The government also understood, after seeing the destruction in Guernica, how planes had developed and were far more capable than ever before. They appreciated how the new planes threatened destruction in British cities of a terrible measure. This set vast amounts of fear into the government, and made them realise that the civilians were no longer safe as they had been in the First World War.
Much of the government and public were in constant remembrance of the loss and tragedy of the First World War. The harsh memory haunted many and they didn’t want to experience such ruin again. One evacuee, Harry Smith mentions in his memoirs how when war was declared on September 1939 his parents simply ‘sat in silent shock at the prospect of a repeated war’. He also mentions how it was ‘widely believed that London would be reduced to rubble within minutes of war being declared’. This would obviously put fear in every mother’s heart.
London was also remembering the terror of the Zeplin raids of World War One. The Germans had also bombarded costal cities in Britain – these were attacks on civilian populations. This terrified the government of what the Luftwaffe would do next and what it was capable of. One source claims, figures were estimated that over 4 million civilians might have lost their lives in London alone. This pushed the government further to finalise plans for evacuation and take further precautions in cities to ensure the safety of civilians.
In the year of 1935 the government realised war was imminent. After the collapse and the failure of the Disarmament Conference in 1934, along with the failure of the League of Nations people were beginning to be frightened. After the rise of Hitler in 1933, people saw how powerful Hitler was. In 1938 he was making speeches that spoke of sending the re formed German army into Czechoslovakia. Hitler also made claims that the German Luftwaffe was now great again and equal, if not superior, to that of the RAF. The British government now felt the looming war more than ever. The public and government saw how quickly and efficiently Germany had rearmed and it frightened many and forced them to question what else Germany would be capable of and take necessary safety measures.
Precautions were taken as early as 1924 the government was making moves against air raids. To be prepared did Britain ever get forced into war, they built air raid shelters. They government felt the need to prepare in such ways as it had experienced over 103 raids on Britain from her enemy. Fifty one of these were performed by Airships, mainly on London. 300 tons of bombs were dropped killing 1413 people. This use of bombs loiter on peoples minds and caused people to fear of worse things to come.
When it was widely believed gas would be used as a form of attack the government tried to persuade the public to install ‘refuge rooms’ into there house. These rooms would protect against gas and bomb attacks and would ideally be in the basement. Gas masks were also issued to the public.
Mussolini had been known to use gas attacks. His most famous use of gas was in his invasion of Abyssinia (1935-6), where he used gas on innocent civilians – causing indescribable injuries and deaths. Italian troops used poison gas and attacked Red Cross hospitals, May 1936, Mussolini had conquered Abyssinia. This set fear into the civilians in Britain that London could meet a similar fate. It also proved Mussolini was not afraid to use gas as a weapon of war.
As war progressed and gas attacks never materialised people realised they could use other means of protection such as the Anderson Shelter. This was a cheap and easy shelter that could be used by all the population. It would be put in the back garden and for those who did not have a back garden there was an alternative – the Morrison shelter! The Morrison shelter was designed in such a way that was the house to collapse the person could crawl out the rubble unhurt.
Involving the public in such a way – and making such large propaganda schemes, brought home to the women that they were at risk and now were a part of war. Posters and newsreels were created to spread awareness but in turn also spread fright and fear. It also frightened the women as they realised that there children were now at risk.
The government also introduced blackouts, search lights, barrage balloons to prevent the risk of aerial attacks. Regardless of all these precautions the government still realised that defences were low and efforts to protect the cities were not going to prevent aerials bombings. The realised bombings were certain and they had to be prepared for the worst.
The government was fighting a war by the late 1930’s and didn’t need or want high civilians casualties. They realised they has to prevent this as effectively as possible and realised the only way to do so would be to remove and evacuate as many people as possible to areas of safety. They realised however, that I would not be cost-effective or advantageous to evacuate the entirety of the women. The government had learnt during ww1 how vital the women were to the success of the war and the home front. They were needed in the cities to complete the tasks and jobs of the men who were away fighting on the front line. The government also understood what a nuisance looking after the children would be to the women. The government appreciated that sending them away, would not only put them in secure safety. It would also be beneficial to the women. The government saw how it could also increase the working standard and efficiency of the working women.
The government also recognized how high child casualties would affect the countries morale. They saw how it would lower morale and increase a hatred for the war. It would dampen the spirits of soldiers who believed they were fighting for a new generation.
Just before war was declared the government finally decided to take action and begin moving children from there homes. They did this to avoid a mass evacuation that would be panicked and not efficient. People were initially reluctant and only 47% of children were evacuated. When the expected bombings did not occur in 1939 around 1 million evacuees returned to the cities. However, in 1940 the Luftwaffe began bombing and another evacuation took place. By the 7th of September the Luftwaffe was bombing cities such as Liverpool and Plymouth, Birmingham and Coventry. Parents were now desperate to get there children out of these target zones and by December 1941 over 1,250,000, children had left the cities.
www.worldwar2exraf.co.uk/Online%20Museum/ Museum%20Docs/airraidshelters.html
