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Blitz Diary: Life Under Fire in World War II
Firsthand accounts of the experiences of ordinary people during the Second World War
Historian Carol Harris has collected a remarkable series of accounts from the war's darkest days, with heartwarming stories of survival, perseverance, solidarity, and bravery, the preservation of which becomes increasingly important as the Blitz fades from living memory. As World War II loomed, everyone expected it would bring a new kind of conflict to Britain. Raids by airships in World War I and the attack on Guernica in the Spanish Civil War had given a terrifying taste of what was to come, so when war was declared in September 1939, massive air raids against civilians were anticipated. London was a major target throughout the war, but it was not only the capital that on November 8, 1940, 30,000 incendiary bombs rained down on Coventry, laying waste to the city, including, famously, its cathedral. Port cities such as Plymouth, Bristol, and Liverpool also suffered especially badly. Highlighting the effects of the Blitz outside of London, this anthology of excerpts from letters, memoirs, and diaries tells the story of the bombing as a chronological narrative, until the very end of the war.
Historian Carol Harris has collected a remarkable series of accounts from the war's darkest days, with heartwarming stories of survival, perseverance, solidarity, and bravery, the preservation of which becomes increasingly important as the Blitz fades from living memory. As World War II loomed, everyone expected it would bring a new kind of conflict to Britain. Raids by airships in World War I and the attack on Guernica in the Spanish Civil War had given a terrifying taste of what was to come, so when war was declared in September 1939, massive air raids against civilians were anticipated. London was a major target throughout the war, but it was not only the capital that on November 8, 1940, 30,000 incendiary bombs rained down on Coventry, laying waste to the city, including, famously, its cathedral. Port cities such as Plymouth, Bristol, and Liverpool also suffered especially badly. Highlighting the effects of the Blitz outside of London, this anthology of excerpts from letters, memoirs, and diaries tells the story of the bombing as a chronological narrative, until the very end of the war.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 5, 2020
This is nicely put together, but much of the material here has already been used in better known, more informative accounts of the war on the British home front. Good for a first time exploration of the subject but not for those who've previously read other books on The Blitz.
March 12, 2014
Selected entries from numerous personal journals kept during the war give a real flavor of the tedium, privation and perseverance, punctuated by moments of sheer terror, that was life in England during the intense bombing from German planes during the early years of the war. Also includes entries from the more random -- and far more terrifying -- attacks by the V-1 and V-2 rockets that made life so miserable for Brits in the latter days of the war.
I think this was thougtfully put together, and the historian's touch is evident here in that a diverse selection of diarists' points of view are represented to give a broad perspective on a nearly universal experience across the island that was so isolated in these dark years. I appreciate this cross-section of experience that paints a rich picture of the real people behind the mythic "stiff upper lip" countrymen that historians have been so keen to portray over the years. The reader gets a much deeper view into the everyday lives of these people from every walk of life, and it forces a more meaningful understanding of these people, rather than settling for the accepted caricature we've so often been otherwise offered. I think this is so because it's a book produced by Brits, about Brits, rather than the somewhat distant American view.
Well structured, edited and produced. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this topic.
I think this was thougtfully put together, and the historian's touch is evident here in that a diverse selection of diarists' points of view are represented to give a broad perspective on a nearly universal experience across the island that was so isolated in these dark years. I appreciate this cross-section of experience that paints a rich picture of the real people behind the mythic "stiff upper lip" countrymen that historians have been so keen to portray over the years. The reader gets a much deeper view into the everyday lives of these people from every walk of life, and it forces a more meaningful understanding of these people, rather than settling for the accepted caricature we've so often been otherwise offered. I think this is so because it's a book produced by Brits, about Brits, rather than the somewhat distant American view.
Well structured, edited and produced. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this topic.
January 3, 2018
It's a good book consisting of memories of people who went through the intense bombing of London that the Nazis did. It goes through the regular bombing, covering the type of destruction, the effects on people and how people reacted to the bombing. It moves on through the V1 and the V2 weapons and how, in some ways, the V2 was the worst weapon of them all.
How people managed to keep their sanity under such conditions is hard to understand. Death cold strike at any moment, day or night. There were major fires, collapsing buildings and sometimes the underground shelters couldn't be reached in time.
This also shows how war had changed from when one army met another army and only those people ended up dying, moving on to how war became a war not just on armies but on regular people. This continued with the bombing of German cities as the war changed against the Germans. Firebombing of Japanese cities was even worse and this ended with the use of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
How people managed to keep their sanity under such conditions is hard to understand. Death cold strike at any moment, day or night. There were major fires, collapsing buildings and sometimes the underground shelters couldn't be reached in time.
This also shows how war had changed from when one army met another army and only those people ended up dying, moving on to how war became a war not just on armies but on regular people. This continued with the bombing of German cities as the war changed against the Germans. Firebombing of Japanese cities was even worse and this ended with the use of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
July 4, 2021
These are the types of book I like, first hand accounts from real people who lived through the era mentioned, in this case; the Blitz.
As per usual I found the book to be very touching. Some of the accounts were heart rendering, such as the account of a boy who was pulled from his house after a bomb hit a nearby house.
As per usual I found the book to be very touching. Some of the accounts were heart rendering, such as the account of a boy who was pulled from his house after a bomb hit a nearby house.
January 13, 2022
Absolutely heartbreaking and narrated in the emotional way. It’s not glossed or romanticised in any which way. Brilliant albeit heartbreaking stories
August 26, 2011
Really vivid portrait of all the bombing in the Blitz in England in WW II from many different viewpoints.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews