Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington during the Blitz : 1940-1941
At 11.15am on Sunday 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced to the British nation that the country was at war. Germany had invaded Poland two days previously and had failed to respond to French and British calls to withdraw.
Ten minutes after the announcement the air raid sirens sounded. Many people thought that an attack would happen immediately, but it would be almost a year before the first German bombs fell on Britain. The months in between the declaration and the Blitz were something of an anti-climax, especially since there had been much planning and activity in preparation for war.
When the air raids finally began, London was inevitably the major victim. From 7 September 1940 to 10 May 1941 the bombs fell upon the city. More than 1,000,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, nearly 30,000 people killed, and over 50,000 injured. Thousands more lost their friends and loved ones, their homes and possessions, their businesses and jobs.
The former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington which today make up the modern London Borough of Hackney were all badly hit. Each borough kept its own records of the incidents that occurred. Most of those for Hackney contain photographs, those for Stoke Newington and Shoreditch primarily report casualties and damage to properties but without any photographic record. The numbers for Shoreditch have not survived, but those for Hackney show that throughout the Second World War (not just the Blitz), 891 bombs and rockets fell causing 736 deaths, 2,303 injuries, and 200 major fires. In Stoke Newington there were 204 deaths, 6 missing persons presumed dead, 10 killed but unidentified, and 1,100 injured.
The records are now held at Hackney Archives, and this exhibition was prepared using these and other materials from the Archives' collections.
The records for Shoreditch have not survived, but those for Hackney show that throughout the Second World War (not just the Blitz), 891 bombs and rockets fell causing 736 deaths, 2,303 injuries, and 200 major fires. In Stoke Newington there were 204 deaths, 6 missing persons presumed dead, 10 killed but unidentified, and 1,100 injured.
Thousands of Anderson shelters were given away for free at the start of the Blitz. These were made of curved corrugated iron bolted to strong supports which were then buried 1m (3 feet) underground in back gardens with 45 cm (18 inches) of earth piled on top. However the shelters were small and cramped, cold, not soundproofed, and tended to flood regularly. Nor did they guarantee total protection against bombs, as can be seen in this photograph of wrecked shelters in the gardens of 127-129 Mapledene Road following an attack on the night of 9-10 October 1940.
Mapledene Road Anderson shelters.
Civil Defence Service plans were begun in July 1935 when the Home Office informed local authorities of the services that would be required for public protection should air attacks occur. Public appeals for volunteers were made from January 1937, with 200,000 people being recruited over the next year. Queen Elizabeth inspected members of Stoke Newington's Civil Defence teams in 1940.
Queen Elizabeth inspecting members of Stoke Newington's Civil Defence teams.
Local Food Offices were set up by the Ministry of Food to issue and replace ration books. This photograph shows an emergency Food Office set up on the pavement of Downs Park Road following bombing of the street in 1940.
Downs Park Road emergency Food Office.
Page updated: 14 Jan 2011
.