderson shelters that were available for shelter from the earlier years of war. However many people were still left without protection, and the government produced Morrison shelters (steel cages), or they constructed a safe room. Approximately 150 thousand people sheltered in the underground every night, it was crowded and many people got sick because of the way of life in the undergrounds. Only 6 percent of Londoners were taking shelters in underground stations, because most people felt comfortable at home. It was not wise to have so many people in one place as it was an easy target, although the Germans were not able to hit the underground easily because of its depth below ground.
‘I remember an incendiary bounced off a corner and went down into the underground, it exploded a water pipe and sixty four people died that day ’ This quote was never published, because of the amounts of people taking shelter in the underground shelter.
The air-raid wardens were very important. They were contacted whenever a bomb was dropped, and then they would contact other services, such as the fire service, or an ambulance. They also made sure the rules and regulations of the ARP were carried out. The ARP were the main people, they ensured the safety of the citizens by checking houses for safe rooms, proper blackouts, and many other tasks. This eye witness account describes how the ARP’s felt.
‘The streets below us were semi-illuminated from the glow. Immediately above the fires the sky was red and angry, and overhead, making a ceiling in the vast heavens, there was a cloud of smoke all in pink, we had no coffee so we drank weak tea instead and were grateful for it! Quite honestly, we wondered if we were able to survive another night, but, one had to try and do our every best ’
One in six of them were women, because a lot of the men were at war or doing more strenuous tasks. It had its pros and cons, because they had to combine this with their family life and it was good for the people; to keep active so they would not have time to worry, it was also joining the people and their communities. The industry was not affected much, because it was hard for the German’s to drop bombs on the factories at night, and if they did it would be up and running in two-three days. The people never lost much hope; this is because the government was desperate to keep up the morale of the people, by using censorship and propaganda. Casualty numbers and serious damage was withheld from the public. However heroism and defiance were on the front pages. Many people were hired by the government, to make inspiring films about after the war, to help overcome the demoralising effects of the bombing.
