The Blitz

The Blitz was the name borrowed by the British Press to describe the heavy and frequent bombing raids carried out over Britain during World War 2. The word Blitz comes from the German word "lightning"

It is estimated that 43,000 died during the Blitz across Britain. Thousands lost both their homes and possessions. Streets became covered in rubble, water pipes were shattered and electricity cables were damaged. The Bomb Disposal Squad had the dangerous job of putting out any unexploded bombs. In the chaos, looters found it easy to steal goods

Places Bombed during the Blitz

London, Liverpool, Hull, Bristol, Cardiff, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Southampton, Swansea, Birmingham, Belfast, Coventry, Glasgow, Manchester and Sheffield were all bombed because the all had military targets like docks factories and air bases.

On 15th August 1940 the Luftwaffe (German air force) bombed Croydon airfield on the outskirts of London by mistake. This was followed on 23rd August 1940 by the accidental bombing of Harrow, also on the outskirts of London. These raids went against Hitler’s direct instructions not to bomb London under any circumstances.To take revenge, Churchill ordered the British RAF to bomb Berlin, the capital city of Germany, on 25th August 1940. Hitler was very angry. On 31st August 1940 he then gave orders for the invasion of Britain (codenamed ‘Operation Sealion’), although no date was set, and ordered a massive air-raid attack on London.

At about 4pm on 7th September 1940, over 350 German bombers and 650 German fighter aircraft flew across the English Channel. They dropped 300 tonnes of bombs on the docks and streets of the East of London in just two hours.

The Bombing of Swansea

Through the rest of 1940, Swansea was targeted by single and small groups of enemy bombers. There were several small scale raids in January 1941, but the worst bombing period occurred over three nights on the 19, 20 and 21 February 1942. This period - to become known as the The Three Nights' Blitz - started at 7.30 pm on the 19 February. By the time the 'all clear' siren rang three days later major parts of Brynhyfryd, Townhill and Manselton had been destroyed and 230 people were dead and 409 injured - 7,000 people had lost their homes. The city centre suffered direct hits that started major conflagrations destroying many commercial premises included the Ben Evans department store and the Victorian market.[2]

Over the three nights a total of nearly 14 hours of enemy activity had been recorded. 1273 high explosive bombs and 56,000 Incendiary bombs were estimated to have been dropped. An area measuring approximately 41 acres was targeted with 857 properties destroyed, 11,000 damaged.[3] To raise morale following the blitz, the King and Queen as well as the prime minister, Winston Churchill, visited Swansea.

My grandparents' family were hugely affected by the Blitz. My Granny's parents had an air raid shelter in their back garden which overlooked the docks. My Grampy's mum worked in a store in the centre of Swansea which was flattened by the bombing raids.