Open the app
  1. Home
  2. Lessons
  3. GCSE & IGCSE History
  4. London and the Second World War, 1939 to 45

London and the Second World War, 1939 to 45

🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.

As the capital, a major port and an industrial centre, London was a key German target. Londoners lived through the Blitz and later the V-weapon attacks.

Preparation and the Blitz

In 1939 London prepared: evacuation of children, Anderson shelters and gas masks.
The Blitz began on 'Black Saturday', 7 September 1940, with huge raids on the East End docks and industry. Raids continued until May 1941.
Bombs included high explosives and incendiaries, which started fires.

Life under the bombs

People sheltered in Underground stations, public shelters and their homes. 'Mickey's shelter' in Stepney was a large shelter organised by local people.
Disasters: a bomb hit South Hallsville School (1940), where bombed-out families were waiting; at Bethnal Green station in 1943, 173 people were crushed on the stairs.
Dancehalls and theatres stayed open. The Royal Family stayed in London and ministers used the Cabinet War Rooms.
Parks such as Victoria Park and the Tower of London moat were dug up to grow food ('Dig for Victory').

V-weapons and sources

From 1944 Germany fired V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets. A V2 hit a Woolworths store in Deptford (New Cross) in November 1944, killing 168 people. V2s could not be seen or heard coming.
The government used propaganda and censorship to protect morale.
Sources: personal accounts, photographs, local newspapers, council records, government records, Mass Observation reports, newsreels.
Worked example

How useful would a 1940 newsreel showing cheerful Londoners be for an enquiry into morale during the Blitz?

  1. Content: it shows people coping and carrying on.
  2. Provenance: newsreels were censored and used as propaganda, so it may hide fear and anger.
  3. Own knowledge: disasters like South Hallsville and concern about morale suggest the picture was mixed.
  4. Judgement: useful for showing the official image, less useful for real feelings.

Answer: Useful for the official view of morale, limited as evidence of how people really felt.

Key idea

London targeted as capital, port, industry. Black Saturday 7 September 1940; East End docks. Shelters, South Hallsville (1940), Bethnal Green (1943). V1 and V2 from 1944; Deptford V2. Propaganda, censorship, Mass Observation.

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

Check you have got it

Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.

Practise this lesson free (6 questions)All GCSE & IGCSE History lessons