Blitz Coursework

GARY HOLMES

The civil service was formed to try to stop enemy planes from bombing London and vital factories which was constructing artillery. This did not always work as areas were bombed but the success was substantial, and contributed to the victory of the allies.

The articles Ð''danger over Dagenham', Ð''on the home front' and Ð''the Barking, East Ham and Ilford advertiser' show how the civil service contributed to the survival of the factories and a first person account of the Blitz. Article "danger over Dagenham" is a document which tells us of how the civil service led to the death of civilians. The article shows us when the first explosive bomb fell in Dagenham on July 26th 1940 in Raydons road and how there were only slight casualties although 54 houses were destroyed. This shows that plans put into place to protect civilians were successful. It also shows us that the following day ten bombs fell mainly in Rush-Green were there were only three slight casualties and that after this it became a daily experience. The source shows us three days after the first bomb fell the war was in fully affecting Dagenham. The provenance of the source shows us that it is relativity believable and not censored as it was written in 1947 two years after the end of the war. This is an official document and is believable and probably written by someone who was in the war. The source also shows us that Dagenham was compared to the layout of London saying there were no deep tube stations to take cover and get away from the noise.

This Source is an eye witness account of an anonymous person in Dagenham who experienced the blitz. The account shows us how the blitz didn't happen straight away and took a long period of time to start. This was known as the phoney war (September 1939-may1`940). The account shows us that when the Blitz happened how the enemy planes just flew over without any resistance. This happened to try to confuse the enemy that there was nothing of any value to destroy under them. The account shows us how lessons in local schools were interrupted daily because of bomb scares and how the water mains were bust along the main roads. The account also shows us how the anonymous person refers to being in an Anderson shelter as a ghostly experience. This shows they were uncomfortable to be in. Another thing the person says is how their mother and father did there best to settle their daughter and how it was freighting at times.

The provenance shows us that this is not a very good source as it is an eyewitness account and many things could have been over exaggerated. Also the name of the article "on the home front and Barking memories". Also this source cannot be fully trusted as the person who gave the account remained anonymous so cannot be traced. The article shows us that the children were not evacuated from the area and that their father had been at home instead of fighting either because of a disability or of his age. The account is reliable in a sense because of the fact it's an eye witness account and not made up off of the top of someone's head, so some parts may be true. However it may be affected by memory loss.

Article shows us the effects of the flying bombs on civilians. This paper was published in 1944 so there is a high probability that it was censored to try to eliminate the threat of a mass panic. The paper shows us where there were fatalities and the amount of people died in the recognised areas. The paper shows us that 8 people died in malpas-rd near Becontree-station. Also it shows us that six people died in Maysbrook Park and lodge-avenue. The paper shows us the extensive damage that was done to the houses in the area where 10,500 houses were involved out of these 122 houses was totally destroyed and 497 houses were seriously

GARY HOLMES

damaged. The provenance shows us that as the name of the paper is called Barking, East ham, Ilford advertiser which made it a local paper and was probably free. This proberly made it more censored because everyone would read it. The paper would be reliable in a sense because it was written during the war (1944) so was still fresh in the minds of the writers and documents were not tampered with.

All three articles are all in common with each other because they talk about the effect of the war on the civilians and the amount of death and damage

Articles Ð''Danger over Dagenham' and Ð''Dagenham bough council (December 1945) shows us the effects on the houses of the civilians and the damaged caused to them, also it shows us the amount of fatalities caused by the bombs. The source shows us the first real damage done to Barking and Dagenham by explosive bombs. The source shows us the areas targeted by the enemy planes and why they were targeted. They were targeted because they were in the "London zone". This is a reliable source because it is an official document and was written two years after the war so would not be censored.

The article from Ð''Dagenham bough council shows us the Ð''roll of honour' that shows us the names, age and location of people that had been killed by enemy attacks. The source is limited because it only shows 4 weeks of the war so not really showing us much of the information. Also some of the ages are missing from the dead, maybe this is because of the limit to birth certificates as some older people's birth weren't recorded. There could be a possibility that the information was censored and the dead were so young that if they were to publish it, it may cause panic. Alternately it is a good source if you wanted to study only that period of time. Also most of the information is accurate. I know this as it is an official document so some may be censored but all of the information is true and not corrupt.

Article Ð''Danger over Dagenham' shows us the effects the bombings had on the east end of London. It tells us how the onslaught started on the 7th of September, 1940 and how the east end was the worst hit. It shows us how it caught the east end by surprise and how civilians fled the city in large numbers. The source shows us how new powers were given to the army to cope with the problem like the army could legally take over your house as a resting area. The source gives us facts and figures on the homes lost, billeted and weapon attacks. The source is reliable because it was written two years after the war so there would be little or no censorship in it. It is also an official document so it hasn't been