The Home Front in World War Two Read online

  In February 1939, with the prospect of war seeming inevitable, the first of these sectional steel shelters were delivered across Britain to be constructed in gardens by householders. Each shelter consisted of curved and straight panels of corrugated iron, which had to be bolted together at the top, with steel plates at each end. The most common Anderson shelter (as they became called) measured 1.95 x 1.35 metres (6½ x 4½ feet) and was buried 1.2 metres (4 feet) in the soil; it could accommodate up to six people. There was also a slightly smaller version. Barbara Matthews recalls:

  “Digging a huge, deep hole…in a grassy meadow [or garden] which had never been dug up before was very hard work and the men did it with picks and shovels and no mechanical help.”

  Earth was heaped on the roof. In some instances, householders planted the tops of these shelters with flowers and vegetables and competitions were held in some neighbourhoods for the best-planted shelter. Some people made rockeries around their Anderson shelters and many used the dense earth packed around them for growing marrows.

  The 1938 government booklet The Protection of your Home against Air Raids featured a list of useful items to take into a shelter: “…begin collecting those things you haven’t got, one by one. Put them in a box, or in a drawer...candles and matches, hammer and nails, scissors, old newspaper and brown paper, some clean rags, needles, cotton and thread. A candle lamp or and electric hand lamp…a few tins or jars with air-tight lids for storing food, a bottle of disinfectant and a box of first aid supplies.” Further lists of items included plenty of water, tinned food with a tin opener, a chest to protect food from gas contamination, soap, towels, chamber pots and toilet paper, a screen for privacy, toys, sand, pick axe and shovel and so on. The internal fitting out of shelters was left to individuals, and despite their dismal function and fundamental, unsophisticated style, individual characteristics prevailed and most people made efforts to modify theirs and make them more appealing inside. Some people built fitted bunks; others made hammocks out of old tennis nets. Twelve year old Stan Bell, who lived near Clapton Common in London, made bunk beds for his family’s Anderson shelter:

  “With wood from a local wood yard, I built four bunk beds to fit inside our shelter. First I made a framework and then I put slats across. My parents, grandmother and I used the shelter and we made it as comfortable as possible with mattresses and cushions on the bunks. We lit the shelter with hurricane lamps and to this day I can remember the smell of paraffin and am transported back to the shelter. We took books with us, but the noise of the bombs and ack-ack guns on the Common nearby was very loud and traumatic. It was difficult to concentrate or relax.”

  One month after war broke out, Anderson shelters went on sale. Any householder (with a garden) earning less than £250 a year received theirs free, while those on higher incomes (more than £5 a week) could buy one for between £7 and £10, depending on the size. By the end of the war, there were 3.6 million Anderson shelters in Britain. But because they had to be partially submerged in the ground, they were susceptible to flooding and were usually damp, draughty, noisy and cramped. Sleeping in them was difficult, as Margaret Ronaldson, living in Bow, recalled:

  “When the Blitz started, we spent every night in our Anderson shelter, but it was hard to sleep as the noise of falling bombs was terrible and the ground shook violently. Mum and I used to plug our ears with cotton wool and we put lots of cushions and blankets inside the shelter to try to muffle the dreadful din.”

  Sheila Dunne was nine years old when war broke out and living in West London. She remembered her time in the family air raid shelter:

  “At first, it was quite a novelty. We had a camping stove and we heated water to make tea. We also took the radio in there with us and listened to it as we drank tea, played cards, read and chatted. But after a few nights, we just tried to sleep in there. It was always dark and damp and very noisy.”

  Maisie Walker remembered:

  “It was a nightly ritual to get the flask of tea, blankets, candle and sandwiches ready to take down the Anderson shelter which incidentally was always swimming in six inches of water. We could tell by the sound of the engines of the planes whether they were friend or foe. Blue [the cat] always gave us warning at least ten minutes before the siren went by clawing at the door or what was left of it. We knew that we had time to grab everything to make our way down to the shelter. It was a living nightmare to go through the continual bombing night after night…When we emerged each morning still alive it was a miracle. It was better still if we could have a cup of tea and a wash to take the grime out of our eyes from continual dust and smoke of the fires and buildings that had collapsed.”

  Mirrie Hull, a child in growing up in Charlton during the war, said that she, her sisters and her mother always went to bed in their pyjamas, but with their coats hanging at the end. As soon as the air raid siren sounded, she and her sisters grabbed their coats and ran down to the Anderson shelter in the garden. Anderson shelters were dark and damp, soggy at best and tended to flood at worst. Sleeping in them was difficult as they did not keep out the sound of the bombings. There were no toilet facilities, except perhaps for a bucket in the corner and people became reluctant to use them.

  Those who lived through this time recall the fear, panic and disconcerting atmosphere of the blackouts and ensuing bombing raids. Although advice was forthcoming from government sources, once the bombing raids started, families and individuals were on their own and no one knew what would happen next. Stories of parents grabbing sleeping children from their beds, of disorientated elderly people being unsure of where to go and babies crying in fright are recounted by many who lived through it. By 1941, after the experiences of the Blitz, a new booklet was circulated, entitled Air Raids – What You Must KNOW, What You Must DO. A large section of it dealt with the problems of Anderson shelters, particularly how to counteract the damp and flooding problems. Suggestions included building runnels to draw away surface water or sealing the joints between the iron sheets with strips of rag, Hessian or rope that had been soaked with heavy oil or tar. Condensation could be lessened by painting the interiors with paint or shellac varnish and throwing sawdust on to this while the paint was wet. Or the inside of the shelter could be lined with lino, plasterboard, felt or even wallpaper could be applied to the plasterboard.

  None of these methods was particularly successful however and Anderson shelters were unpopular. In addition, not everyone living in cities where most raids occurred had the necessary outdoor space. By early 1941 the Morrison shelter, named after the Minister for Home Security Herbert Morrison and designed by Lord John Fleetwood Baker, was developed for protection inside the home. As with Anderson shelters, Morrison shelters were available free to those on low incomes (households earning less than £350 a year), while those earning more had to pay £7. Arriving in kit form, each Morrison shelter had a solid steel top plate, welded wire mesh sides, a metal base and a mattress floor. They were all two metres (6½ft) long and just over one metre wide and high (4ft), so no one could stand up in them. The sides could be taken off during the day so the shelter could be used as a table. Approximately 600,000 Morrison shelters were distributed throughout the war. Newspapers and magazines often contained features suggesting ways of passing the time in shelters during air raids and listed useful items to take in, such as eau de cologne or smelling salts, candles, matches and food. Many people packed secure bags with the family’s ration books, identity cards, gas masks, insurance policies, books, games, magazines and comics and took them into the shelter during air raids.

  A safe place

  In 1940, the Ministry of Home Security issued a pamphlet Your Home as an Air Raid Shelter. Reaching homes before serious aerial raids began, the booklet gave information on erecting sectional shelters in the garden and on how to make your home as bomb-proof as possible. The idea of staying in the home rather than going out to a cold, damp and often flooded shelter outdoors was extremely appealing and a description of how to make a
“Refuge Room” took up a large part of the pamphlet. A refuge room was described as being a room preferably on the ground floor or in a basement, with as few windows or doors as possible. Predominantly intended to protect families in the event of poison gas attacks, few people actually created refuge rooms as the pamphlet gave instructions for householders to adapt the room themselves and few had the time, space or inclination to create such a room. The cupboard under the stairs was another good option, or cellars that could be reinforced with steel. The pamphlet suggested that anyone living in upstairs flats should come to an arrangement with neighbours downstairs.

  Under the heading “Protection of Glass in Windows” the pamphlet explained: “You should realise that nothing you can stick on to glass will prevent it being broken, nor will even increase its chance of remaining unbroken when a bomb explodes nearby. But a good covering, properly stuck on, will prevent glass flying in small dangerous pieces and may even hold a badly cracked and bulged pane in place enough to keep out the weather for a time. Coverings of this kind are suitable where curtains and blinds are used for blackout.” Following this was a detailed list of various materials that could be used to protect windows, including paper or cardboard, transparent wrapping films and cellulose acetate film. Whatever material was used however, it soon became brittle and had to be replaced every two to three months. Other options included hanging blankets over doorways and windows, using sandbags or boxes of earth to buffer windows and criss-crossing glass panes with strips of gummed tape. In the 1930s, lead strip had been popular for creating leaded light latticed windows. By 1940, it was renamed ARP Protection for Windows and was used to secure windows from possible blasts; one of many examples of business using their initiative to survive and to provide an essential service during the war.

  Safety underground

  Before the war, government ministers had discussed the possibility of civilians using tube stations and other underground tunnels in London in the event of bombing raids. Several ministers were against this because they believed that such places with their lack of toilet facilities would be unhealthy, plus there was a real risk of people falling on to the lines, or a further concern that people would not leave the stations once the raid was over. When the intensive bombing of London began on 7th September 1940, there was a call by many to change the policy, but the government refused. Then, after incessant bombardment on the night of 19th September, thousands of Londoners flocked en masse into the relative safety of Underground stations. Many arrived in the afternoon, in advance of the air raid warning, equipped with bedding and food for the night. Commuting and the rush hour continued around them, but the police did not interfere and some station managers even took the initiative to provide additional toilet facilities. The government had no option but to capitulate and on 21st September, it formally allowed the public to use Underground stations as air raid shelters, fitting out 79 stations with bunks for 22,000 people, first aid facilities and chemical toilets. Within a short time, 124 canteens had opened in various parts of the Underground system to provide those sheltering with comforting sustenance and to take their minds off what was happening above. Salvation Army officers, who helped with emergency services during the war, also often handed out sweets to children sheltering in the Underground with their families. Although not rationed until 1942, sweets were already becoming difficult to obtain, so this kind act helped to take children’s minds off their fears. Air raid wardens were also appointed in the Underground stations, to supervise, to administer first aid and assist in the event of flooding.

  In Chislehurst, Kent, there are man-made chalk and flint mines that are known as caves. In September 1940, when the aerial bombardment of London began, the caves were used as an air raid shelter. Special trains were put on from London every night to Chislehurst so that people could sleep in the caves and soon it became an underground city of approximately 15,000 inhabitants, with electric lighting, a chapel and a hospital. Music concerts and church services were held there. People camped with mattresses and candles; makeshift toilets were set up behind canvas and because they could still hear the bombs, but muffled and in the distance, they felt relatively safe. Another popular place during air raids was “Tilbury Arches” in Stepney, London. The local council turned this into a large public shelter for 3,000 people, but on some nights over 16,000 people squeezed in.

  Along with the mood of acceptance and endurance, many people became fatalistic about sheltering and, tired of the nightly bombings, remained in their beds. Others did the opposite and slept in shelters whether or not there was an air raid. In November 1940, the government did a survey of people in Central London to find out who was sheltering where. The results proved that four per cent were sheltering in the Underground system; nine per cent were sheltering in public shelters and 27 per cent were sheltering in Anderson or Morrison shelters at home, while the rest either did not shelter at all, or went under the stairs, in basements or refuge rooms during air raids.

  Fire-fighting

  In August 1939, a fifth booklet was issued by the government. Entitled Fire Precautions in Wartime, it was mainly about incendiary bombs and methods of tackling them. Incendiary bombs were fairly small and hundreds were dropped at a time. On impact they ignited and burned, so everyone was urged to be prepared. The booklet instructed: “…In Civil Defence, EVERYBODY has a part to play. This is especially true of fire-fighting. In every house there should be one or more people ready to tackle a fire bomb.” Explaining that most bombs would hit and set fire to roofs, attics and upstairs rooms, the pamphlet gave instructions about clearing out lofts and dealing with these fires. Simply throwing water from a bucket would aggravate the flames as the main combustible component of most incendiary bombs was white phosphorus. The recommended method of extinguishing the fires from incendiaries was to use a hand-operated stirrup pump developed for the purpose and then to smother the bomb in dry sand from a bucket. From the start of the Blitz, firemen worked constantly, not only putting out fires but also tackling explosions and the aftermath. Bombs in warehouses were especially dangerous due to many of the products stored in them, for example, highly flammable alcohol and paint. Groups of neighbours organised rotas, volunteering as fire watchers to take some of the workload from the fire service and to contend with small local fires. Each group was issued with a bucket for sand, a bucket for water and a stirrup pump and each was taught by the fire brigade to use stirrup pumps properly. Some groups of neighbours bought their own stirrup pumps to be shared by the whole street. In September 1940, a law was passed, requiring factories and businesses to appoint employees to watch for incendiary bombs outside working hours.

  Blackouts, bombs and shortages were just a few of the burdens on individuals. But an attitude of unshakable fortitude in the face of adversity emerged, becoming known as the Blitz, Dunkirk or wartime spirit. Collectively and individually, people determined to keep up their own and their family’s morale by whatever means possible. Generosity of spirit came to the fore in most (although theft, looting and prostitution also rose, particularly during the blackouts) and many turned to vital war work or voluntary services.

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  WOMEN AT WAR

  “Today we are calling all women. Every woman in the country is needed to pull her weight to the utmost... We are fighting for our lives, for our freedom and our future.” Diana Thomas, broadcasting on the BBC Home Service in May 1941

  When this radio appeal was made, there was an acute shortage of workers in Britain. Since October 1939 all men between the ages of 18 and 41, not working in the ‘reserved occupations’ of miners, farmers, scientists, merchant seamen and dock, railway and utility workers, were conscripted. Women were not called up as it was believed that taking mothers and wives away from their families would damage the balance of domestic life. Most thought a woman’s place should be in the home. But by the spring of 1940, the British government realised that at least one and half million more workers were desperately needed and the onl
y way this could be achieved was by recruiting women. As Diana Thomas continued in her broadcast:

  “…We are all in it together, and what is already being done by other women, you can do. Don’t be afraid of being alone in your sacrifice – however great it may be… All those little things that are so important in every woman’s life – we treasure them and cling to them, they are our life-blood. And now we have got to fight for them. Isn’t it worth it?”

  Government schemes also encouraged women to volunteer and although many did, many more were needed. From early in 1941, every woman in Britain aged 18 to 60 had to be registered with the Ministry of Labour for war work; but they were not conscripted. By the middle of that year however, the British government made a bold move and decided to conscript women, considering this to be the only way to move forward and to stand a chance of winning the war. In December 1941, the National Service Act made the conscription of women legal in Britain. At first, only single women between the ages of 20 to 30 were called up and were allowed to opt for enrolment either into the armed forces or into industry. By mid-1943, almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were employed in essential work for the war effort. On 3rd December 1941, The Daily Telegraph reported: ‘Unmarried Women to be Conscripted’. The column began: