GCSE Edexcel History Notes: Warfare through time (1250-present)
All for this textbook (2)
Written for
GCSE
GCSE
History
2
All documents for this subject (1330)
1
review
By: rebeccadowding • 2 year ago
Seller
Follow
Belleapple
Reviews received
Content preview
London and
WW2; The
Blitz
1939-45
, The Target of the City of Lond
● London was the capital city of England and had several key areas that were targets for
the Blitz and air raids:
○ East end had the docks and main warehouses, which contained supplies. Also, it
was a dense area for housing and contained factories. The most important target
was the docks that imported food, raw materials and weaponry for the war effort.
○ The City of London was the financial centre of England and contained a lot of
banks and the Stock Exchange and also had the rail and telephone links, such as
the Faraday Building containing the telephone exchange. It was the target of
intensive bombing on 29th December 1940.
○ Suburban London contained most of the city’s population. The east suffered a
larger tonnage of bombs that west London.
○ Westminster was also a target due to the fact it had Buckingham Palace and the
Houses of Parliament. This area wasn’t heavily targeted in the first days of the
Blitz but was during 1941.
Preparations made for the Blitz
● The London County Council (LCC) and 28 borough councils gathered together to create
preparations for the air raids.
● Gas masks were issued after the 1938 Munich crisis to all Londoners. It was found that
less and less people, however, carried these gas masks after the Phoney War. This
research was done by Mass Observation, a research group that recorded information
about people’s lives and attitudes. By March 1940, as few as 5% of people took their gas
masks out with them. Even at the height of the Blitz, only around one third carried them
around as well.
● The Air Raid Precautions Act required local Governments to set up air raid precautions
(ARP). ARP wardens were sent out to check that blackout curtains were being put up
and numbers of lights were being reduced. This was to stop the bombers from being
able to target areas of London when they came at night.
● Evacuation became commonplace during the Blitz. The ARP committee split the
country into three types of areas of danger and he determined the safer areas for those
who were in higher danger zones to evacuate to in order to increase safety. The idea
was to give free transport to 1,400,000 people, including school children with their
teachers and pregnant women, and also mothers and young infants. Also, those who
could afford it were asked to pay towards billeting, which was providing the food and
shelter in the reception areas. A total of 1.3 million people were evacuated and when
the threat of air raids seemed to reduce, many returned home. By January 1940, over
300,000 had returned and by March there were only 300,000 left in the reception areas.
Essential because it was feared that up to 35000 tonnes of bombs could be dropped in
the first 24hrs, killing 58,000 people.
● Shelters were also key in the main areas of London for those who could not evacuate.
These included:
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller Belleapple. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.89. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.