1939-1940
London in the Blackout
The wartime city in darkness and stark white light
Aug. 11, 1939
A searchlight scans the sky above Westminster. Westminster Bridge in the foreground is a river of automobile light across the Thames, while the river itself looks like a modern highway with the tracks of passing river transport. This picture, like the other images of the Blackout in this selection, had a very long exposure time of up to 15 minutes.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
Even before World War II began, the British Air Ministry had predicted that the United Kingdom would be bombed at night by German air forces. One of the very few precautions the nation could take was the elimination of man-made light. In July 1939 - two months before the declaration of war - the British government distributed Public Information Leaflet No, 2, which set out the need for the general Blackout.
On Aug. 11, 1939, the Blackout began in London, watched by massive crowds of spectators. The nationwide Blackout began on Sept. 1, 1939, two days before the start of the war.
Aug. 11, 1939
1,200 lanterns equipped with dimmers were used to mark roads, roundabouts and similar obstructions. After the Blackout workmen removed the dimmers and stored the lamps for future use.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
Aug. 28, 1939
Workmen painting curbstones with guidelines to help guide London motorists during the Blackout.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
Sept. 16, 1939
A street in London which, with its curbs whitened to assist pedestrians and drivers the Blackout, resembles a patch-work quilt. The boxes being carried by some of the people in this picture are gas mask containers.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
When the final plunge came, the crowd went "Ooooh!"
ALEX GLENDENNING, NINETEENTH-CENTURY REVIEW
Aug. 10, 1939
This is what Piccadilly Circus in central London looked like on the night before the Blackout. Note the two bollards either side of the traffic light at the bottom of picture - they have been painted with white stripes to be more visible when the Blackout begins, as have the wooden strut supports at the base of the central street lights. Small, dimmer, lamps are hung from these struts.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
August 1939
After midnight in Piccadilly Circus with automobile headlights illuminating the blacked-out junction in central London
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
1944
Piccadilly Circus. By this point in the war, the central fountain of the Circus has been boarded up. The statue of "Eros" was removed; the statue was returned in 1948.
IMAGE: DAVID E. SCHERMAN/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGE
Aug. 11, 1939
Ludgate Circus, part of Fleet Street, and Ludgate Hill, seen behind the railway bridge, after the start of the Blackout. The streaks of light are caused by the dim side-lights of cars passing through. One street lamp is still burning, through a breakdown of the timing mechanism, and it is this that is causing the bright light on Ludgate Hill.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
Feb. 19, 1940
A policeman in white coat and flashing a red torch, one of many who patrolled London to enforce the new 20 m.p.h. speed limit during the Blackout. Cars and other vehicles had slotted covers over their headlights, which deflected the light down. But the number of people killed in road accidents went up, which led to speed limits coming down.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
Dec. 16, 1939
London's primary shopping artery, Oxford Street, shortly before 6 p.m. The picture was taken near Marble Arch looking towards Oxford Circus, the point at which Oxford Street meets Regent Street. The smaller threads of light outside the shop entrances are handheld electric torches and lamps.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
On Monday Aug. 28, 1939, Henry Godfrey, aged 56, became one of the first British victims of World War II. An employee of Marylebone Borough Council in London, Godfrey was killed by a vehicle near Marble Arch, while painting the curb white as a Blackout precaution.
Aug. 18, 1939
A general view of Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, in London, shrouded in darkness. Lights seen on bridge are caused by car headlights. A searchlight attempts to cut through the shroud.
IMAGE: AP PHOTO
It wasn't until September 1944 that the intensity of the Blackout was reduced. With the capacity of Germany's war machine in decline, Britain instigated a "Dim-out". Man-made light was permitted so long as it did not exceed the level of moonlight, and full lighting was restored in April 1945.
Did the Blackout work? Perhaps partially - the lack of lights made the ability for enemy aircraft to locate a target that much harder to do. Harder, but not impossible. German aircraft were still able to bring sustained destruction to British cities, towns, factories, ports and airfields. Fundamentally, the Blackout could not change geography.
Altogether, around 41,000 civilians were killed in the German bombing of Britain. In comparison, Allied bombing of Germany killed between 300,000 and 600,000 civilians.
- Text and curation:Chris Wild
- Images:Associated Press
- Additional curation:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered