Walking the London Blitz with Mat McLachlan
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Join historian Mat McLachlan as he explores the hidden history of The Blitz, the World War 2 bombing campaign that devastated London. During this emotional journey he will discover ruined buildings, memorials to unsung heroes and evidence of the unbreakable British spirit that sustained Londoners during those dark days.
For more information, visit www.battlefields.com.au
Last week I was in London, eversince I was a kid I Always had been interested in WWII. While visiting the London Imperial War Museum I noticed an old man standing silent infront of a bomb used during the Blitz. I gathered all my courage and Asked him if he had lived through the Blitz and he said ‘Yes’. We ended up having a long conversation. This was one of the most special moments of my life and it makes me feel proud to be A History student!
That’s amazing! Well done.
I must go to London one day, I only live at maidstone, for 60 years, and never been there
What a lovely story buddie.
That is a great story, thanks for sharing! I was in St Paul’s Cathedral in the 80’s, and there is that iconic photo of the cathedral in the smoke Dec 29,1940 hanging on the wall. The priest there told us some amazing stories. Incredible what Britain endured during that time...
@@MrDaiseymay ye gods, you have lived a sheltered life!
My Grandfather was too old for WW2 so he was a 'Fire Watcher' and a member of the AFS (Auxilary Fire Service.) 7:49 He was right in the MIDDLE of London fighting the firestorms. I have a small photo of him in uniform. He used to tell me that the heat was so fierce they use to hose each other down - to stay alive - and they would be STEAMING as they DRIED in a few minutes - to be wetted down again. He lost many friends when unsupported walls suddenly dropped on them. Young people have forgotten this sadly, but we remember them all. They also served our country. RIP Grandad you were our hero. May all those lost in the Blitz find eternal peace - their names liveth forever more.
Excellent. I have to say, as a Londoner, that photo of Wren's beautiful St Paul's Cathedral proudly standing amidst the smoke still gives me a direct emotional tug at the heart.
My great-grandparents were married at Christ Church Greyfriars in 1834. In 1849-50 they traveled to Brisbane AUS on the ship 'Fortitude'. I was pleased to visit the present garden when holidaying in London in 2015.
My mum grew up in Clerkenwell, quite close to St Pauls, she was evacuated but ended up back home and has told me many stories about air raids. Really fascinating.
My gran sadly had to go through this. She got hit by an American jeep and broke her leg. The American service men bought her a teddy to the hospital for her, love to know what ever happened to that. She lived in London then got moved to Bristol then onto Box. R.I.P granny. Miss you!
My Uncle served in the US Army in an Anti-Aircraft unit based outside of London. His gun shot down the first German Buzz-Bomb ever brought down. He and his crew were interviewed by NBC Radio about it. One of the guys from New Jersey said (in a NJ accent) that "Eh, it was no big deal..I seen mosquitos bigger than that in NJ". My grandparents received the interview on a 78 record, which unfortunately has been lost.
Amazing! Thanks for the comment.
Maybe NBC Radio archives might have a copy of it?
The damage outside the Science Museum is significant and the plaque there tells the tale. It has been left, again as both a tribute and learning exercise. It would have been great to show people this, as many go to the Museum, but most miss this information.
Fascinating. I remember going to visit relatives in East London with my parents, during the
late 50's and early 60's. There were still quite a few bomb sites even then.
Great video. I grew up in East London in the 1980s. There were still a few bombed out houses then and lots of little 'parks' made from actual bombsites which had been grassed over. They have mostly been built on now. There were several around Victoria Park Approach Road area.
Really enjoying these films. My mum lived in north West London and worked in the East. After travelling to and fro each day she was a fire watcher in the evenings. To the day she died if there was the sound of an air raid siren on the television a shudder ran through her.
Where I lived as a child, off Ironmonger Lane, there was a 'bomb site' next to my home, As the owners were never traced it still remains as undeveloped land in use by a local charity.
Where the Barbican centre has been built was one of my playgrounds as a child (1951-2).
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
Round about 15:30 on Noble Street you can see the basement of my great great grandfather's offices. Tubbs Lewis & Co were there from around 1854 to 1940. My grandfather worked there until it was destroyed. He said he could not find his way there the next morning so severe was the destruction in the area.
Wow, amazing story. Thanks for sharing.
I am a Canadian whos Grandfather Robert Charles Boustead lost his life in 1916 in the war and I just happened onto these You Tub programs about Walking the London Blitz as well as many other videos done during the war years. I cannot put into word what seeing and watching from seat at my computer just how devastating life must have been for so may freedom loving people. My Grandparents came across the Ocean to Canada and when war broke out he returned to fight for Britain as well as for the freedom loving countries . He never returned and she was left with six children and then the depression hit and no one had two pennies to rub together but some how she managed to raise them all. I was born in 1945 and always remember her being part of my growing years . Five years ago I was able to come on a War grave tour for fourteen days which started in Britain and ended in Amsterdam it was such a life altering experience to walk through many of the places he walked . I found his grave in a graveyard called Adanac which is Canada backward I had promised my Mom I would find his grave it it took me the rest of my life and she passed at age 76 and it took me 26 more years to actually find and visit and place some special items from her at the grave stone. I feel that I am blessed to have hooked up with your series at this time in my life. God Bless you all for the work you put into creating and being guides as the series has progressed .Sharon Arbour
Something never mentioned during the blitz is that German fighter planes also strafed civilian targets on the ground . It happened to my Mum when she was dashing across a street to safety .
Same as my mother in law
garnger444: Mine too. She was walking across Peckham Rye with her mates after work when an ME 110 came along and sprayed the whole mob with cannon fire. She dived behind an oak tree and a shell burst in the bloody tree! The hole's still there, about six inches across and and over a foot deep, half a dozen of her friends were killed and many more severely injured.
@@TheDavephillips , terrible thing to happen . Where is Peckham Rye ? My mum was in Reigate Surrey.
@@granger444 It's a park in Southwark, south east London. I lived not far from Reigate in the mid fifties, (Hookwood, nr Horley, Surrey). My dad was stationed at the Royal Small Arms Depot there for a year but, sadly, was transferred back to London in '59. I loved living there as a kid.
Reigate was a target in the war because a lot of bombers returning to France used it as a navigation point and had a lot of fun, I'm sure, shooting it up on the way home. Good luck mate. Great to hear from you.
@@TheDavephillips , Cheers
I've worked in the City of London most of my working life and in fact worked almost next door to some of the places listed here... there are loads of plaques and memorials and remnants from the Blitz that exist and people walk past not knowing half of it. Just behind where they were looking at the ruins of London Wall and the blitz damage, there is actually a plague pit almost outside Lloyds Bank Headquarters from the Black Death. Great tutorial guys.
I hope that years from now the citizens of Ukraine will be walking through their beautiful restored cities like this.
As a boy growing up in 50sn Westminster, London, my memories of "bombdies" or bombsites are still vivid. Amazing places to play on or paddle in sites converted to EWS ( Emergency Water Supply) reservoirs.
Most evocative of all...river cruises from Westminster pier to Tower pier. Acres of open ground on riversides allowing clear views of St Paul's, the Tower, The Monument and many more hardly visible today.
I am from Chicago, but heard about the Blitz. Very sad stories.
6:04 - 1000kg. bomb hits 10 meters from the cathedral and fails to detonate!! An act of god!! My Mom grew up in London during the blitz.
Over 3 million pets were destroyed during the war. There was no rationing of food for them and it was an offence to feed them any food fit for people to eat. Some animals were killed in the attacks, others became homeless and were rounded up as authorities were afraid of wandering packs of dogs possibly becoming aggressive. Others, like my Mum's little dog, Peter, were terrified of the bombing, the anti-aircraft guns firing and he was put to sleep. For much more information, read the book Bonzo's War, Animals Under Fire 1939-1945 by Clare Campbell, published by Constable and Robinson. A little memorial to them was recently put in place in one of the small pet cemeteries in London.
As a kid in the 50s i remember those bombed out buildings in London, now at 70 i think about my older brother who should be 10 years older than me, he was kiled by the germans during a raid, so many deaths they caused across the world. Thank you for this post
What a knowledgeable and fantastic man Steve is. A true gent and Londoner. Great video👍
He certainly is. 👍🏼
@@MatMcLachlanHistory Why only mention London when talking about the blitz? London was far from the only population centre that was bombed during 1940/41. Cities all over the UK were bombed, some multiple times - Birmingham, Coventry, Cardiff, Swansea, Portsmouth, Dover, Newcastle, Clydebank, Liverpool and many others.
Brilliant video thank you. I live in Lewisham south east London, there is still wartime evidence around the area like painted air raid signs on brick walls and bomb damage.
Thanks Anthony. I’ll have to check that area out next time I’m in town.
I lived in Sydenham in the borough of Lewisham , which copped quite a lot of Luftwaffe hardware.Remember there were prefabs on one bomb site that were there until the early 70s
Guys, your channel is one of my favorite historical channels! This is one of the best historical videos I have ever seen - cool shooting, coot topic, nice charismatic host and guest, especially that guide with a cool British accent! After this video I realized that London is one of my desired destinations after the covid-19 pandemic. My subscription and like are some kind of gratitude for your amazing work!
Thank you!
When I grew up in the 50’s in Windsor not far from London, we had an Anderson Shelter at the Bottom of our Garden which my Dad turned into a garden shed.
Wow, that’s remarkable Carole. Thanks for sharing.
I remember in the 60's only the Guild Church of At Benet stood in acres of flattened London, surrounded by Rose Bay Willow Herb (Fireweed). Now in the grounds of the City of London School.
A very interesting video. Its fascinating seeing all those signs of the war. The local 'guide' was very knowledgeable indeed. It must have been horrendous for the local population at the time not knowing from one moment to the next if they were going to survive or not. Thanks!
Thanks!
Informative Thanks John in Chicago
Hi Mat. Just found your Channel and am subscribing to your podcasts as well. Doing a Western Front tour in two weeks and your podcasts and videos have been fantastic. Great stuff!
Mathew Hunt Thank you! Enjoy the tour - it’s a remarkable place.
Just discovered your channel! Really amazing content! Thank you so much! Btw: meet your new subscriber :)
Thank you so much! Welcome! 😊
What a shame that all the tourists flock to the ´South Bank walk´ and Borough Market and miss this.
Absolutely wonderful video! Thank you.
lapazcat Thank you!
In the initial shot the narrators miss the opportunity to mention that that cross roads at Bank Station where the pillars of the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England stands opposite to the Royal Exchange, that square received a direct hit upon the Underground Station. As regards St Paul’s Cathedral don’t forget that England’s great hero Lord Nelson is buried there R.I.P.
Such a great channel ... this alone is worth my internet subscription.
Thanks Maria!
Great channel. There are still loads of signs of the blitz in all parts of london and as said on here ‘hidden in plain sight’ ( bomb damage..faded air raid shelter signs and garden areas that are unbuilt on bomb sites). My grandparents lived through it and I have an old biscuit tin full of shrapnel that they collected at the time). There are still a couple of areas in london where old metal stretchers from the war are used as railings! 👍
Thanks for the comments.
I share your interest in standing relics from the wartime past, and the emotional attachment that stands with them. Very Moving. Just watched your video about Wipers. Keep up the good work.
Thank you!
17:00 you can visit the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury in Fulton, MO as part of America's National Churchill Museum - it's great to see the original site in this video. If anyone is interested in finding out more about how and why the church's ruins were dismantled and rebuilt, you might check out The Churchill Minute Episode 2 ua-cam.com/video/MAQoJEEvco0/v-deo.html
Fyi, while President Harry Truman wasn't from Fulton, he was supportive because it's in his home state of Missouri!
My paternal grandmother survived the blitz.
Today is January 11th 2021 and 80 years ago today was the event that is explained at 21:00
Not me coming back here at 11pm on the 10th Jan 2022
Excellent video....
Thanks!
Very good Documentary. A different view of London.
Thank you.
The blitz pales into insignificance when you compare what the Germans got in return. 41,000 tons dropped on the UK, compared to Great Britain's 1.3 million tons dropped on Germany.
The Nazis severely underestimated the British industrial capacity, ingenuity, and determination leading up to WW2, and paid the price.
Good point.
Tough....they started it..........
Not all of that 1.3 million tonnage was Britain - the US, French and Russians also did their bit.
As Arthur 'Bomber' Harris said, 'They sowed the Wind, now they will reap the Whirlwind'.
12:28 Alice Ayres the name and source of Natalie Portman's character from Closer.
Thank you for an enjoyable and very interesting - and moving - vid...I wanted it to continue!
Thank you!
Bank Station received a direct bomb hit and where the Bank of England walls face - I believe the Royal Exchange - was just a crater.
Saint Paul’s received a direct bomb hit but the bomb didn’t explode, thank goodness! Compliments - and heartfelt thanks - to the producers, directors and the two excellent guides for making this excellent documentary available. [ With humility but with pride too, I lived through the Blitz being seven years old at the time but in the outer suburban area and have vivid memories of the constant air raid shelter atmosphere of the time including sleeping night after night in public shelters after being bombed out in later years....dear God but there were some truly beautifully brave and considerate people in those years, God bless em all, each and every one… ]
Thanks for the comments.
I'm a bit older than you and have similar memories - more vividly from the so-called 'baby blitz' (Dec '43 - June '44), and the following V 1s and V 2s.
@@vincekerrigan8300 called baby blitz, of early ´44 in fact the very pancake night ie Shrove Tuesday we were bombed out completely following three weeks slept in public shelter…and then came the doodlebugs the first or second (some contention as to which had the very dubious ‘honour ‘) but no one had any idea of what it was at the time…and more nights in the public shelter. At school classroom one afternoon no air raid warning but one was coming straight towards us - panic stations and mad dash of upstairs and downstairs classes of thirty each out to the shelters in the sports playing fields…and the VI passing well above to crash some way well distant after all, on waste ground, and no harm done. But there were so many, one crashing onto a fish and chip restaurent when closed but all family killed.
very good video love it london lives on
Thank you.
My great aunt was killed in the Blitz. I used to dream about her.
interesting tour of London ww2 history highlighting the horrors of war and attacks on civilians thank you
Filmed pre covid, looks so strange seeing somebody shake hands with another person 😞
Very good.
Thanks!
My grandad was in royal engineers in the war
I was born in isleworth just out London in 1946 .we didn’t have any war damaged.my dad made a garage out the shelters .
Come friendly bombs land on Isleworth!
Surprised you did not show Blackfriars street where first air zeppelin dropped bomb landed in WW1, i know its early but still the first blitz
We were focussing on WW2, but will include the Zeppelin raids in a future episode.
Very interesting. Thank you.
My pleasure!
I had a friend that turned holocaust denier. And she said allies were on the wrong side of the war. A sad example of people that had a hard childhood. But they can stfu.
16:54 Is that Bee box? Good idea.
Just found this/you. Just checked you out. Just subbed. Just a TYVM.
Thank you!
Amazing,now do Dresden.
Are you doing the Battle of Britain?
That would be a good walk visiting the former remains of RAF Fighter Command Bases and Bentley Priory.
I have a Battle of Britain episode coming out in the new year. It’s about the aircraft, rather than the locations.
Nothing on Marble Arch!! Surprised!
Cool. I see a man with my last name on the fire fighter memorial
Watching this made me think of the war in Ukraine.
A great video, I hugely enjoyed it. I've always wanted to know what the British did to defend themselves during the Blitz. Did they send up Spitfires to attack the bombers? and did the Germans send fighters over with their bombers to protect them? I know they had barrage balloons up as well as anti-aircraft guns in the streets. Anyway, I will try and copy this walk next time I'm in London.
That’s exactly what they did. Hurricanes and Spitfires of Fighter Command would scramble to meet the bombers, which were defended by the Luftwaffe’s BF-109s.
Walking the blitz, only walks around london🙄🙄🙄🙄 other cities suffered far worse damage than London.
Thanks for the comment. This video deals specifically with sites from the London Blitz (hence the title). I’ll perhaps cover other cities in future videos.
The guide is talking for 40 seconds and says two things that are, let's say "imprecise". The picture of St Paul Cathedral burning is "maybe the most iconic picture of the 2nd world war"? Was Notre Dame, damaged or "destroyed"? Is he the guide you get for a discount
Not to be nitpicky, but Fulton wasn't Harry Truman's hometown. He was born in Grandview, MO and lived in Independence.
Actually, he was born in Lamar, Mo. He split his time between the farm in Grandview and the home in Independence.
No watches was stolen during the making of this series 😂
Thanks NEWSGODNEWSBOSS
With much respect for the policeman, but since that happened during 1917 and the first world war I fail to see the link with the blitz in the second world war.
Just showing that bombing of London didn’t only occur in WW2.
This is the British flag🇬🇧
You have just justified the Dresden bombing. Thanks
I told them all night and all they do is hit me and do a likd of stuff to me and none believe me someone open the door already o know it will happen they will kil us to
The battle of britain= the most pivotal battle of WW2.
.....no, it wasnt Stalingrad.
Without the BoB there would have been no battle of Stalingrad.
looks more like concrete cancer from acid rain
Too much taking, not enough images of the blitz. At one point I said…oh DO shut up, will you!
Hard to make a documentary without talking… 🤔
Had to stop watching this. Because St Paul's was a hug target marker for bombers; they knew if they saw that they were 'over their target' and they were never going to take it out. Worse was the blitz guide who put buildings over people...
Considering that it’s estimated only 10% of bombs fell within a mile of the intended target, the Germans would have been doing a good job to deliberately miss one of the key buildings in London. Plus the main target marker was the Bank of England, not St Paul’s.
@@MatMcLachlanHistory , is the %10 an overall percent of all bombing campaigns of WW2 ?. I never gave that a thought until now .
Would you like to have another go?
This time with intelligible English...
@@granger444 I can believe that…but I doubt you are alone…