WORLD WAR TWO

Year 4

Summer 1 Week 3

THE FIGHT BEGINS

▪ Britain and France declared war on Germany in September 1939, after Hitler ignored their warning and invaded Poland.

▪ Things were quiet, until Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Next they started an attack on France.

▪ Meanwhile in Britain, a new Prime Minister was appointed. He was called Winston Churchill and would be the Prime Minister for the rest of the war.

Europe April 1940

Winston Churchill Adolph Hitler

OPERATION DYNAMO

▪ Thousands of British troops were in France ready to fight against the Germans. The German forces were strong and soon invaded France forcing the country to surrender.

▪ The British troops were trapped on the French coast at Dunkirk.

▪ A special operation was launched to save them. 700 hundred fishermen and pleasure boat owners decided to sail across the English Channel to rescue the stranded soldiers. They placed themselves in great danger from the German gun boats and the Luftwaffer, which dropped bombs from above.

▪ The photo shows the troops waiting on the beach to be rescued.

OPERATION DYNAMO

▪ Photographs are an important source of evidence for historians learning about World War 2.

▪ Look at these photographs of the rescue at Dunkirk. What do they tell you about the events? The sea was too shallow for the larger boats to get to the beach, so rowing boats went back and forth to transfer the troops from the beach to the waiting boats. As the boats were attacked, some men ended up in the freezing water.

▪ Over 333,000 British troops were rescued from Dunkirk. 68,000 were not so lucky and were killed or captured. We remember their sacrifice, and that of other soldiers killed in battle, on Remembrance Sunday, held in November each year.

ACTIVITY 1

Imagine that you are one of the small boat owners who decided to sail to Dunkirk on 28th May 1940. Write a recount of your journey, including a paragraph to answer each of these questions:

▪ Why did you decide to go? What did you see when you arrived?

▪ What dangers did you face there? How did you help rescue the troops?

Remember to use the painting and the photos of the Dunkirk rescue to help you.

A painting by Charles Cundall

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

With France defeated, Britain stood alone against Germany. Hitler planned to invade Britain from the sea, but he knew that first he needed to gain control of the skies by destroying the British Air Force.

In July 1940 squadrons of German bombers started to attack British harbours and aircraft bases. In response the British Air Force (RAF) took to the skies in their Spitfire and Hurricane planes to fight and shoot down the German planes. This was called The Battle of Britain.

By October 1940 the Germans had lost so many planes that they decided to call off the attack. The RAF had shown great bravery with many pilots losing their lives. In a famous speech, Winston Churchill said ‘never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few’.

THE BLITZ

With the Germans doing badly in the Battle of Britain, Hitler started a new attack. On 7th September 1940, he sent 300 German bombers to attack London. This carried on for 57 consecutive nights.

The planes came in waves of 20-30, so bombs could be dropped continuously. First they dropped incendiary devices to start fires to guide the planes. Then more planes followed, dropping high explosive bombs. Cities and important targets such as factories and railway lines were bombed across Britain. This became known as The Blitz and lasted until May 1941.

THE BLITZ

The Blitz was terrifying. People sheltered in air raid shelters and the Underground, night after night, as bombs rained down from the skies. Many people lost their lives.

No one was safe. In the photo above, King George VI and his wife show the damage to Buckingham Palace,after it was hit by a bomb

THE BLITZ

The government was worried that people might want to give up because of the Blitz. Here is a news report from the time called ‘London Can Take It’. It was made to show how well the people were dealing with the Blitz to keep up morale.

ACTIVITY 2

Photographs and films are important sources of evidence, but we can also learn a lot by interviewing people who lived at the time.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks2-living-through-the-air-raids/zjnyrj6

Alan lived in Wembley during WW2In this clip, his grand daughter Isobel interviews him about life during the war.

As you watch the clip, make notes to record what Isobel finds out about the war from her grandad. How did the Blitz change his life?

THE BLITZ IN BOW

This map shows where bombs fell in the local area during the Blitz. Did any fall near your home?

I is the location of Old Palace School

You can use http://bombsight.orgto see where else bombs fell in London

THE BLITZ IN BOW

In 1893 the palace that once stood on the site of our school was demolished. In 1896 a school was built here. It had four storeys and looked like this:

This photo was taken in 1922 and shows a class inside the school building.During the war the school was closed and instead it was used for garages, storage and as a base for the local Fire Service, who slept in dormitories inside the school.

THE BLITZ IN BOW

At 1.53am on 19th April 1941 the old school took a direct hit from a high explosive bomb. The bomb demolished half the school. The other half was destroyed by fire.

Can you see the post in both photographs? It is still there to this day.The photo on the left shows what was left of the original school after it was bombed.

THE BLITZ IN BOW

Here are more photos taken after the school was bombed. That night there had been heavy bombing in east London. More fire fighters were needed, so reinforcements came from Beckenham. They arrived at the school at 1.30am. The bomb hit 23 minutes later killing all in the building.

THE BLITZ IN BOW

34 firefighter were killed that night. To make sure that their loss is not forgotten a blue plague was placed on our school building. It says:

This was not the only disaster to hit East London. On March 3rd 1943, 173 people died following a stampede, as people rushed into Bethnal Green Underground station, in the dark. This was the biggest loss of civilian life during the war. There is now a memorial in the park opposite the station which includes the names of those who died.

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ACTIVITY 3

We still have lots of original documents from the time of the Blitz. Historians call these primary sources.

Like a real historian use the ‘Record of Air Raid Warnings’ to see if you can find the answers to the questions on the next slide. Remember to use key words to help you skim and scan.

You can download a larger version of the report underneath this ppt on the school website. Telegram reporting the

bombing

Record of Air Raid Warnings on 19th April 1941

ACTIVITY 3 QUESTIONS

1. How many fires were there on 19th April 1940?

2. How many of these were major or serious fires?

3. Which districts were most affected?

4. How many pumps were used that night?

5. Were there enough appliances and water to tackle the fires?

6. Four London Fire Brigade (LFB) stations had a direct hit from a bomb. Old Palace School (24 U) was one of these. Can you name another station?

7. How many people were missing at Old Palace School (24 U)?

8. How many bodies were found there on 20th April?

9. At Mulgrave Place (42 W) how many people were trapped under debris?

10. How many of these were rescued alive?

11. How did Sub-Officer Henley die?

12. Were there more or less fires than on 16th April?