Shelters were seen as the most important aspect of protecting yourself. The government decided to distribute shelters to the British public for them to rest in over night whilst the bombing took place. The shelters were simply delivered in parts and instructions were left to you to construct it wherever you may wish.
There were two different types of shelter, one common shelter which was for outside and the other for indoors. The Anderson shelter was the most common shelter, which was for outside. A whopping 2 million of these were distributed. As they were set up outside half way into the ground the owners would usually grow vegetables on top of it for emergency food supplies such as cabbages. For many poorer people who did not have gardens for outdoor shelters, Morrison shelters were available for the indoors, typically set up under the stairs or in a secure place such as a closet.
The shelters undoubtedly saved thousands of lives. However, they had serious weakness and were not much protection from falling masonry. The shelters were not built to withstand the blast of a bomb but to protect you from shrapnel and flying glass. If you did not own either shelter it was common to take refuge to the London Underground, at first Londoners would buy platform tickets, the government tried to ban this, due to the shortage of shelters it was soon allowed and 70 stations were used as shelters.
One of the most important factor’s people thought about was the protection of the home. There were many methods to protect it, it was important as nobody wanted to be made homeless. Windows were taped up against damage from splintered glass; also blackout curtains were behind the glass. Windows were sandbagged against bomb blast to stop the glass from shattering. All cracks in floors and walls were sealed with paper and paste to prevent gas seeping through; the fireplace was sealed to prevent this also. The ceiling was supported by wooden props to strengthen it against collapse.
Another way to avoid deaths was to evacuate women and children of Britain. Offers to take children were made by British dominions – Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. The USA also offered to take up to 200,000 children. Public support for overseas evacuation grew and, at first, the government accepted the idea. As it was believed moving children abroad would be safer. Although when a U-boat sank the city of Benares on 17 September 1940, 77 children and over 200 adults perished, and the government suspended the overseas evacuation.
During the war 1.5 million children were moved to ‘reception areas’ in country towns and villages. 2 million privately evacuated in total, half of children across Britain were evacuated. The conditions for the children were awful as reports of dirty, disease ridden, ignorant and unruly children continually came in. The most shocking occurrence was that the first wave of evacuation returned to Britain before the Blitz started.
In addition to shelters and protection of the home there was also civil defence to help Britain cope with daily life. ARP wardens were introduced, ARP stands for air raid precaution, and this was the air raid warden service. There were 1.5 million ARP wardens in Britain, 1 in 6 were female, most of who were part time volunteers who had full time day jobs. They patrolled the streets supervising the black out, watching for the slightest bit of light and supervised people getting into air raid shelters. The warden not only supported people but some also fired air raid guns at the German bombers flying overhead. The wardens would sound the siren at sight of any bombing and once the siren had gone they would assess the area for signs of attack and help civilians in the area.
Another feature of the air-defence was the black-out. The idea of the black out was so that when German bombers are flying overhead they will not be able to see where the major cities are by amount of light seen from above. Homes had to black out, but so did shops, businesses and even trains and cars. The number of road accidents doubled, but in time people got used to operating in the black out. To help people see in the dark other than by moonlight, many things were painted white such as kerbs, trees and even cows. Everything was white as light reflects off white easily so you can see it easier than other colours. This was to help drivers and pedestrians see them in the blackout. To avoid the blackout and the bombing at night many people would flee to the countryside before dark and return in the morning. The blackout caused many casualties as people fell in canals, fell downstairs and even fell on railway platforms.
In conclusion I think the most effective way of surviving the Blitz was the blackout, even though it caused casualties it combated the bombing as the bombers did not know where to target. Shelters immensely helped as it saved thousands of lives from shrapnel and glass. Evacuation helped mostly as the children were away from all real danger of the bombing. Air raid wardens were also a success as they organised people for where to go and made sure the blackout was in progress. The bombing severely damaged morale as people were in lots of shock and confusion especially since there was always a threat of death. On the other hand it did have its advantages, as the bombing has made Britain more aware of the dangers and prepared in case it happens again. The disadvantages out weigh the advantages massively as the destruction was huge demolishing many buildings all over Britain, completely changing the way of life as it destroyed buildings of vast importance and industrial significance.