‘Blitz’ is short for blitzkrieg (German for ‘lightning warfare’). The Blitz on London began on 7 September 1940 at 5.00pm. Hundreds of enemy aircraft attacked Woolwich Arsenal, the docks and large areas of the East End. Two more waves of bombers followed that night and by morning the docks were ablaze and 430 East Enders were dead. London endured the Blitz for 57 nights on end; more than 12,000 people were killed and 20,000 injured.

As soon as it got dark, the ‘Blackout’ began. Street lights went out and people covered their windows so that enemy planes could not use lights to navigate by or as targets. At the beginning of the war, the government issued over 2 million corrugated steel ‘Anderson’ shelters to be erected in gardens and covered with earth. Indoor ‘Morrison’ shelters, like metal tables, were produced in 1941. Large numbers of Londoners slept in the Underground stations every night.

Somehow Londoners kept going and everyone ‘did their bit’. Firewatchers spent their nights on the roofs ready to warn the embattled fire services where fires were breaking out. Members of the Women’s Voluntary Service helped to look after those bombed out of their homes. The Blitz brought out a spirit of determination and even humour that enabled people to cope.