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How did Londoners cope with the Blitz?
After the Battle of Britain in 1940 Hitler ordered his airforce to start bombing British cities, especially London. The Blitz - as it was called - hit the East End especially badly. German bombers were trying to destroy the docks and warehouses: as they were surrounded by tightly packed workers' houses the effect on East Enders was devastating.
Bombs dropped on Leyton, too. In October 1940 a stick of bombs fell around Farmer Road School. One landed in the playground and blew out the school windows. Another landed where the DT block now is and destroyed several houses. A third landed in Skelton's Lane and killed a family of cricket bat makers. Four years later a V2 rocket blew up half of Lea Hall Road.
What was it like for children in the school during the Blitz? How did their families cope with the round-the-clock bombing? How did people shelter from the bombs? What food was available? How did people live their daily lives?
Books about the Blitz often talk about ordinary people being brave and putting up with things, carrying on with normal life without complaining, sticking together and helping each other. But there are other stories, too: of fear, panic and anger, of people close to breaking point.
What can you find out? You have a pack of resources including newspapers from the time, extracts from the school log books, a map of where the bombs dropped in Leyton, individual stories and memories. Use them to piece together a picture of living through the Blitz.
Bombs dropped on Leyton, too. In October 1940 a stick of bombs fell around Farmer Road School. One landed in the playground and blew out the school windows. Another landed where the DT block now is and destroyed several houses. A third landed in Skelton's Lane and killed a family of cricket bat makers. Four years later a V2 rocket blew up half of Lea Hall Road.
What was it like for children in the school during the Blitz? How did their families cope with the round-the-clock bombing? How did people shelter from the bombs? What food was available? How did people live their daily lives?
Books about the Blitz often talk about ordinary people being brave and putting up with things, carrying on with normal life without complaining, sticking together and helping each other. But there are other stories, too: of fear, panic and anger, of people close to breaking point.
What can you find out? You have a pack of resources including newspapers from the time, extracts from the school log books, a map of where the bombs dropped in Leyton, individual stories and memories. Use them to piece together a picture of living through the Blitz.
Try these links too.
There are various ways of posting your work. You can post a comment on this blog. You can make a presentation and upload it to the wiki http://gmhistory9.wikispaces.com/ . You can email your work to Martin.Spafford@sch.walthamforest.gov.uk . You can print it out.
Some Second World War games:
