17 April 1941 (Thursday) – Belfast 1941 Blitz Diary The Irish Times editorial on 17 April reported that: ‘Humanity knows no borders, no politics, no differences of religious belief. Yesterday for once the people of Ireland were united under the shadow…
This morning I attended a ceremony to mark the 81st anniversary of the Belfast Blitz at mass grave to unidentified victims of the raids at Belfast City Cemetery. Between 7-8 April to 5-6 May 1941, the German air force launched…
The second raid on Belfast took place on Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941. Around two hundred Luftwaffe bombers attacked military and manufacturing targets in the city of Belfast. It is estimated that some 900 people died and 1,500 were injured…
On the evening of Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941, over 150 German bombers left their bases in northern occupied France. They were heading for Belfast. At 10:40 pm during the night of the 15 April, the air raid sirens sounded.…
On the eve of the most devasting raid on Belfast during its Blitz, Belfast was unprepared. Belfast had few air-raid shelters. The city was built on a geology of sleech which had a high water table and made digging deep…
The schemes for the evacuation of children from the city were finally getting underway. An avert for ‘Evacuation of Children’ in the Northern Whig set out the plans. Children of school age could go unaccompanied but those under school aged…
Delighted to announce that I’m leading five guided walks of Belfast as part of the Queen’s University Belfast’s Open Learning programme for the 2022 spring term. The walks will explore different areas of Belfast to uncover its complex and fascinating…
The Northern Whig stated that there was a ‘big holiday’ exodus for the Easter break. It reported that ‘seaside hotels and boarding-house keepers report a boom in business. People leaving the city were urged to leave their keys at the…
The aftermath of the Dockside Raid still dominated the local discourse. Moya Woodside, the Belfast housewife and Mass Observation reporter, reported three main ‘types of reaction to raids. Those whose whole life seems conditions by the possibility of a raid;…
The Belfast Telegraph was filled with stories of the Blitz on 7/8 April. David Dixon, a former Great War veteran, was in bed with an incendiary came trough the roof. He picked it up and took it outside. He was…
