The Blitz, V-weapon Attacks and Impact on Civilians

Black Saturday: the docks and nearby homes

On 7 September 1940, London experienced its first mass bombing raid of the Second World War. The press called it Black Saturday. It marked the beginning of the Blitz, the sustained bombing campaign that continued in London until May 1941.

The Luftwaffe targeted the docks and industries of the East End and the south London riverfront. Warehouses, shipyards, factories and engineering workshops supported Britain’s war effort. Destroying them could interrupt imports, production and supplies. However, these targets stood close to densely populated residential streets. Bombing was imprecise, so an attack aimed at a warehouse could also destroy nearby homes.

The raid began in daylight, shortly after air-raid sirens sounded at 4.43 pm. A wave of about 400 bombers dropped high-explosive and incendiary bombs. After a pause, more than 300 aircraft attacked from around 8 pm, with bombing continuing until about 4.30 am. Fires started during the daylight raid helped the night-time bombers find their targets.

Black Saturday killed 430 people and injured about 1,600. It was followed by bombing on 57 consecutive nights. The attacks spread beyond the docklands: homes, businesses, schools and churches across London were damaged or destroyed. This was not simply damage to military targets; it was an attack that repeatedly brought the war into civilian neighbourhoods.

Different bombs created different dangers

During the Blitz of 1940–41, German aircraft used three main types of bomb. High-explosive bombs destroyed buildings through their blast and scattered dangerous fragments. Parachute mines descended beneath parachutes before exploding. Incendiary bombs started fires, creating a different problem from a single large explosion: many small fires could spread and combine into enormous blazes.

The docklands contained stores of goods such as paint, rubber, flour and sugar, which helped fuel the fires. On Black Saturday, melted grain even stuck to firefighters’ boots and slowed their movement. Damage to roads and water pipes added to the difficulty of reaching fires and fighting them.

The London Fire Brigade and the volunteer Auxiliary Fire Service tackled major fires. Fire guards and fire watchers helped identify and deal with smaller outbreaks, using equipment such as buckets of sand and stirrup hand pumps. Catching a small fire early mattered because, once it spread through a building or warehouse, much greater resources were needed.

On 29 December 1940, incendiaries caused the fierce fires remembered as the ‘Second Great Fire of London’. Firefighters and volunteers helped save St Paul’s Cathedral. This illustrates why defending London meant more than trying to shoot down bombers: it also required people on the ground to limit the damage after bombs landed.

Renewed attacks and the V-weapons, 1944–45

The end of the main Blitz in May 1941 did not mean that London was safe for the rest of the war. A renewed campaign, often called the ‘Baby Blitz’, ran from January to May 1944. Later that year, Germany introduced weapons that did not need a pilot to carry them to London.

The V1 flying bomb arrived in June 1944. It was a low-flying, jet-propelled, pilotless weapon travelling at about 400 mph. Londoners called it a ‘buzz bomb’ or ‘doodlebug’. Its speed and low flight made it a difficult threat to deal with, while its large explosion could devastate the area where it landed.

The V2, introduced in September 1944, was a different weapon: an early ballistic missile. It was launched from mobile sites across the Channel, travelled through the upper atmosphere and then descended towards its target. Civilians received little warning before impact, and it was extremely difficult to intercept. Unlike an approaching bomber raid, it offered little opportunity for people to respond to a warning and reach shelter.

The V-weapons therefore renewed the threat to London in 1944–45, after civilians had already endured years of wartime disruption.

Deptford: a V2 attack on an ordinary shopping day

At 12.26 pm on 25 November 1944, a V2 struck the busy Woolworths store in New Cross, Deptford. The explosion destroyed shops and houses, overturned vehicles and filled the area with dust and smoke.

168 people were killed, including 33 children, and 123 were injured. The timing and location made the consequences especially severe: civilians were gathered in a busy shopping area rather than dispersed in shelters.

Deptford shows both the destructive power of the V2 and the unpredictability of civilian danger. A shopping trip could become a disaster without the warning associated with an approaching air raid.

Finding shelter: protection was unequal

Air Raid Precautions, or ARP, were intended to reduce civilian casualties. Wardens enforced the blackout, directed people towards shelters, assisted the injured and worked with the emergency services. During repeated raids, however, people needed somewhere they felt safe enough to spend long nights.

Not every household had a garden for an Anderson shelter, and public surface shelters were insufficient for demand. Many Londoners preferred deep Underground stations. The government initially opposed their use as shelters, but people entered anyway, sometimes buying tickets and refusing to leave. During the Blitz, the authorities accepted their use and made improvements.

Underground sheltering offered reassurance, but overcrowding created problems with sanitation, ventilation, lighting and sleep. At Aldwych station, improvements included toilets, bunk beds, medical facilities, a canteen and a library. White-painted walls improved lighting, while wardens and a ticket system helped maintain order and reduce queues.

‘Mickey’s shelter’ in Stepney provides another example of improving shelter life. Mickey Davis organised a committee and raised money from wealthy donors to provide doctors and medicine. Shelter was not just a question of surviving an explosion: people also needed cleanliness, healthcare and arrangements that made crowded conditions bearable.

Nevertheless, demand exceeded the supply of deep shelters. Many people continued to shelter in basements or other less satisfactory spaces. Civilian experiences therefore varied according to where people lived and what protection they could access.

South Hallsville School and Bethnal Green

Two disasters reveal different weaknesses in civilian protection.

At South Hallsville School on 10 September 1940, homeless civilians and children were sheltering while waiting to be evacuated. The school was struck by parachute mines. The reported death toll was 77, although claims of a substantially higher number remain disputed. People who had already lost their homes were brought together in a place that was then hit: evacuation and temporary accommodation could not guarantee safety.

At Bethnal Green Underground station on 3 March 1943, an air-raid siren brought people towards the shelter. The loud noise of nearby anti-aircraft rockets contributed to a rush down the stairs. A crush developed, and 173 people died from suffocation.

The Bethnal Green deaths were not caused by a German bomb hitting the station. They show that access to shelter could itself become dangerous when large numbers of frightened people crowded into a confined entrance. Protection depended not only on the shelter’s depth but also on safe movement and organisation.

Daily life and work under attack

Bombing disrupted the systems on which everyday life depended. Damaged homes left people needing emergency accommodation. Broken gas, electricity and water supplies made cooking, heating and washing difficult. Damaged tram lines, roads and other transport links interrupted journeys to work, while unexploded bombs could make streets and buildings unsafe.

Repeated nights in shelters also meant lost sleep. People might spend the night listening to explosions or sleeping in crowded conditions and still have to report for work the next morning. Damage to factories, workshops and warehouses interrupted employment and production. Some Londoners combined their ordinary jobs with civil-defence duties, adding to exhaustion.

These pressures existed alongside other wartime restrictions. The blackout made travel harder, while rationing limited access to food and clothing. Rationing was a wider wartime measure, not simply a direct result of bombing, but it added to the difficulties civilians faced.

Leisure continued, but this did not remove suffering

Londoners continued to seek entertainment. Pubs offered conversation, singing and music. Theatres staged comedy plays and murder mysteries. Dancehalls such as the Astoria remained popular, while church halls and factory canteens hosted weekend dancing. The arrival of American servicemen from 1942 helped increase the popularity of dancehalls and dances such as the Jitterbug.

These activities provided company, enjoyment and a temporary escape from danger. Continuing ordinary pleasures also helped preserve a sense of normal life.

However, endurance should not be confused with an absence of fear. Death, homelessness, poor shelter conditions and exhaustion all threatened morale—people’s confidence and determination to keep going. The government worried that repeated attacks and inadequate protection could weaken civilian willingness to continue the war.

The impact of the bombing was therefore mixed. Londoners kept working, helped others and continued leisure activities, but they did so amid serious disruption, grief and anxiety. Both resilience and suffering are essential to understanding civilian life.

Attacks and weapons

• Black Saturday, 7 September 1940: mass attack on docks and industries in east and south London; nearby homes also hit. 430 killed, about 1,600 injured; followed by 57 consecutive nights of bombing.
• Main Blitz, 1940–May 1941: high-explosive bombs caused blast damage; parachute mines exploded after descending; incendiaries started spreading fires.
• 29 December 1940: ‘Second Great Fire of London’; firefighters and volunteers helped save St Paul’s.
• 1944–45: renewed attacks. V1 from June 1944: low-flying, pilotless, about 400 mph. V2 from September: ballistic missile, little warning, extremely difficult to intercept.
• Deptford, 25 November 1944: V2 hit Woolworths in New Cross; 168 killed, including 33 children, and 123 injured.

Shelters and disasters

• Underground stations became accepted shelters after public pressure; overcrowding brought sanitation, ventilation and sleep problems.
• Aldwych: bunks, toilets, medical facilities and organised access.
• Mickey’s shelter, Stepney: Mickey Davis organised improvements, fundraising and medical care.
• South Hallsville School, 10 September 1940: homeless civilians awaiting evacuation killed by parachute mines; 77 reported deaths, with higher totals disputed.
• Bethnal Green, 3 March 1943: rush into the station and a crush after nearby anti-aircraft rocket noise; 173 died, not from a direct bomb hit.

Civilian impact

• Homelessness, damaged services and transport, interrupted work and lost sleep.
• ARP wardens and volunteer civil defence helped reduce harm.
• Theatres, pubs and dancehalls—including the Astoria—continued, providing relief and company.
• Continued work and leisure showed endurance, but fear, grief and exhaustion remained. Government concern about morale reflected these pressures.