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Backs To The Wall: The Heroic Story of the People of London During World War II
“LONDON CAN TAKE IT,” said the slogans on the gutted tenements of the East End. And take it she did, for five cruel years of onslaught which all but shattered her magnificent spirit. This is the story of how London lived during World War II, and of the agonies, privations, pungent humor and bravery of her citizens, ordinary people leading extraordinary lives in the most dangerous city on earth.
It didn’t seem dangerous at first, however, and during the period of the “phony war,” the capital’s mood was carefree. But soon there came Dunkirk, the ouster of Chamberlain and the long months when Britain, undermanned and unequipped, stood alone against the Axis powers. It was then, during the Blitz, when the Luftwaffe concentrated the full fury of the world war into a few square miles of London, that the leadership of Winston Churchill and the dogged courage of his people became an inspiration to the free world.
After the companionship of the Blitz came the doldrums of the war, when drabness and scarcity combined to slow the pulse of London, and life was measured in ration points, queues and exhaustion. But the city became a cosmopolis again with the arrival of the Americans and the colorful forces of the European governments-in-exile, as Britain girded itself for the liberation of the Continent. There was one more agony to endure, however, for with the end in sight Hitler retaliated with his cruelest weapons: the buzz bombs and rocket-powered V-2s.
London under fire comes vividly to life again in Leonard Mosley’s masterly recreation of a pivotal moment in history. Skillfully he mingles the experiences of influential residents of the great city-Churchill and his immediate circle, General de Gaulle and a backbench MP, among others-—-with those of ordinary people. These include a fighter pilot, an East End slum family, a bomb-disposal expert, a-rich young widow in Mayfair, two American GI’s, a conscientious objector, a tart, a social worker, a police superintendent-—and a score of others.
From extensive interviews, and the diaries, memories and notes of this human kaleidoscope, Mr. Mosley has woven a brilliant portrait of London under siege. Backs to the Wall reads like a novel but has the shattering impact of truth.
It didn’t seem dangerous at first, however, and during the period of the “phony war,” the capital’s mood was carefree. But soon there came Dunkirk, the ouster of Chamberlain and the long months when Britain, undermanned and unequipped, stood alone against the Axis powers. It was then, during the Blitz, when the Luftwaffe concentrated the full fury of the world war into a few square miles of London, that the leadership of Winston Churchill and the dogged courage of his people became an inspiration to the free world.
After the companionship of the Blitz came the doldrums of the war, when drabness and scarcity combined to slow the pulse of London, and life was measured in ration points, queues and exhaustion. But the city became a cosmopolis again with the arrival of the Americans and the colorful forces of the European governments-in-exile, as Britain girded itself for the liberation of the Continent. There was one more agony to endure, however, for with the end in sight Hitler retaliated with his cruelest weapons: the buzz bombs and rocket-powered V-2s.
London under fire comes vividly to life again in Leonard Mosley’s masterly recreation of a pivotal moment in history. Skillfully he mingles the experiences of influential residents of the great city-Churchill and his immediate circle, General de Gaulle and a backbench MP, among others-—-with those of ordinary people. These include a fighter pilot, an East End slum family, a bomb-disposal expert, a-rich young widow in Mayfair, two American GI’s, a conscientious objector, a tart, a social worker, a police superintendent-—and a score of others.
From extensive interviews, and the diaries, memories and notes of this human kaleidoscope, Mr. Mosley has woven a brilliant portrait of London under siege. Backs to the Wall reads like a novel but has the shattering impact of truth.
430 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1971
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30 people want to read
About the author
Leonard Mosley
58 books13 followersLeonard Oswald Mosley OBE OStJ (11 February 1913 – June 1992) was a British journalist, historian, biographer and novelist. His works include five novels and biographies of General George Marshall, Reich Marshall Hermann Göring, Orde Wingate, Walt Disney, Charles Lindbergh, Du Pont family, Eleanor Dulles, Allen Welsh Dulles, John Foster Dulles and Darryl F. Zanuck. He also worked as chief war correspondent for London's The Sunday Times.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 24, 2022
3.5 Stars
There are plenty of great first had accounts here and heroic stories from the battle of Britain. The sections about Charles de Gaulle were illuminating. My goodness what a lot of egomaniacal cat fighting! No hero worship here! Plenty of statistics to satisfy those who love them are also provided.
I do wish there were more stories about the brave women of this era. Instead we're treated to multiple stories about prostitutes, deserters from the ATS who became prostitutes, a woman who got her daughter killed, a murderess, and hysterical and/or fearful women ambulance drivers and other volunteers. The balance is off, but of course this book was published in 1971, so perhaps it's to be expected? And yet.... How We Lived Then by Norman Longmate was also published in 1971 and it's full of both heroic women and men and has a balanced view of crime during the war.
As far as the Battle of Britain and military squabbling is concerned, 4 stars.
Home front and women's contribution, 2 stars.
So 3 stars for this one.
There are plenty of great first had accounts here and heroic stories from the battle of Britain. The sections about Charles de Gaulle were illuminating. My goodness what a lot of egomaniacal cat fighting! No hero worship here! Plenty of statistics to satisfy those who love them are also provided.
I do wish there were more stories about the brave women of this era. Instead we're treated to multiple stories about prostitutes, deserters from the ATS who became prostitutes, a woman who got her daughter killed, a murderess, and hysterical and/or fearful women ambulance drivers and other volunteers. The balance is off, but of course this book was published in 1971, so perhaps it's to be expected? And yet.... How We Lived Then by Norman Longmate was also published in 1971 and it's full of both heroic women and men and has a balanced view of crime during the war.
As far as the Battle of Britain and military squabbling is concerned, 4 stars.
Home front and women's contribution, 2 stars.
So 3 stars for this one.
December 29, 2023
Such an insightful look at life in London during the blitz and the narrator plays no favorites with romanticized figures we've come to know as heroes of WW2. Definitely gives the traditional narrative a refreshing new perspective. Highly recommended read for lovers of WW2 history. I couldn't put it down and read it in 4 days over Christmas 😂
February 7, 2020
Most informative and inspiring book I have ever read on London during World War 2. Such heartache and devastation could never have been imagined.
May 18, 2020
Too technical. Not conversational.
September 20, 2012
At times, this book read almost like fiction, it was that compelling. The first-person narratives were heart-breaking and detailed. I always knew that things like the Blitz happened - but the history books don't tell you how horrible it was. As an American, we always learned about the Holocaust, and how devastating that was. Everything else was kind of glossed over.
To think of the thousands of people who were killed on a regular basis, to think of that becoming a way of life for so long is absolutely terrifying. I cannot imagine walking down the street and watching bombs drop. I have so much respect for the British, and especially the people of London. To live through that and to go on, to continue, to rebuild and make London the city that it is today is amazing.
I thought about September 11th a lot during this book. I don't want to make it sound like I'm trivializing that horrific event, because we weren't at war at the time, and it was an act of terrorism. But I look at that, and then I look at what London went through, with thousands of civilians being killed in one night, and that went on for years. And I can't help but wonder what the people of Britain think of us for obsessing over 9/11 the way we do. How does Britain remember the Blitz? The War? How long did they obsess over it, if at all? How do the events that Britain experienced during WWII affect the people today?
I really think everyone should read this book. I've recommended it to all of my friends. So much of history is ignored, or barely mentioned. I think I'll go on looking for books about what other countries suffered during WWII. I don't think we're told enough about this in school. I think Americans are sadly ignorant about what went on in Europe (and Asia) except for what our own troops went through. No wonder other countries hold us in such contempt.
To think of the thousands of people who were killed on a regular basis, to think of that becoming a way of life for so long is absolutely terrifying. I cannot imagine walking down the street and watching bombs drop. I have so much respect for the British, and especially the people of London. To live through that and to go on, to continue, to rebuild and make London the city that it is today is amazing.
I thought about September 11th a lot during this book. I don't want to make it sound like I'm trivializing that horrific event, because we weren't at war at the time, and it was an act of terrorism. But I look at that, and then I look at what London went through, with thousands of civilians being killed in one night, and that went on for years. And I can't help but wonder what the people of Britain think of us for obsessing over 9/11 the way we do. How does Britain remember the Blitz? The War? How long did they obsess over it, if at all? How do the events that Britain experienced during WWII affect the people today?
I really think everyone should read this book. I've recommended it to all of my friends. So much of history is ignored, or barely mentioned. I think I'll go on looking for books about what other countries suffered during WWII. I don't think we're told enough about this in school. I think Americans are sadly ignorant about what went on in Europe (and Asia) except for what our own troops went through. No wonder other countries hold us in such contempt.
January 29, 2011
I've read other books about life in London during the Blitz, written in a similar style, but this book covered both a longer time period and a broader segment of society, giving a more complete picture of London during the war. Backs to the Wall covers the entire war, beginning with the phony war, and ending at VE Day, so we hear, in first person accounts, not only of the solidarity during the Blitz, but the frustrations over food rations, the disgust over the decline of morals, and the sheer exhaustion of the later years of the war.
Mosley draws heavily on first hand, contemporaneous accounts, diarists and Mass Observation Volunteers, who wrote extensively about their daily lives. He included people who are often not given more than a cursory mention in writings on home life: women who turned to prostitution, men who refused to fight. As much as possible, he lets people speak for themselves, quoting their own writings. So we read about the terror of the V1's and the thrill of finding a single lemon for sale. The humiliation of imprisonment for sleeping with the enemy and the quick forgiveness offered by one's friends upon release. The excitement of a little boy who has off school, because it has been bombed, and the grief of parents who have lost a child in the bombings. The recovery of a young pilot suffering massive burns whose sole desire is to return to combat, and the musings of a conscientious objector.
It's all there, life, good and bad, which carries on in peace and war.
Mosley draws heavily on first hand, contemporaneous accounts, diarists and Mass Observation Volunteers, who wrote extensively about their daily lives. He included people who are often not given more than a cursory mention in writings on home life: women who turned to prostitution, men who refused to fight. As much as possible, he lets people speak for themselves, quoting their own writings. So we read about the terror of the V1's and the thrill of finding a single lemon for sale. The humiliation of imprisonment for sleeping with the enemy and the quick forgiveness offered by one's friends upon release. The excitement of a little boy who has off school, because it has been bombed, and the grief of parents who have lost a child in the bombings. The recovery of a young pilot suffering massive burns whose sole desire is to return to combat, and the musings of a conscientious objector.
It's all there, life, good and bad, which carries on in peace and war.
August 29, 2015
A very unique way to tell the story of Londoners during WW2, but it became very dense and dull at some points.
April 7, 2017
Found this book by accident while trying to find one of Nicholas Mosley's (actually N.M.'s father appears in Backs to the Wall - a notorious fascist interned in 1940). It's a splendid telling of the lives of ordinary Londoners pulled from diaries and writings, interspersed with what was happening in the greater world that would impact London. I can tell Connie Willis drew from it to write her Blackout series, and it was fun to pick out the reality she sprinkled into her story. Great action writing, with interesting notes that blessedly appear at the bottom of the pertinent page instead of long academic notes encapsulated in some horrendous appendix. Great choices of photographs too. The quality is not what we are used to today, and that just makes it all the more immediate - puts you right in the streets of London. I'll look for other books of his, they've got to be good!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews