The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There

The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There written by Martin W. Bowman

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 236

The Allied bombing of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing offensive

against one target in the Second World War. The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were

There is a compelling, gripping and thought-provoking story of the Allied bombing

forces and the ordinary people on the ground, told in their own tongue and with

meticulous attention to detail. The result is a coherent, single story which unfolds

in a straightforward and incisive narrative.

This work draws attention in some detail to the major raids on the Reich capital by RAF Bomber Command from the late summer of 1940 to September 1943. It begins with the reliable but largely ineffective twin-engined Blenheims, Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys, through to the introduction into front-line service of the four-engined ‘heavies’ - the Stirling, Manchester and Halifax, which bore the brunt of the bomber offensive until the advent of the incomparable Avro Lancaster in 1942 and the superlative Mosquito. On 30 January 1943, on the tenth anniversary of Hitler’s usurpation of power, two formations (each of three Mosquitoes) appeared over Berlin in daylight and interrupted large rallies being addressed by Goering and Goebbels.

Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief, RAF Bomber Command, hoped to ‘wreck Berlin from end to end’ and ‘produce a state of devastation in which German surrender is inevitable’. But the ‘Big City’, as it was known to his faithful ‘old lags’, was never completely destroyed.

This book is very much how the title explains, in that it is about the people who were there rather than specifics about flights, bombings and airforces. The book is very much a collection of ideas and opinions of people that were involved in the various raids and bombing run with the build up to the events and the thoughts and feelings when they were in progress. Concentrating on the mid war period, the book relies heavily on what Bomber Command specialised in, that of the heavy bombers like the Stirlings, Lancasters and so on.

Like previous Martin W. Bowman books, he is clearly a leading WW2 historian and this shines through in the book and the writing. He has the ability to include technical details, opinions and story timeline all together to produce and easy to read book of a high standard. A thoroughly good read involving the Berlin Biltz, and one that certainly deserves recommendation.

Zeppelin Inferno - The Forgotten Blitz 1916

Zeppelin Inferno - The Forgotten Blitz 1916 written by Ian Castle and published

by Frontline Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 400

At the beginning of 1916, as the world entered the second full year of global conflict, the cities, towns and villages of Britain continued to lay vulnerable to aerial bombardment. Throughout that period German Zeppelin airships and seaplanes had come and gone at will, their most testing opposition provided by the British weather as the country’s embryonic defences struggled to come to terms with this first ever assault from the air. Britain’s civilians were now standing on the frontline — the Home Front — like the soldiers who had marched off to war. But early in 1916 responsibility for Britain’s aerial defence passed from the Admiralty to the War Office and, as German air attacks intensified, new ideas and plans made dramatic improvements to Britain’s aerial defence capability.

While this new system could give early warning of approaching raiders, there was a lack of effective weaponry with which to engage them when they arrived. Behind the scenes, however, three individuals, each working independently, were striving for a solution. The results of their work were spectacular; it lifted the mood of the nation and dramatically changed the way this campaign was fought over Britain.

The German air campaign against Britain in the First World War was the first sustained strategic aerial bombing campaign in history. Despite this, it has become forgotten against the enormity of the Blitz of the Second World War, although for those caught up in the tragedy of these raids, the impact was every bit as devastating. In Zeppelin Inferno Ian Castle tells the full story of the 1916 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the second book in a trilogy that will reveal the complete story of Britain’s ‘Forgotten Blitz’.

A fascinating book about a fascinating subject in my own opinion. I have always found it staggering the size of Zeppelins and how these huge gigantic ships hang in the air. I used to live near RAF Cardington, Beds where they now keep I presume a couple of airships for promotional events and they are big, but much smaller than those used in the Great War. But it amazes me how if you were a child during WWI and you saw one of these coming over your town or area, must have left you in awe that these things were from a different planet. 

Ian Castle has written a really good book covering 20 chapters taking the evidential views and opinions of people at the time. The book follows the dates of the German blitz in and around the country, and we get to learn about the amount of damage caused. We also get essential eyewitness accounts and what it was like to experience these events and people’s thoughts. The accounts are good to read and really help inform the book and the subject, at the back of the book is also a number of blitz reports explaining who and how many died. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, a subject that doesn’t get the amount of attention it deserves.

York at War 1939-45

York at War 1939-45 written by Dr Craig Armstrong and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

York has often been overlooked when it comes to Britain’s wartime experience. The city was not though to have many industries of great wartime importance and it was not a part of the initial evacuation scheme. Yet this does not accurately reflect the wartime contributions of the city, as several of its large confectionary factories were converted to wartime use, while it was also a key rail hub, forming a vital link in the national network.

Unbeknownst to the people of the city, York had been selected as the latest target in the Luftwaffe’s Baedeker Raids. In a short, sharp, blitz raid in the early hours of 29 April 1942, more than 3,000 houses were destroyed or damaged and almost 100 people killed while others were left seriously injured.

Wartime York had a particularly close connection with the RAF as the city was surrounded by airbases. People became very used to seeing the uniforms of men and women from Bomber Command and the city was to prove very popular with airmen seeking relaxation. Places such as Betty’s Bar became infamous as airmen of almost every Allied nationality came to blew off steam. The nearby presence of the airfields also meant that the people of York and the surrounding area were witnesses to tragedies when aircraft crashed on their return to the bases.

As I have said previously, this series published by Pen & Sword, Your Towns & Cities in World War Two is one of my favourite series. The authors they get to write for these towns and cities are excellent and succeed in writing so comprehensively about local history during the war with the war outside enveloping the story. What I love about these books is that we get the local story of a town and its citizens living through a world war, and how the war affects them in their town.

In particular, this book concentrates on Civilians, The Blitz and the Military service of people from York which is fascinating but I actually think the conclusion in the book sums up the whole book. We learn more about Warrant Officer Harry Coates and how his death affected his family and those around him. This in my opinion summed up the war in which York was affected in small ways during the war, but for some of the people of York, the war brought huge effects and consequences. This is a really good book and one that nicely fits into the Towns & Cities series.