British Homefront during the Second Word War: The Blitz.

London Blitz. (No source)

The aerial bombardment of British cities was commonly called the Blitz ( 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941) . The Luftwaffe Blitz on Britain began on the afternoon of 7 September 1940 when 348 German bombers with 617 fighter escorts targeted London during which 430 civilians were killed and 1,600 badly injured and attacks continued on London for the next 57 nights.

London police officers after helping rescue civilians during an air raid. (No source)

According to the Royal Air Force Museum, the most devastating raid on London took place on the night of 10/11 May 1941 between 11:02 pm and 05:57 am when 571 German bombers dropped 711 tons of high explosives, 86,172 incendiaries and the London Fire Brigade recorded 2,136 fires during which approximately 1,436 civilians were killed and 1,800 seriously injured. Apart from London the Luftwaffe began bombing Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry and Southampton. On 14 November 1940, 500 bombers destroyed much the old city centre of Coventry killing around 500 and during February and May waves of attacks focused on ports including Plymouth, Portsmouth, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Hull, Swansea, Belfast, and Clydebank.

V1 Flying Bomb British citizens called the ‘doodlebug’.

The first V1 flying bomb hit Grove Road, Bow in London at 4:25 am on 13 June 1944 destroying a railway bridge and nearby homes during which 6 people were killed, 30 seriously injured and 200 families made homeless.

Grove Road, Bow London (No source)

Blue Plaque in Grove Road.

V1 attacks killed 9,251 civilians and 17,981 were injured.

V2 Rocket.

On Friday 8 September 1944 the first V2 rocket launched from the Netherlands hit Staveley Road Chiswick, London. Three people were killed and 19 injured and the blast left a 30 foot crater. The youngest known fatality was Rosemary Ann Clark aged 3 whose parents were injured and died the same day at the West Middlesex County Hospital, Isleworth.