The Blitz: How Britain's Cities Endured the Bombing Campaign

The Blitz — from the German word "Blitzkrieg" meaning lightning war — was a sustained bombing campaign against the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany between September 1940 and May 1941. London bore the brunt, bombed for 57 consecutive nights from 7 September 1940. But the destruction was nationwide: Coventry was devastated on 14 November 1940, its medieval cathedral destroyed. Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, Southampton, Cardiff, and many other cities suffered heavy raids. Over 43,000 civilians were killed and more than a million homes destroyed or damaged. Yet the Blitz failed in its strategic objective of breaking British morale or crippling industrial production. The response of ordinary people was remarkable. ARP wardens, firefighters, ambulance crews, and rescue workers risked their lives nightly. Thousands sheltered in London Underground stations. Factories that were bombed one night were often back in production within days. The legacy of the Blitz remains central to British wartime memory. Many of the civilian war workers in our registry lived through these raids — their stories of endurance and courage are an essential part of the war's history. Sources: Mass Observation Archive, London Metropolitan Archives, BBC WW2 People's War